From Our Own Correspondent, Kaifeng, Ho., Dec. 3.
Your issue of Saturday contain: ed Reuter's message to the effect that the Diplomatic Body was sending a telegram to Wu Pei-fu, re-grotting his failure to clear the province from the brigand pest and to liberate captive foreigners. I have just had a talk with several travellers. recently arrived from Loyang, and the tale they tell is very illuminative, not only of bad conditions there but of the probable reasons why Gen. Wu has not moved to clean out the brigands.
The other night, my informant heard firing about 11 o'clock. On inquiring the next day, he learned that a man in uniform had gone to the Loyang branch store of Kaifeng's leading shoe manufacturers and, to secure the money in the store, this soldier shot the manager dead Gen. Wu assured the public that the culprit should 6e caught and summarily dealt with, but nothing whatever was done in the matter. Apropos of such incidents as this, since the change of military conimand in this city, we have heard of numbers which affected leading mercantile concerns, For months the city was free from incidents such as this.
Severa)] days ago, all foreigners in the district, including missionaries of the American, Swedish and Italian groups, together with the Belgians on the Railway, went to Gen. Wu's headquarters to me-moralize him on.the matter of the widespread disorders and to claim protection for their persons and property. Not receiving any definite assurances from him, it is learned that they decided to hold a conference in the city of Chengchow, with other foreigners from the outlying districts, to discuss plans for the future. A number of families are now living in Chengchow.
The real difficulty with Gen. Wu seems to be that he mistrusts his men. My Chinese friend informs me that missionaries living outside of Loyang city asked for a guard. One night 12 men were sent with wooden guns. On inquiry, _he learned that, if they had rifles, they themselves would be very apt to flee and join the robbers. The next night, the guard did not apand towards midnight the onery and his family moved into the city.
It is said that, south of Loyang, there is a very large body of bri-gonds, seemingly ambitions enough to want to come to blows with Wu's men. They have even sent chal-longing letters to him, assuring
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.