The agricultural ce-operative societies have yet to be organized on an extensive "scale, An investigation which as just been concluded shows that the rate of Interest on loans made in different rural districts in the province ranges at the moment. between 18 per cent. and 30 per cent. er annum, Another effort to help meet part. of Szechuen's deficit last year is to made by the anti-opium authorities, who are to open 36 "Poor People's Opium Smoking Shops." These are to be set up on the promises of the opium sales bureaux which are to be established by the government 'A' week's search for unregistered opium smokers, together with an examination of the licences of reglsterfed smokers, commenced, from midnight to dawn, on July 21. A door. to-door search was made, and resulted in the arrest of a number of suspected addicts and private opium den oper-
One licence, it should be pointed out, has now been ruled to cover only one person, one pipe, and one lamp, Any smoking apparatus found to be not covered by the licence is Hable to be confiscated. The Mayor of Chungking, cling tudor the in-'Sructions of the Provincial and Anti-Opium Authorities, has notified the public that Iiconces will be. issued free to smokers, such as rickshaw pullers, sedan chair bearers and other coolies, who are too poor to pay for them.
Meanwhile, from Fengtu, one of the ten Szechuen counties.permitted to grow poppies this year, comes a report that its production of opium this year amounted to 1,500,217.8 ounces.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.