Ichang, Oct. 12.
The increasing number steamers on. the river-is making life very hard for the junkmen and their resentment at the loss of their chances of work is growing. When these junks arrived from Szechuan one steamer, flying the French flag, was loading cotton. When the junkmen heard of this they sent word that if that cotton were not discharged and left for them to carry up to Szechuan they would kill the pilots of the steamer. Tt. will be remembered that tha Took-Yuen was badly handled at Chungking, and this steamer thought it advisable not to arouse the wrath of the junkmen so 300 packages of cotton were discharged for transfer to the junks.—Reuter.
Ar the age of 93 Mrs Black, widow of Mr. J. R. Black who wrote "Young Japan" in 1879, died at Tokio on October 7. Mr. Black arrived in Japan in 1863 without any intention of staying there, but circumstances led to his becoming a permanent resident in the country; and in subsequent years he started a magazine called the "Far East" and later on. the "Japan Gazette"—the first daily paper to be published in the country. Mrs. Black, who arrived in Japan shortly after her husband, survived him' by 42 years, and was the oldest foreign resident of the country. had to be paid over before the junks were allowed to sail. The junkmen and merchants are _complaining bitterly of this extortion but there seems.at present little hope of redress.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.