build up a strong public sentiment against smoking.
The second purpose the governor is carrying out involves something of a change in local administration and a forward step in the direction of real self-government. Hitherto the government of the districts has been more or less imposed from above through the hsien and ch'ii (township) administrations. Though the villages have had their presidents, vice-presidents and precinct heads these officers have been rather circumscribed in their powers. The present scheme is to give more power to these village authorities, who are directly elected by the people, including the right of frequent and easy access to the district magistrates. In a way this restores something of the power and prestige of the old time "village elder" and is calculated to find favour with that large class of rural worthies, scholars and ex-officials, best described by the term "gentry."
Disaster aT A THEATRE.
Yesterday a very sad_ accident occurred im this city. For three years a fair has been carried on in the sixth moon inside the walls of the city. In connexion with it there are the usual open-air theatricals. Yesterday between the afternoon and evening performances a group of people were waiting in the shade of a court-yard wall. Suddenly without warning a section of the wall toppled over. Two men were killed, eight or nine others seriously injured, and others received minor injuries. The seriously injured were at once brought to the local mission hospital for treatment.
Though in this immediate vicinity the summer rains have been much less than needed, with a consequent poor outlook for the autumn crops, we hear that in other districts the rains have been abundant and the outlook for the fall harvest is promising.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.