194
devoted to other ends, in attempting to find some grounds, just or unjust, for accusing his neighbour of rudeness or insult, or in lying in wait like an assassin for an opportunity of socially stabbing him in the back by enlarging on his faults, or inventing for him faults which he does not possess, and belittling or concealing his virtues, can be held to have reached a no more advanced stage of civilization than the Fijian, whose ethics of enmity are so little qualified by the ethics of amity as to havo pro- duced "intense and vengeful malignity as a characteristic mental feature of the tribe. He whose sole business consists in endeavouring to hinder the progress of others very often finds that he succeeds only in stopping his own. Aggression leads to counter-aggression, generally of a more incisive and destruc- tive kind. The savagery of civilization
shown in the thirst for retaliation cannot but
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[March 4, 1896.
bad ones, to see what a great gulf it is which is civilized shall come and enter into the in- fixed between the two kinds of life.
We 10.
Two essentials to civilization are a clean body and
a clean mind. Whilst cognise the necessity of the one, we do not seem to even suspect the necessity of the other. Not to dwell on the time wasted by allowing our minds to lie fallow or ning them for useless purposes, the undeniable fact remains that habits of thought exercise power- ful influences over our lives both physically and intellectually, and that he who devotes his mind to its proper and full uses will gain greater benefit than that to be derived merely from the employment of his intellect in the cause of self-civilization, important though this may be in itself. He will, in short, be the better man, and a nation composed of in- dividuals like him will be a better nation than one in which the habits of thought remain on a lower or less active level. It is all part and parcel of that training and discipline tending towards complete life as opposed to that tending towards stagnation and death. As underlying so much that is vital in our social constitution and as giving untold advantage over those who neglect them, the truths that point to an efficient use of our best talents are above all others those we can least afford to disregard.
be regarded as a survival of the primitive blood fend, which continued until an equal number of victims had been killed on both sides. The lack of the re-representative emotions which hold the simpler ones in check, so conspicuous in the Chinook Indian or in the Brazilian, who is said to rage over and bite a stone against which he strikes his foot, is no less conspicuous in our modern social in- tercourse. In brief, it is impossible to study Complete moral civilization must thus sup- our present moral state without having the plement complete physical and intellectual conviction thrust upon us that, as seen in civilization before we can be certain of securing these absurd and useless though harmful a continuance of that process of social advance survivals, much of our new civilization is
which bas been going от from the but an aggravated form of the old savagery beginning, and which, as likely to produce differently spelt. "In the average mind," the highest form of life possible on this earth, says one of our philosophers, "the pain con-
it is our duty to promote to the best of our abi stituted by consciousness of having done some- lities. Yet this highest state is not to be thing intrinsically wrong bears but a small reached without an effort, and as we value our ratio to the pain constituted by the conscious civilization and the welfare of our children's ness of others' reprobation: even though this children, our life, our work, our homes, our reprobation is excited by something not in- ideals, we must see to it that we make this effort trinsically wrong. Consider how difficult it
now, while yet we may. It behoves us, more- would be to get a lady to wheel a coster-over, whilst seeing to our moral salvation as the monger's barrow down Regent Street, and how easily she may be led to say a malicious thing about some lady she is jealous of-contrast the intense repugnance to the one act, which is not in itself reprehensible, with the feeble repugnance to the other, which is in itself reprehensible; and then infer how great is the evolution of the moral sentiments yet required to bring hunian nature iuto complete fitness for
the social state."
heritance prepared for those who by using their talent to advantage instead of hiding it in the ground, shall deserve and receive this best reward. In this matter we cannot let the morrow take thought for the things of itself without committing the great sin of placing teeming races of men, unambitious and unclean, our descendants defenceless at the mercy of
to whom civilization in the true sense of the word is and ever must be impossible. As far as we know it, the Universe is but dark and cold, the stars being only infinitesimal specks com- pared with the vast oceans of space which separate one from the other. Yet in our little corner of it, insignificant though it is and what- ever the object of our existence in it may be, an inexorable law commands us, though we cannot sco beyond nor conceive any ulterior benefit, to make upwards or be crushed under the conqueror's heel. There is no other way. We must secure the world for the best race. And our warrant for doing this is, that the sum total of pain will be less if the world is ruled by a civilized race than if misruled by a savage одо, -Contributed.
THE HONGKONG HOTEL CO., LIMITED.
to be presented at the ordinary meeting of The following is the report of the directors
at noon on Friday next shareholders to be held at the Company's hotel
:
The directors have now, in accordance with section 53 of the articles of association, to submit to the shareholders their report and statement of accounts for the six months ended 31st December, 1895.
The profit on working account amounted for the six months to $24,258.56, as compared with $5,714.06 for the corresponding period of 1895, being an in- crease of $18,545,50.
*
The profit and loss account shows a credit balance of $3,175.38 (after writing off $4,288,58 for bad debta contracted prior to 1895, and paying $,4,698.60 for improvements to building and additions to furniture, &c.) as compared with $576.92 at credit of the ac count on the 31st December, 1894, and as against a debit balance of $10,379.17 on the 31st December, 1893.
Your directors propose to deal with the balance as follows:-
To write $5,000 off furniture and to carry the sum of 83,175.38 to next account.
This course has been decided upon in view of the
be made during the present year. in furniture, appointments, &c., and which must
one thing needful to secure victory in the com- ing contest, to abstain also from acting the part of traitor to our race by aiding the enemy in however small a way, except in so far as it may be to our own advantage as a nation to do so. In this light both the missionary and the mer- cenary, who hires his body if not his soul for money to a people of low type, must be con- sidered as committing immoral acts. Respect ing the latter, at any rate, it may safely be said that the growing feeling of patriotism and pride of race must cause to be regarded with increas-absolute necessity existing for considerable renewals ing repugnance any inversion of the order of civilization whereby the white man places him- self beneath the yellow or black savage-an ar rangement which, its participants being neither one thing nor the other (since there is no complete surrender of nationality as might be shown by adoption of the dress and manners and opinions of the lower race), must sooner or later result in their sharing the fate of the lukewarm church of Laodicea and being ejected from the stomachs of both parties. He who would be in a position to stand up straight before God-a quality indispensable to com. plete civilization-must first be able to main- tain an erect attitude before his fellow men
If there be any who think these matters trifling and too unimportant to be taken into serious account, let them recall to mind the scientific fact that praise, by stimulating the nerves acting on the visceral muscles, may and does promote digestion, and it will readily be seen how much greater the sum total of our activities might be by general exercise of a properly adjusted mutual sympathy. As the minute invisible germ may cause an unhealthy state of the whole body, so the apparently most trivial matters, if allowed to remain in the system, may produce a diseased social condition. The type of half-caste mind indicated by its double character reproduces the worst character- istics of both states, just as the half-caste body inherits the lowest traits of both parents. But the matter bears a still more important On this condition then alone can we rationally aspect. If acquired characters are inherited, as hope to retain our ascendancy on the earth, to scientists now generally admit them to be, further our civilization, and to look forward we see that our actions and frames of mind with confidence to the adrent of a millennium in have a social and historical as well as an which our posterity shall enter into the inheri individual significance, and that we are now tance it is yet in our power to secure for them. forming not only our own characters, but to But let us not make the great error of supposing some extent those also of our children and that our race, any more than others which of future generations. So that those mental have gone before it, possesses qualities which features which we may now happily still regard will bring as victory without great exertion on as only temporary may, if not checked in time, our part. That is no doubt what many a nation by and by become permanent, to the incalculable has thought in the past, yet one and all rose and injury of the race.
The character of a nation, fell and crept away into the silent darkness. we repeat, is the character of its component The fight has yet to be fought, and only on the units. Not only is the prevalent state of un- condition that our armour is strong and that civilization in itself prejudicial to the society, nothing is wanting when the time of trial but it also negatives that co-operation without comes can we rightly hope for vietory. Once which there can be no successful resistance to
we have seen to this, we may rest assured that aggression. The point is, that we do not lead no forces of any kind will prevail against a as efficient lives as we might. Many of us only people three-thirds civilized.
As no one really exist, which is what the plant or the cow does. believes that the idiot or the fraud or the black What we want is to live. It needs but to call guard or the backbiter is the "coming man," to mind the healthier condition of him who so neither can we believe that a halt or un- habitually endeavours, when he has time to intelligent or immoral race will rule the world. concern himself with him, to discover his neigh-All peoples of the earth are but occupying bour's good points instead of to dilate on his until the physically, intellectually, and morally
|
DIRECTORS. `
Messrs. R. C. Wilcox and W. Parfitt retire by rotation, but being eligible offer themselves for re election.
AUDIT.
The accounts have been audited by Messrs. W. H. Potts and W. H. Gaskell, who are recommended for re-election.
R. CHATTERTON WILCOX, Chairman. Hongkong, 27th February, 1896.
BALANCH SHEET, 31ST DECEMBER, 1895.
To Hotel property
ASSET).
Marine lot No. 5, and remaining $ 0. portion of marine lot No. 3... 412,523.04 Remaining portion of marine
lot No. 7 Praya reclamation, as per last
report.....
To furniture account-
AB per
last report. Since added
Less written off as recommended
in last report....
To stock of wines and provisions To steam launch To cash. To shares, as per last report
Less shares sold
408,157.26
12,543.17
833,223.47
$84,799.47
1,829.60
86,628.07
1,000.00
85,628.07-
15,317.67
2,500.00
152.78
$11,474.19 4,455,00
7,019.19
480.00 2,100.02
To licences attaching to 1896.. To fire insurance, 1896 To Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Cor-
poration......
To accounts receivable..
21,628.89
›: 13,577.75.
3981,627.79
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