A New Director in Hankow ace The eat elaborate: system of opium smuggling along the Shanghai Nanking railway. This opens up 'a further question. Are the presumably guilty parties "in the Gendarmerie Commissioner's office The appointment of Mr. Taai-Kuang-huang—formerly Secretary of Gwil Affairs in Hupeh, a8 the Director of the Special Administrative District No. 3 of Hankow, formerly the British Concession, calls for a great deal of explanation. We know nothing of the new Dir cet, who may be al at is new ort "requires he should be. The point is, what need was there to Gsplace Dr. L. N, Chang the form-Director?" The circumstances of the new appointment are highly suspicious. It will be remembered that Dr. Chang was appointed just fa year ago. At that time the ex: British Concession had been brought 4o the lowest point of neglect and disorder. Four or five Directors had followed each other since the Chen-'O'Malley Agreement gave the Concession over to. Chinese official plundering, and had helped them-elves to all they could Tay hands on. The Concession was filthy and its finances all but bankrupt. Dr. Chang. succeded in patting a very different appearance on things. The Di farict was cleaned up, finances put into anier and the new Director actually succeeded in getting most Of the soldiers out of the property they were occupying, Inevitably he was spoken well of by foreigners and, us inevitably one regrets. one must add, he thereby became the 'Viegm of xcureilous and continuous attacks by some of the Chinese! Shapers, the fist of which was that Dr Chang was a "running dor of imperialists" and favoured for-coigners, Eventually he came' to Nanking, as we are told to insist that either he must have full sup-ort at headquarters or must resign. Here the veil falls, to be lifted last Friday with the bare anmoupcement that a new Director has been appointed to the 8. A.D. No, 3. We tay that these things call insistently for an explanation. Otherwise what can be concluded but that any official who tries to perform his Guty conscientiously, where foreign~ fers are concerned, has life made burden for him that he Qrcvionny reser in ategwstt
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.