June 17.
The members of the Government have been in conference at Kuling. There has been a resignation of his post by Mr.
Soong accompanied by a homily on the state of the country's finances, Reports of the activity of bandits in Honan and Hupeh have now been supplemented by news of their gravely upsetting the morale of the Government in Anwhei, where, the apparently wel thenticated story of his release being unfounded, the unfortunate Mr, Ferguson is being paraded in bandit hands round the villages of that Province. Canton is exercising its virtual dependence by imposing additional levies to raise funds for itary operations against the "reds" in Fukien and Kiangsi, In the far west there is a report of Tibetan invasion and ay appeal to Nanking for assistance. This;|seems hardly the time to be confident of the ability of the Government—or any likely substitute—to pursue a policy of rehabilitation in peace and quiet. Yet it would seem as if the country thrived on the accumulation of misfortunes. Mr, Song's resignation has been neither accepted nor withdrawn, It may be assumed that every effort will be made to induce him to reconsider it. After all-he has reason to comply if the stern ban jon further military expenditure accepted by the Government, ist as, under the persuasively practical influence of the ba ers, it has come to realise that a self-denying ordinance, in the refusal to resort. to borrowing, is good for its health as a going concern. Mr. Soong can point to five months administration in which foreign loan services have been met without borrowing. If the Government jean accept his recipe and retain Ihis services in putting it into practice, China may be able, with favourable harvests and mo un-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.