Thursday's Times contains some curious items of news from China.
In the first place, its Shanghai correspondent tele- graphs that he learns "from an entirely trustworthy authority in the north " that Wang Chili-chun, the newly appointed Governor of Kwang-si, has received secret instructions from the Dowager-Empress "to use every endeavour speedily to secure the death of the reformer Kang Yu-wei." In curious contrast to this thoroughly old-fashioned Chinese action is the telegram from Tientsin which states that "the Viceroy Yuan Shih-kai is retaining the services of Captain Menzies, Criminal Judge under the Provisional Government, subject to the approval of the Chinese Government." That is, the Chinese Government—for the Empress-Dowager is the Government— is in one region maintaining the old system of the secret assassination of men whom it regards as political un- desirables, while in another a great officer of State is arranging to have the criminal law administered by a European Judge.
