Hankow, Sept. 8.
Acoowling to a Shasi despatch received here to-das, the Communist arms which arrived at the suburbs of the city has not yet started their offensive activities, while Shasi and Chihchow are each under protection of a division of the regular army.
The N. K. K. steamer Tahan Mara proceeded down-river this morning with many Chinese refugees on} Vortd, 'The Japanese, residents sought refuge' dost night at the Japanese Consulate and on board) the gunboat Atami and Tahan Maru.'—Rengo.
Communists Conter Chekiang, wow Ova OWN ConResroNDENT
Wenchow, Sept. 2.
At the time of writing—if the several reports one has heard to-tay and over the week-end be true—<Wenchow may be the scene of] more "striking" events than has been the case for a very long time. But itis well to say that these reports are still of the nature of gossip and hearsay but so persistent as {0 justify the "impression of] some underlying fact more or less in consonance with the rumours. A friend who is in touch with the yamens have added further information of the rumours referred to which is to the effect that quite ntly a body of Fukien soldiers, variously estimated at 3,000 to 1,000, crossed the border into South Chekiang and captured the city of While writing the above, T was interrupted by the entrance of a youth from the Bank with which I @eal here, and te tells me that it is quite ime as to the capture of 'T'ai-Shun a few days ago and that} the hsien-chang of that city who escaped arrived here yesterday. My} informant this morning added that the lender of the Communist troops who took the city is Lu Hsing-yang, a former ally of Chiang Kai-Shek, turned Communist. who is coming northward after being defeated in Fukien.. The Commandant is said to have wired to Hangchow, for more troops, and it is said that several companies have arrived today and more expected who are to be sent down to Jui-An and Ping-'Yang the two hsien bordering on Tai-Shun and between the last and Wenchow.
Cedar Greek (Nan-chi) the area of} immeasurable suffering and slaughter, brigandage and incendiarism to the north of this city is being denuded of soldiers who are evidently needed further south and to defend this city in ease of need, 50 that the most distant country billet of the military in Cedar Creek is at Chung-T'eng a village ten miles away which was called upon about week ago to send its few soldiers joned there, to a neighbouring village to drive away the brigands who had attacked it and had destroyed several houses.
On August 24, a country Christian who had fled from his mountain village when attacked by bandits a few days previously and whose feet were very badly bruised apparently in his headlong flight down the hill side told me that the marauders carried off eight of the inhabitants, 12 oxen and over 200 loads of grain.
On August 25, a day of brillia sunshine and moderating Pacific Lreeze eighteen bandits were shot on the umbrageous and picturesque Pavilion Hill. Two of them were hoys of about seventeen years from Cedar Creek, while the oldest of the company' was 68 years. Over 40 shots were required to kill these 18 prisoners, soldiers going back again and again to finish their ill-done work, and once or twice went up and finished with revolver shots.
His British Majesty's Consul has sent preliminary advices to the missions here under British patronage as to precautionary measures taken and necessary under existing] circumstances, There seems little likelihood for a very definite time of any travelling and work up country by missionaries, and in several places, the condition is so imminently dangerous that preachers whether foreign or Chinese cannot reach their objectives when appointed, and Chinege pastors themselves sometimes quite strenuously urge the foreigners, men and women to keep to the city.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.