Hangchow, June 7.
Estimates and disbursements took up most of yesterday's sitting of the Provincial Assembly. Fresh grants are voted to Chinese studying in France, also to the Industrial Gellege at Ningpo. On the other hand @ still further set-back has been given to the motor road round the Jake here on the plea of want of funds. A school of languages is to be croned, as also a sugar factory. This latter, after much discussion, was found to be an urgent matter, as also the cultivation of sugar-yielding plants, The Chinese, it was argued, being dependent solely on the sugar-cane, are letting all the lucrative trade drift into Japanese The returns in taxes are reported as reaching 4,310,494 dollars during the past year.
Distances to be covered by branch railways were compared, and possible outlay discussed. Soldiers caught to be put on to the work of construction seeing they are in such vast numbers—without legal _em-loyment—throughout the (province.
the local gentry, merchants and magistrates through whose juris.' diction the lines pass undertook to defray a certain proportion of the expense there need not be such great delay in se¢ing the work completed.
Ju reply to question by the Provincial Assembly the Governor explains the delay in opening the promised paper-factory by the fact that nob enough capital is vet guaranteed. Moreover, he adds, while his fellow-countrymen con" tinue to deal almost exclusively in certain qualities of the best-selling paper with Japan, there is risk in starting a local factory, Hor Westuer Temper.
June 8.
Whether caused by the sudden wave of heat we cannot say, but yesterday's session of the Provin-
the old spirit of cavilling which Gial Assembly showed something. of caused regret, and worse, last term. One member, Mr. List Tsu-chien, objected, even, to the continuance of negotiations regarding the long-promised motor road round the lake. The Governor was taken to task again for his "over-kindness" to foreigners in allowing game of them to infringe on land-purchasing regulations in the neighbourhood of their much prized lake and its environments. The well-thrashed out tale of the treatment shown to Mr. Hardoon was related to a divided House. The Governor in his reply to these and other charges cleared himself by assuring the member objecting that in no case had Mr. Hardoon enyorene on either his rights or the Receprion or Mr. Crane.
An enthusiastic welcome was given to Mr. Crane, U.S.A. Minister to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.