A placard-was posted in all large towns of the neighborhood notifying those concerned, that no money would be- paid for the ransom of Monsignor Froewis, Promise was made from the part of thy missionaries that they would refrain from prosecuting the bandits implicated, in case the jatter at once restored freedom to the aged missionary. Seven days later the bandits posted in Tsingshantien a reply to this message in which they pretended to be remnants of the old Shansi at Sin. yangchow by Liu Vu-tchun in 1926. At that time Monsignor Froewis played a prominent part in ar ranging peace terms between the contending armies, thus winning the gratitude of the Sinyangchow population, by bringing to an end the long siege of that city.
The bandits now claim to be taking—vengeance against Monsignor Frocwis for the loss of money and ammunition whic! they sustain: sur. render of Ki The worst feature in the reply of the bandits is, their failure to name a place or date for a parley between the two parties concerned. Moreover the bandits openly declared that they demanded no ransom This is really a bad friends of the good old priest begin to fear that he has already succumbed to maltreatment which he has stained. The civil and military' officials of Sinyangchow and Loshan and also the authorities of the provineial) government at Kaifeng have been repeatedly appealed to for help: but up till the present, the only results of these representations Can@RbSces inthe oontey toms has giggn the posting of a few off-
around Tsingshantien, whereby the Tocal officials are directed to make investigations, regarding the abdnetion of Monsignor Froewis and to report their ridings to head-qear-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.