Not the least important of the commercial features of the past year has been the large increase in pil-forage of goods, and as attention has been forcibly drawn to it through cases in court here, some remarks on the subject by a Home journal may be considered apposite. The jownal of the Huddersfield Chamber of Commerce points out the terrible extent of the evil and says that "'if all goods were as much at the mercy of thieves as are goods in transit' the business world would have to put up its shutters." But there is also this factor "that the sight of means to do ill deeds makes ill deeds done." This brings us on to the subject of indifferent packing, the use of old packing cases and the like, which, being easily broken in handling, expose the contents to the covetous eye of the pilferer. Accordingly the following suggestions for dealing with the present evil are offered 1. Don't use secondhand cases unless they are strong and gond and unless they contain articles not likely to attract thieves.
2. See that all cases have good ends and that all nails are properly clinched.
3. Bind all cases with strong hoop iron at ends and also around middle, 4. Don't use frail cases.
5. Uso only hoop iron that will stand the strain of ordinary rough handling. "Scrap" all soft hoop iron.
The Case of Mr. Stevens It is easy and not uncommon to complain of the deliberation that attends action by the Diplomatic Body. But in the case of Mr. Stevens, the prisoner of Shensi, most people may be glad that the responsibility of deciding what to do does not rest with them. Reuter's letter to-day does not add much to the statement from Mr. Stevens that we published three weeks ago, but it serves to keep before the public the vital fact that Mr. Stevens is still in durance and seemingly as far from delivery as ever. The Tuchun of Shensi appears to have thought that a would never dare to kill Mr. Stevens and that he, the Tuchun, might obtain his release and at the same time keep Wei's father by declaring that the latter was already dead. But this trick has failed and until Wei gets back his father, Mr. Stevens remains a prisoner. Now here is the Diplomatic
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.