to Retire Hongkong, Jan. 31.
Sir William Peel, Governor of Hongkong, leaves here on May 18 (on leave, prior to his retirement.
'The successor to Sir William as Governor of the Crown Colony thas not yet been named, but believed here that Sir' Andrew Caldecott, Colonial Secretary at Singapore, is one of the strongest candidates for the post—United [weather prophets and meteorologists dally predicted a change to west wind and treexing weeiner, but such change occurred. The \emperaure ranged from 35 to $0 degrees. One day the sun shone for a few hours, then disappeared.
After a solid month of such unprecedented weather, the change same on Sunday night, January 13. [Snow fell about two "iner deep, after which the wind blew yom the west, and the temperature dropped 10 21. Now the sun is shining brightly, but a good deal of that little snow remains on the ground, after six ays.
The past summer was very dry here, as in so many other places the drought became serious, so that there was a good harvest' of this mest important grain. Despite the {fact that corn and other autumn crops were badly by drought, there seems tobe plenty seems to be rain Tocal spring. while higher prices for farm Products mean dim culty for city Gwellers, they also mean better days for the farmers, who have suffered much in recent years.
During the past year, this section of country has been comparatively free from large gangs of bandits, though small gangs have been operating in various parts of the country. 'Some villages and small towns have been looted, and a good many people have been kidnapped. A few weeks since, it was reported that several Jdozens of robbers and their accom-pices' had been rounded up in Pihsien, just north of Sutsien. - As usual, the big head robber of the Jdistrict escaped. Possibly he is enjoying a winter vacation among the bright lights of Shanghai. It is on-Jeouraging to know that the officials Jare at least making efforts to intimidate the robbers, and keep ther from gaining control of the whole district, as they did in former years.
The local police have been rather Jailigent about picking up stragglers Jaround town. All strangers who come to town for the night are required to register with the police, funder penalty of arrest and deten-lion. Of course. most of these strangers are perfectly harmless travellers, but occasionally some villain fails into the toils of the 1aw tu this way.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.