Peking, Dec. 20.
While the Government has been trying to give an impression, of its independence of foreign capital through the publication of its successful bartering with the native {bankers, it has at the same time }been angling for expressions of foreign opinion by giving out stories of a coming rapprochement with the Consortium. The two local Chinese owned' papers in the English language have both published the hypothetical terms of an agreement with the Consortium for a disbandment loan, and an equally complete agreement for a famine relief loan of $50,000,000. They are published as deals half accomplished; but in the Legations and the Banks all knowledge of them is disclaimed... These yarns are obviously circulated to draw fire—so obviously, in fact, that no comment has been passed upon them, which, ina sense, is a pity. If there are Chinese officials in the Government who stil] have sufficient hope of getting funds from abroad for disbandment to hoist such balloons as these, there must be a great many people in China, not in such close touch with Peking diplomacy, who will take these canards seriously, Tt cannot be denied that there are still men in the LegationS who reproduction prohibited without permission.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.