From Tongan:—A short time ago' I wrote you about how the officials here were allowing the opium planting on the payment of a tax of $10.20 per "peck" of seed planted. Things have been getting still worse since that.
Last night the pastor gf one of our outlying churches was in to see me. He reports they are much disturbed about the way things vere going over there (Engtotkau and Aukhoe about 10 miles to the southwest of us and under the jurisdiction of Chekiang troops).
dt seems that there is a certain amount of money that the officials are trying to raise. They go to men who have just planted prim and tell them how much they are assessed for. If he tells them they have not planted sufficient seed to make up the amount of that assessment, they are told to plant more. And worse than this is the fact that those who! have not planted have to pay the taX just the same. This is pretty, hard on those of our Christians who have thus far withstood the temptation to plant. In some eases a group of soldiers will go to a man's house and practically force him to plant, camping out there till they see that he has done it.
Later on the Christians will likely be in still more trouble, for, if all the money wanted is not raised, then it will be the Christians who have paid the tax rather than plant who will have to complete the amount, since they were so wealthy aq to pay the tax in the first place and not plant, thus getting no return at all from it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.