The seasons prospects are good. Weather still continues favourable for farming, except that the weeds are. rowing too fast. Busy with gathering opium, and planting rice, the farmers can hardly get round to hoeing their corn fields. "Wheat is down In price, so we shall have lower bills. Rice and cora are not rising in price, fas there are plenty of vegetables in hand and enough grain to carry safely through till harvest. here is a peep into what is happen! in the © market-village mention above, typical of thousands of similar distributing centres. Here at least ten families are known to be dealing in "pal mien" (heroin) and making huge profits, The traders are known to the' Dollce but the larier have been square €d. Except for occasional Japses to satisfy the demands of face, they do
the demoralising traffic. Scarcely a tactically nothing to interfere with wealthy family in the village but has its drug addicts, often women as well as men. They are to be seen on the main street any day, some-times in the last stages of degradation. One family is consuming pai mien at the rale of $6 worth terday. The nights spent in this village are disturbed by the incessant barking of mongrels, roused to fury by the passing and passing of drug traders, who ply their business in the " midnight hours, secure from observation. The Police-station on the main street is Always. closed after dark and its inmates wrapped in deep slumber.
Four incidents occurred while Tas there and the news was public property: a man discovered in a neigh-Bouring village witha supply of "pai mien" worth $50. Taken to police station, fined 10 dollars and discharged; A local bandit and trader in drugs arrested, taken to police station but, after informal investigation. released. Police squared; Local firm, proprietor arrested, known to deal in morphia, gfe, but liberated after the usual "palm grease." Peddlar in drugs under suspicion by police; raid com-templated but warning given secretly. "Next morning present of four bags of flour sent to the chief of Police, and no more heard of the matter. This man's profit is computed at $90 a day.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.