The chief event of the evening was when the Chairman asked Mr. Brand accept honorary membership the Club for life, in recognition of all he has done for the club as well fas for the port, For over nineteen years. Mr, Brand was secretary of the Club and" then undertook " the work of honorary secretary and Wreasurer for another nine years. He has been chairman, has served on committees. and Is still as active os fever in all that concerns the welfare of the club.
Mr. Brand replied in his usual assured and happy manner, frst thanking "the chairman, committee fand members for their gracious recognition of his work and very heartily thanking them for honour they did him in making him an honorary member. So far as he can remember this Is the first such honour ranted to a club member in any of the coast ports, "Me. Brand also gave some very interesting information about the old days in Foochow, about old custom: tte tea trade and other activities, an remarked also on how wonderfully the port has progressed in modern Improvements during recent years. He also took the opportunity to thank resent on behalf of his wite for their constant kind enquiries, gitts of flowers and loan of books, which have meant so much during her re: gold diggers rushed to the Commun-
'They very soon Jearned, however, in very mournful numbers that life ig not an empty dream. Numbers have come into" Tachienlu, having either been captured or' escaped from the Reds, and the word dilapirated fs not' graphic enough to Geseribe them. Poor follows, they were in a dreadful condition, halt clothed, half-starved, half-dead and number of them were natives of Tachienta who had gone up to the gold-diggings. They are now being Jexamined before General Li and the local gentry have presented a petition establishing their bona Ades.
Plu jering the Wealthy With the Reds however are several thousand men, riff-raff, from Lushan, Tienchueg, Baohsing and Tsonghua, Szechuen " paogos and "liuerpuho." who were waiting just such an opportunity "as the Communists presented to plunder the wealthy people In any given district, 'There is now on indiscriminate rabble following the Reds who must be fed and it very largely this rabble which is easing' such havoc and chaos in Sikang: a Red army is usually composed. of 5,000 armed and 5,000 Unarined men. There is a notorious rascal named Yang leading a band fof Red marauders round Minya and helping them to find the homes of wealthy Tibetans and Chinese. His Gay, however, Will be very short os Gen. Li'is now closing in on the Red Torees. watching his time to strike.
News has now been made public that the Generalissimo is hoping to personally direct operations against the Communists in North Yunnan and that a large force of Government troops is now guarding the Yunnan-Sikang border. No one welcomes this news more than the thousands of lamas scattered throughout East-em Tibet. Comniunism may be indigenous in some parts of the world but its anti-religious focus makes it an unwelcome guest in the Land of the Lamas, Chefoo, May 15.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.