Chinese Goods for Foreign From Our Own Correspondent.
Wuchang, Feb. 2.
I hear the Tuchun has been making an effort to encourage the local merchants to embark on various manufacturing enterprises in order that China shall not have to import so many varieties of foreign-made goods. This is an excellent idea if it can only be carried out. General Wang appears to be rather popular with the trading classes la this centre. He may be somewhat of an autocrat but he is no doubt anxious to maintain peace and order, and after all that is what the ordinary man in China wants at the present time.
Last Thursday a missionary lady had a nasty experience while crossing the river in a sampan with her native boy and boatman. As they were passing the mouth of the Han, a junk coming along under full sail ran them down. They had just time to get hauled on board the larger craft when their own boat sank, The three of them were then landed at a neighbouring wharf, but to add insult to injury, the sailors on board the junk demanded money for rescuing those whom they had just exposed to imminent peril of drowning.
A few days ago a patch of grass outside the small East Gate of V chang took fire and the vegetation being extremely dry the flames spread quickly, and for a time it seemed as though they were going to reach St. Hilda's Girls' School, belonging to the American Church Mission. The pupils were assembled so that if the worse happened they would be able to make a rapid exit from the building. Fortunately, however, a gang of men managed to beat down the flames before they reached the compound wall.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.