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Manila, would have made the journey more comfortable. Another early visitor was Father John Smith of Kong Moon mission, just returning from the States. Apparently his stay at home had made him careless and he had not been on the Hong Kong streets very long before he was "taken" by several urchins who successfully "lifted" his fountain pen while pretending to fight over the privilege of shining his shoes.
Early in April, Father Tennien returned to Shanghai after a visit to Hong Kong. At this time, Father Brack recovered a goodly number of articles which the Carmelite Sisters had managed to save from looters by storing them in their convent. Among these were books, vestments, an adding machine and some typewriters, together with a lot of stationery. They had also kept in their convent a large wooden crucifix and two large statues, both the beautiful handwork of Brother Albert, to be replaced in the Chapel.
In addition to the ravages caused by the Japanese on Stanley House, another enemy moved in and inflicted more damage. This enemy was white ants, and they did a rather thorough job on much of the woodwork that had remained otherwise intact.
We learned that national currency was getting to the point where one "weighed" it rather than "counted" it. A big shopping spree in Shanghai or Canton required hiring a coolie or ricksha to carry enough bundles of paper currency to pay the bills. At the same time, prices in Hong Kong were outrageous; a cheap white suit costing HK$160—over ten times the pre-war price!
A Korean Dominican priest, Father Ri, stayed at Stanley while working with Japanese political prisoners now detained in the Stanley jail where the British and American internees spent the war years.
In May, Archbishop Zanin, Apostolic Delegate to China, arrived by plane from Shanghai for a conference with more than a dozen Ordinaries of South China, including our four Ordinaries.
Bishop Paschang arrived at Stanley for the conference, with a Van Dyke beard. Only his episcopal rank saved him from the customary Stanley practice of removing beards by force!
Our jeep made five trips into Hong Kong in one day. Sometimes it must carry nine passengers with baggage, but without it, we would be lost.