The story told by our correspondents yesterday and to-day of the ruin of Kuangsi reads like a chapter from the German invasion of Belgium and France. The beginning of the trouble was the attempt made, a year ago, by General Lu Yung-ting, a Kuangsi man and formerly Governor-General of the Two Kuangs. to invade Kuangtung and re-establish himself in Canton. He was defeated and his forces took to the mountains, where they appear to have supported themselves mostly by brigandage, to which trade one imagines they were never particularly strangers. It is but fair to say that the Kuangsi irregular forces seem to have been equally troops, whom they were pursuing, in the matter of pillage. Whatever the Kuangtung men left behind in evacuating a city,—the Kuangsi pursuers made haste to gather up. And the result is a train of ruined and depopulated cities that were once rich and full of people. But the greater responsibility rests on the Kuangtung leaders. They were right to resist Lu Yung-ting's attempted invasion, and public sympathy was on their side. But having entered the province and overthrown whatever government it had, they never seem to have tried to set up anything in its place. Even during the months of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's stay at Kueilin, his followers and forces do not appear so much as to have tried to put down the bandits and leaderless Kuangsi troops that preyed on the country-side, They flooded the province with worthless paper money and that was all. It is a bitter comment on the boast of a Southwest China united under Canton against the tyrannous north.
The. Reformers "She's in that state of mind," said the White Queen, "that she Wants to deny something, only she doesn't know at to deny." So ratepayers might think of the Council, that it wants to deny us all our little comforts." A restless spirit of reform has seized upon is and every week's Gazette comes with some new symptom like an eruption. A few weeks ago it was tke Lyceum that had to be closed. Then came the prohibition on smoking in theatres—of which all we would say is that if the London County Council, the most petticoated body in the world, permits smoking in music halls, we do not see why it need be forbidden in Shanghai movie houses. Today we observe a new regulation on the*ranking of motorcar's at the Town Hall during entertainments:
The public is hereby notified that on the occasion of concerts and other large entertainments at the Town Hall, motor, cars conveying guests, etc., thereto may at the discretion of the Police be required to rank in Thibet Road. A direct telephone line has been installed between the Town Hall (inside the Main Entrance) and the Thibet Road rank py means of which cars may be called up. Not all residents possess motor-cars and it is not unlikely that. this order will cause glee among those who do not. But let them beware of untimely mirth. The Council will be sure "'to have it into them" sooner or later. No one but a true reformer' can guess what possibil-ties of harm may lurk in umbrellas, galoshes and Maud Allens. Meanwhile, we do not quite see what harm resulted from allowing motor-cars to wait behind the Town Hall or in the streets opposite. The market is not used at night time and we do not imagine there is much traffic then in these side streets. Our's not to reason why, however, but only tremble and obey. But as the Council is now publishing summaries of its. deduction prohibited without permission.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.