Chinkiang, May 25.
The smiling fields of golden corn betoken that, for the district at least, famine conditions are about of an end. The wheat harvest is being gathered in and the yield promises to be a good one. The flour mills will soon be run full time again. Much of the land was too water logged to allow of wheat being sown in them, but no doubt these will be ready for the rice crop, which in places is being planted out. There seems to be no scarcity of vegetables, yet the prices charged for these goods are high. There has been no little industrial unrest here of late, strikes on the part of workmen, and in the silk industry there was a lockout which might have resulted in serious consequences, had not the magistrate stepped in and made peace between the merchants and the operatives. The price of rice continues very high and this makes all classes more or less restive.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.