There will, we think, be a general welcome for the extremely interesting amd instructive account
given us by a correspondent of the new turmoil in Szechuan in Chengtu. Even those who try to follow the shifting fortunes of these remote parts of China are easily confused by the number of rivals contending against each other and the unfamiliarity of the geography. In this respect our correspondent has shown a wise restraint, limiting himself to. the salient names and facts and telling a connected story which all can easily follow. The—fundamental fact of importance, as has previous:
been emphasized in these columns, is the desire of the Yunnanese and Kueichowese to get control of this immensely rich province. That is precisely what Hsiong Keh-wu does not mean them to do and as he has given the Szechuanese two years of peace and appears to have ruled them well and fairly, he commands their enthusiastic support. The episode throws an important light on the precise nature of the Southwestern Federation, as represented by Dr. Sun Yat-sen and his friends, and incidentally on the eagerness of the Old Parliament to go to Yunnanfu, where, if Tuchun Tang Chi-yao can get control of Szechuan, there will be pickings for all.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.