Accompanied by the staff officer and the representative of the civil yamen we then went out to the compound outside the South Gate. The gates were guarded by sentries with fixed bayonets, but} these saluted the staff officer and we got into the compound. A desolating sight met our eyes. The place was full of troops, who swarmed over the dwellings: and!
There is one very good piece] of news to-day, which incidentally reacts on this and other matters.
The Commissioner for Foreign Affairs has been cashiered—from Canton, and his. "resign: announced in to-day's papers. The reason is said to be his unauthorized taking over of the Native Customs within 50 li of the port, these! being in the control of the Maritime! Customs. This augurs the restoration of.these stations to the Customs. The man who is being displaced has made himself very unpopular: he is Red and - antic foreign. for the opening of the government schools either.
Anti-foreign - or anti-Christian fooling is not very noticeable. The Christmas festivities at the Church were as popular og ever and attracted the usual crowds. There is altogether too marked an indifference to religious matters. Small children occasionally call out unpleasant: epithets as the foreigner passes, through the streets and once in a one notices a new ant foreign poster, black paper with white characters;—and posters from the Chungking Hoo Yuan-hwei continue to appear from time to time, but otherwise, neither mis-nor church' come in for notice. Our friends continue to invite us to dino- with them and the annual subscriptions for the mission hospital are what tone would consider normal in number and amounts. Exchange on Shanghai is coming down from the high figure of 15 per cent. premium to six or seven.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.