The Times on Thursday published a statement, said to come
from the Chinese Embassy, which would indicate that China has resolved on war. War, it is stated, will not be declared, but Bacninh will be defended by the "large bodies" of Chinese regulars now massed there. That is war, and, according to the Hong Kong telegrams, the Chinese think so. Not content with garrisoning Hainan, where the officials say they expect an im- mediate descent, the Mandarins in Canton have blocked the river by sinking small ships loaded with stones, have garrisoned the Rogue forts, and have called out the militia of the province. The correspondent of the Nev Yeirlz Herald thinks them quite sincere, but they may be only alarmed. A Chinese army is believed to be marching on Bacninb, and Admiral Conrbet is expected to hasten his attack, but there is no direct evidence that he is hastening it. He is busily occupied in clearing out " pirates " from the lower districts of the delta.
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