Peking, July 7.
The Salt Administration has led General Chang Tso-lin into an indiscretion which has aroused against him strong diplomatic hostility. He has been prompted to threaten that if he is not allow ed to exploit the salt in Manchuria in hig own way he will close all the offices and bureaux of the Gabelle in the Three Eastern Provinces. The altercation which led up to this began when General Chang, during his recent sojourn in Peking, @P-pointed his own salt commissioner for Manchuria, hoping thereby to obtain complete control of the ro-venues, The Salt Administration refused, however, to recognize the appointment and instructed the Bank of China to ignore the new Commissioner's orders. This gave rise to much correspondence, but while it was going on the Administration contrived to bring out of Manchuria about $1,500,000 which the Tuchun has earmarked as his own, This prompted him to threaten the service with extinction over his own seal and this threat hag provided the Administration with a weapon which it is wielding with some effect against him.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.