The welcome news is to hand that conditions on the various rivers and waterways are now much bet~ ter than thay have been for long time. "With the suppression bandit netivces tg terete "iver districts, and the disbandment of irregular troops who used to exact protection fee," commercial' te. tivities in the. toland waterway have increased surprisingly. ing junks are now able to paRhio their journeys unmolested and com try produce is moving freely, ai cording to reports, As a result, this satisfactory state of affairs, the cost of transportation has declined appreciably, and rice and firewood have moved freely in recent weeks. As the time of writing, firewood is quoted at 80 catties to the dollar, this being the lowest price quoted for this item for a long time. Moro over, the rainfall in recent weeks has done wonders in the matter of harvests, with the exception of a districts which have been affect ed by inundations as a result of the overflowing of certain river sec tions. Taking it all in all, condi tions along the river have been excellent of late, to the joy of farmfers and the general public 3 safely arrived at our destination, Very, much could"be said about this long journey, but for sake of time and space, the above fow notes from my daily jottings must suf fice.
One can say in truth that the way was really opened for us at that time, Stage by stage we went forward unmolested and unhindered.
To say that there are no difficulties, would be wrong. These are pre: valent at any time. All the way along we received the greatest kindness and hospitality from all, from the highest official to the lowest jeoolie, The one word "English" seemed to work magic. We were treated with the highest respect.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.