off a fow days ayo things seem pice my, "last leer was seat to have sleered up here political ly. "The local branch of the Commercial Press, which has been carrying on business behind boarded-up windows and par ally-closed doors for months, full open for business this morning.
The persistent report, which would "appear to be true, is that Hsing Keh-wu and" his faithful "henchman Dau Mung-hsin have left the province with small bodyguard " for Yunoan jor Kueichow and most likely ultimately for, Canton to confer with the Kuo min-tang chieftains who have so lately declared in favour of the Soviet aystem. They have left their man it. is under charge of Lai Hsin-huei, Cheo Hsi-chen™ and the other first army generals, The second half of. this same persistent rumour is that there has beea a conference between these generals and Liu sian aod his second army generals and that fan agreement has been reached, supposedly whereby the remnants of the first army turn over te the northern party.
If all this is true, then peace would seem to be assured for a while at least, if the victors do not immediately begin to quarrel lover the spoils of battle, as has so often happened under "like fcireumstances in all Jands where there is lack of stable government. Of course Hsiong is expected back and the most sanguine only allow for two years of peace, The river, which has been very low this winter, is now. rising we are expecting and rather anxiously awaiting the arrival of the little steamers—we have had one since before the New Year. Tt is now reported from Choy king that one of Mr. Barri boats left yesterday for our city.
cannot come too soon, for there. are four foreign ladies Ihave boon waiting here for more than a month to get to Chungking and from thence to. Shanghaivand home. They wisely did not care to. trust their pretty tle furlough souvenirs and nicknacks to. the tender mercies lof. the "gentlemen of the rond"" and river) who have. reigned #0 upreme between here and chungking all winter. Allow me to repeat what your Junghsien correspondent. so naively remark-edu few weeks ago: "Small chance of running away from stations in Szechuan anywhere
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.