Weihaiwei, March 26.
The accommodation at the Island Hotel is all taken up for the summer and a good part of the hotel on the Mainland, so it looks as if we are going to have a large influx of visitors at this port this coming summer.
The fleet, we hear, is coming up early, but'so far no date is given as to its arrival.
We have just bid farewell to Major and Mrs, Knaggs who are homeward bound. Also Mr. and Mrs. Stewart of the E. E. Telegraph Ca. likewise bound for England; we wish them all bon voyage, Mr. McCartney is in charge of the Telegraph Ca, until the new manager arrives from Port Darwin. I think his name is Mr. Leeds.
The winter is now practically over; although cold winds still prev The wheat harvest looks promising, as we had practically at least two falls of snow per week during January and February.
So far as I hear at present, there are no epidemics about except measles, so I hope that this spring we may escape the usual Chinese maladies that prevail at that season of the year.
Mr. Sun Fu-shan, Chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of this port, who died a year ago, is to be buried with full honours at noon to-morrow. The funeral was postponed until the son, Mr.. W. Sun, pH. pd. (U.S.A.), had returned from America, and as he has now arrived, the funeral ceremony will be carried out to-morrow when a very large attendance of merchants is expected. His Honour the Commissioner is also expected to be present to "tien chu" (OF) ie. make the dot in vermilion on the middle character of the ancestral tablet.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.