'Since the wheat' harvest. freshets anied the Grand Canal in July, steam launches have again oniered the lists and, by lowering the Tien isin fare to 00 cents, are attracting considerable custom. There. appear be four launches in operation, two Fanning between Tsangchow " and Tientsin and two between Tsangchow and Paola @Pochen), 70 1 to the fouth. "The fare between the latter points is 30 cents, so that for 90 ents a passenger may travel from Paotou' to Tientsin, a distance early 400 Il by water. The tip to Flentsin from hereby launch. takes well over twelve hours, but, when {me ie no consideration and passengfers are well protected against the aments, & saving of 20 of 90 cents appeals to slender purses, Naturally this competition hat eliminated, for the time being, the ehichuan, oF ex: press boats, which formerly' carried Capacity loads of voyagers to Tien-{sin at 50 cents a head but took much Tonger on the Journey.
'Unfortunately. the Magistrate, 'Me. 'Ya Chen-ching, the 'Yenching University graduate, who took office, in the arly' summer, soon came under the pleasure of the higher authorities, Snexperlence in dealing with a tur Dbulent. district ike this Ted to. his failure in suppressing the prevalent banditry and he has been degraded. His. successor, Mr, Li Kuo-chun
fmillisry man, who made. big Tep-Comes tus from Halenhslen an lation against the lawless. The hew incumbent has been given, the Fesponsible concurrent post. of Com-ai sioner for Bendit Suppression tu this and half-dozen neighbouring fislen and. if he lives up to his rep: {ation, the gentlemen of the road fre in for a lively time, Presumably hho will be supplied with an adequate force to deal with the situation.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.