Yunnanfu, Sept. 14.
We are naturally looking to you for news in these days rather than supplying any.
There is one topic of conversation and speculation—the war and its consequences. We have a little world with most of the world elements up here—French predominate ing, of course, as we are so near Tonking. Germans, Italians, Aus-
27 trians, Japanese, Danes, Greeks, Scandinavians, ete., are in close quarters and sharing common experience in relation to the environment of living.
Tt is the more to be regretted that a series of unsubstantiated reports and rumours emanating from German sources, alleged to be oficial, has been spread far and wide over this province. Communications translated into Chinese, purporting to be from Berlin vid' America and Peking, have informed (!) the populace that India hag mutinied and set up a re public; Tonking is alleged to be in revolt and the French are in perilous condition there; Paris to be invested, British ships are destroyed and the brilliant success of the German arms is said to be such that a defeat is unknown among the German Emperor's soldiers. Naturally nothing has been said about Litge or Louvain or Konigsberg, or of the other little affairs that have been mentioned by Reuter.
The Danger of Riot.
But what would be gained inducing the Chinese to believe there is trouble in Tonking, such a report helped to create trouble there? For example, when the orders to mobilize reached the Germans here, three men concerned, fearing to go through Tonking, started for Kiaochou across country—Kueichow, Hunan, Hupeh, ete.,—a sufficiently hard journey for military men. If Tonking were closed because of diffculties with, the Annamites, thea community of foreigners—Ger-Sola as well" aa\_cthere:-woeies and children as well ae men, would be forced, in order to reach the sea, to make the long, hard and probably dangerous journey overland to the coast, One can hardly imagine that the course of events in Tonking would much affect the issue of the war in Europe, why then risk all the foreigners in this remote comer of China by fomenting possible trouble?
Catching a Consul, A rather amusing case of foreigner's difficulties in abnormal circumstances resulted to Mr.
Bragard, the German Consul at Hoihow, who happened to be up here visiting his fellow Consul Weiss in Yunnan. The war came as quickly in Yunnan as elsewhere and naturally Mr. Bragard wished to return to his port and jurisdiotion. To visit at will is one thin, to be prevented from leaving is quite another. So recourse was had to the French Consul, galling as it must have been, to furnish safe conduct through Tonking, request obviously impossible under the circumstances. However, the Consul left the sanctuary of Yunnan and adventured forth to test his luck.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.