We are glad that our mail continues to arrive regularly though delayed. The "North-China Daily News" arrives four or five at a time and takes fifteen days or more on ihe road. We have once more a foreign postal commissioner in Shensi—Mr, F. L. Smith was transferred here from Chungking just before Christmas and is a big asset in the social life of our small foreign community. Mr. and Mrs. W. England of the Scandinavian Al-hance Mission here just left for a well-earned furlough in America, Mr. England has done a great work in teaching and inspiring the Chinese church in this district and will be much missed.
The winter here was very dry but just when people were getting anxious about the wheat a heavy fall of snow at the beginning of March saved the situation. Since then two separate days of gentle rain have helped matters and the prospects for the harvest are excellent.
In parts of the country -bandits have been troublesome as they always are when the local authorities are busy with other things. On the main road to Lintang people have been fobbed constantly for several weeks and then the bandits went too far and took a motor car which was conveying an oficial to -the hot springs. Then the magistrate acted. Soldiers surrounded a village and found the car, seventeen bicycles and other stolen goods. More than a dozen men were arrested and most of them have boom shot, so for while probably that road will be safe.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.