Finding the proclamations did little or no good the members of the Chamber of Commerce decided to raise a sum of $100,000 and on the strength of that to print and issue cash notes with a market value equal to the copper cent pieces. Before the notes could be printed there is.a request that $200,000 be produced for military expenses. The business men are feeling sore because the trade is suffering from depression.
A large opium caravan that left here lately only went two stages to Kueiting and then had to halt there as the escort provided was not strong enough to see the goods safely through the next section of the route. More men being forthcoming the caravan advanced. another three stages to Hsiasze where the business men should take boat but upon arrival they learned that the escort from Hung-kiang had not arrived. So far as is known here they are'sbill: waiting at Hsiasze while the owners of the drug are wondering whether the robbers will attack Hsiasze before the escort arrives.. News from Sankiang states that the Hungkiang escort. came that far with a flotilla of boats but upon arrival they left the little fleet to its fate and returned to Hung~ Kiang. Some say the soldiers were in a hurry to. return and take part in the fighting in west Hunan, while others affirm that the Hungkiang man and the high officials here are at loggerheads over military funds. The fleet at Sankiang awaits an escort before. it can come up, and the crowd at Hsiasze await an escort before they can go down and the business stagnates.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.