General Yang Sen, it happens, favours the steam vessels. He has already won for himself the putation of being the most progressive military administrator that Szechuan has had for many a year. He is committed to a policy of general commercial and industrial development for the province and he believes that nothing—will accelerate that development more than modern transportation, even if, for the present, it dislocates a portion of the native trades. He has, therefore, issued an order con-! centrating troops at the points of shipment and commanding them to offer all possible protection to the! steamers. He has authorized; military escorts for the ships and j has specified that his men may shoot to kill if the junkmen persist in forceful interference with ¢ommerce.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.