Rice is 2 per cent. higher than at this time last year. Two reasons given. One is the plague of insects that injured the growing crop last autumn, The other is the heavy demands made on rice stocks by the military when the "autumn maneuvers" were started from Hangchow in October. The farmers are feeling the pinch of the increased price as in many cases they are unable to pay next year's rent in kind and are obliged to pay. in cash at the advanced price. The landlords have refused to remit any rents on the grounds that there was neither drought nor flood last year, The outlook for the poor man is, not good as the end of the old Chinese year approaches.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.