Stories of Battle and Rumours of War: Hundreds Said to Have Perished Faow Our Pocuow Cosntsronoesr Chikungshan, We have spent a most delightful month here." There has been very little to disturb our quiet. In some ways it has been the most restful and helpful summer" that Thaw. spent array from my station, Even the conference held here some days 0 by the representatives of the me Province Compact came anti went without the foreigners hearing wFthing of it till it was past, 'Ths effort of some students from Sin= Yangchow to require our greceryfan to close up was Unsuecesstil, We hear that some days earlier they burned some British oil at the ata tion and that. they' were passing, alonz the railway hunting for auch sols, A few days ago some fat the station asked a luggage and he asked them, are you and by what auth:
v2" and waved them away anti lhe came on undisturbed. 1 hear whether he was Brit pects in the autumn, most especially as to school work, but have not for moment been discouraged. Quite 4 number have already gone down few days many will Many more would have gone this week but for a broken bridge 100 li or so north of us, in fact the bridge was washed on part, including even the piers Trains ure now running, but all passengers, mail and baggage have to be transferred across to another train. T think the express trains are not running.
Since I came here there has been a serious battle at Sihsien about 200 li northeast of here. The mis sionaries had all left. 'There was Gen. Tang with a' few hundred men in the city, who seemed belong to some former army and the was asked to move out and yield to the present Honan troops, anybody knows who they are, "He and this was agreed to, on condition that h '0 to some other post. This he declined and the outside troops seem to have come on his forces unaware, at night I think, and report says'that some hundreds were killed, mainly citizens, and much looting done, mission property suffering not a little, Despite those hundreds of lives lost, all Chiness by Chinese, I have heard not a word of any student protest or protest from anybody against the loss of these poor, innocent citizens. If these wonderful boys and girls could raise as much protest against thin awful curse of conglomerate mi tary mess all over China I fee! that their efforts might have availed There is what seems a fairly well. founded rumour here this week that within two or three weeks there is likely to be fighting—between If that combination does again open up in the early autumn, it looks like it might be the most serious of alt their wars in past 10 yours. May At be averted in some way.
Some of our friends have already returned to Kaifeng and report it quiet there. T hear that Canadian Episcopal Mission will open their school there somewhat later "than usual, a fow days after the Govern ment' schools open. Those of the Baptist and Methodist Mi not yet fully decided I believe, There has been a most delightful fellowship among the missionaries here all the summer and each Sunday has brought us very helpful and appropriate messages. The Rev. Mr. MeArthur has been here for some six or eight weeks with the A. and has given some moat helpful addresses to all the missionary body. He goes from here te the autumn conference of the Changsha Bible School at_Nanyoahsan for several weeks. He is man of great simplicity and power. The missionaries here will rot forget him and his work, THE Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce that an Exhibition of National Products be opened in Peking on April 15, neet year.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.