Paotingfu, July 12.
The villagers to the east of here are "just completing a new, dike twenty-three li in length that will enclose and shut the water out of 'a tract of some ten thousand mow of very fertile land. The project is costing more than $40,000, "and is being supervised by the Revs Mather of the Presbyterian Mission here, This. reclaimed land lies in the Ansin district (a. new hsien made up of Anchow and Sinan, Half of the funds for this dike project has been borrowed from the~ Famine Relief Commission, while the balance selves. was raised by the villagers them-
Tt may of interest to recall that in this same district a much longer dike was constructed, also under Mr, Mather's direction, four years ago. At that time also half the funds came from the Famine Relief Commission and ogreement was made by the villagers to repay the loan within a certain pene? tozebher with interest at 8 per cent. Yet up to the present time naching has beau paid and the principal and interest now amount to well cor $100,000, The committee of village folders who borrowed the money have just written a reply to the Famine [Commission's many requests for payment. In this letter they specify that if there is no drought, no flood, no locusts, nor any other set-back to their crops this year then they will undertake to make a small payment, Mr. Mather thinks that this is a fair offer especially as the grass-hoppers have already arrived in part of that district, A Family Feud Mr, Mather, who has just come in for the day reports that a family feud broke out recently among the workers on the new dike. A young man of thirty ached a man of sixty with gun and the knife, the older man being entirely unarmed. He shot him through both arms and in the head, but as life still linge ed drew his big' knife and slas!
besides inflicting other body wounds off the old man's car and chun: The mission doctor (Chinese) was speedily called from Sinan to treat the wounded man. Despite the gravity of the wounds the old man is making a rapid recovery.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.