From Our Own Correspondent, _Suchien, N. Ku., Mar. 15.
The tufet are adopting new tactics. Some days ago, our city soldiers were sent out with five barrow loads of ammunition to supply the men who are fighting the tufet. On the road they were met by a party of well - dressed men, who attacked them, killing 16 and wounding some others and then carrying off the booty. They are growing bolder in their doings. Im a village no distance from here, the wife of a well-to-do farmer has, for fear of them, been hiding in the city. She went back in the day time for some of hex belongings, bub was captured, and carried off. This seemed a bad enough calamity, but, not satisfied with this, the robbers decided to—bura her home. Her husband was in his house and when the fire started, he tried to make his escape, but was shot dead as he came out{ of the burning house.
There is only one portion of the Suchien' community exempt from their ravages—the priests in the temples. We have one very wealthy temple in the north end of Suchien, with about 200- priests. One of them has recently returned from Shanghai with purchases amounting to $6,000. When asked if h> was not afraid of the tufei relieve ing him of his purchases on: the road, he replied:—'The priests are without parents, so there would be no one to pay the ransom."
Two of his purchases are creating a good deal of attraction. As there ere such a number in this temple, the food is made in immense boilers. Formerly iron boilers were used, but as these were so often broken, he has brought from Shanghai two immense brass boilers, one costing $1,500 and the other a little less. the South Manchuria wants is the freight, and with the Y.1,000,000 advance not yet earned, a part of that sum may go to swell the already heavy indebtedness of the Chinese Eastern to-the former road, It was-more than Y.3,000,000 before this advance.
If the "joker" ig what it was construed to be by the Amorioains, and the South Manchuria insists on its pound of flesh, it will have a stupendous bill against the Chinese Eastern, in addition to the sum named just above. What action the Japanese railway will take remains to be seen. It may take the form of a rate war between the South Manchuria and the Ussuri, the continuing line from the Chinese Eastern connexion at Pogranit-éhnaya to Vladivostok, as that line has cut its tariff on beans in order to attract shipments to its terminal, and shiba to the Russian port.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.