The fifth report of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service issued recently recommends that the existing property qualification for admission to the Diplomatic Bervioe—a private income of £400 a year—should be abolished, and that the entrance examination The same correspondent gives an account of the live stock purchased by Russia for Vladivostok, and a curious description of Chinese wine casks, which reveals yet another use for the carcase of that useful animal the pig:
On the above journey, which took me thirteen should be the combined examina tion for the administrative grades of the general Civil Service. The chief argument in favour of this change is a very strong one, namely that by reqi 1 candidates to possess @ private income the Btate deprives itself of the services of large numbers of first class men. Against this, however, it may be urged that ability of the kind guaranteed by competitive examinations, though an excellent thing, is not by itself sufficient. Equally and, on many occasions, for more important re certain aptitudes and instincts the session of which competitive examinations cannot—_ possibly guarantee, Nor, it may be said, does the private income. Not, perhaps, in theory or in some xasee in practice. But in the majority of cases it at all events guarantees education at a first class school and possibly savoir faire of kind assent in the work which a diplomatist has to do. and hogs. The latter were being driven to the nearest station. on the Peking-Hankow railway for shipment to Peking. However, the greatest outgoing product at this season of the year is wine made rom kaoliang. The containers are baskets, made in the shape of a keystone. They are lined with several layers of paper made of old rope. The last layer is ingredient of which is pi with a preparation the main impervious to the the neck of the basket inches—depending on the size of the basket. A portion of the anatomy (the bladder) of the pig is used to cover the opening of the With reasonable care these are excellent not only for holding wine but also various aile; I even saw two filled with honey. These vere being transported across two provinces at the rate of fifty cash per catty—collect on delivery of goods.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.