The following article properly belongs luter in the series, but is 40 apposite to present events that it should be put before the public with the least possible delay South of the Yangtze river, Hupeh on the Szechuan border is mountainous, cut with many rivers and fertile valleys. Here, during the last two years, particularly, the distress has been unbelievable. The Southern armies have occunied the district most of that time and have forced the farmers to; grow opium. Thus, rice and grain land has been lost and a considerable scarcity of food has resulted. Moreover, the farmers who grew the opium were forced to pay a tax of a few cents on each plant and then, impossible as it may seem, their product has been taken from them without payment!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.