A telegram from Peking states that the Chinese Army is in process of disbandment, at least part of it. Disbandment news has been received with frank scepticism in many quarters up to the present, but, seeing that on the present occasion the troops to be dispersed are those who fought on the losing side in the recent campaigns, it may well be appreciated that' the victors should desire to see an end to them. Two divisions of the Frontier Force are already said to have disappeared, two and a half more plus seven mixed brigades are going to follow suit. But how many men all told? There used to be 6,000 rifles to a brigade, but we can hardly agree with such a figure to-day, for defeated armies in a country such as this have a habit of melting into space. If we went the length of 100,000 men under the present disbandment scheme we should probably be overestimating things. More +important is the method of disbanding. Are they turned loose to swell the robber hordes or is there for drafting them into ry? Upon the answer to that question depends whether the disbandment is to prove useful to the country or otherwise.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.