There were at that time no cables to the Far East, and the first telegrams which appeared in the "North-China Daily News" were generally headed "By Land Line to Brindisi" whence they were taken by packet to Port Said, and thence to the Far East via Suez.
It was a saving of a few days, but even then sufficient to justify a merchant in Shanghai transmitting cable messages by mail to Brindisi, whence they were telegraphed to London.
The number of telegrams was remarkably small, most days there being only one of perhaps less than 15 words—while when Reuters, the first news agency to come to the Far East, really became riotous, as many as three messages, totalling perhaps 60 words when the cables were expanded, -reached Shanghai, There was, naturally, in such a small community as was then resident in this port, not a great deal of news. It seems to have been collected by one man, who was editor, reporter, proof-reader and practically every other type of assistance necessary for the production of a paper. Thus even so late as "Bob" Little's day, when he did have something in the nature of a staff, it was his wont daily to perambulate the Bund, picking up news for himself.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.