Hankow, July 27
Over 100 soldiers and were killed and about 80 seri injured as a result of a fire which Jbroke out in the ammunition dump) of the 20th Army at Wuchang last! night. Most of the deaths resulted from explosions of powder and In addition to th large list of killed and injured, many buildings were destroyed," including. St. Joseph's Middle ' School which, at the time, was occupied by Chinese troops. That portion of the city in the vicinity of the dump is now al heap of ruins, The continual roar of explosives was clearly heard in Haakow, searing people into the belief that fighting had. broken out on the ati vide of the river until the reason of the explosions was known.
'The fire, the cause of which has so far not' been ascertained, burned itself out after eight and a half hours, the fire-brigades looking on helplessly owing to the fact that} there was no water supply available with which to fight the conflagration, Cuvese papers say that the Wind and Tobacco Bureau is determined to enforce its taxation schemes in the Settlement and the French Concession and all merchants are expected to. pay in accordance with the regulations. The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce has been "requested to persuade the merchants to pay without opposition.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.