Foreigners Held to Ransom From Our Own Correspondent Chinkiang, Aug. 5.
Rumours of war in the province and runiours pi threatening trouble amoiyst the focal military had the effect of settling the rice rioting which was taking place when the trains to Shanghai stopped running at the time the armies were drawn up in battle array near Soochow.
In and around Chinkiang the country is quiet, the people for the being busy with their From one of our hill tops we get a splendid picture of the green fields which give promise producing a rich rice harvest later on. North of the river in the country out from Tsingkiangpu there is much unrest among the people and brigands appear to be having matters mach their own way. One country town was looted and the defenceless people were practically stripped of all they had. In another town a foreign missionary was held to ransom, but was released when one of his converts was taken as 4 hostage and held up for the same amount of ransom. In yet another place the local agent of a foreign firm was similarly taken, only to be released when the ransom was Of late Chinkiang has become a post of changes. One is constantly meeting new faces of people who have come to fill posts for a short time. Our acting Consul, Mr. Garstin, has been transferred to Shanghai, and now Mr. and Mrs. Clenwell have taken up residence at the British Consulate.
The river has been rising very high this year which makes it easy for the steamers to tie up against their hulks, and thus it is more convenicat for handling cargo and also for passengers embarking and disembarking. The customs house and the residences of the staff have all been in the hands of the builders and their outward appearance is greatly improved.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.