Mar. 26.
Ruovrs of war and rumours of a renewal of the peace conference have again attracted public attention to the South. A week ago the statement was given out that an influential section of Southern delegates had approached General Wang I-tang with a view to opening peace discussions; to-day little more is heard of that, but people are beginning to consider whether between factions in_ the South war will actually take place. Already skirmishing has occurred between Yunnan and Kuangsi, but we are accustomed to this sort of thing: it does not necessarily denote war, in fact, all the alarums throughout the country during these many months having ended in nothing but the oppress sion of the people, it would, on the whole, be surprising if the opposing sides actually came to sups. This quarrel between Knangsi_ and Yunnan, or rather betwen Lin Yung-ting and Tang Chi-yao, their respective Tuchuns, is part of the complicated sitnation from which spring rumours such as the peace one of a week ago. Ambition and cupidity struggle with timidity, so that the tiff. culty is first to give each move in the game its proper motive and then its adequate value. When delegates are sent to Shanghai to hold a peace conference some represent tuchuns, some moderately
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.