June 4, 1896.1
being shown the policeman, he repudiated the letter and its instructions," and although you had directed that the parties concerned were to have time and opportunity to clean their own pre- mises, he proceeded to do so there and then with his gang. Neither you nor the Board denied this statement of mine at the meeting, nor did you vouchsafe to inform the public how it came to pass that the written instructions of the Secretary of the Board were thus ignored By the policeman.
|
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. published in the local newspapers, the following statement appears:-" From inquiries that have been made, the Board is informed that the price of preparing plans for the alterations of cock- lofta has reached the handsome sum of from $25 to $75 each, so that doubtless large sums of money have been paid to work the 'oracle,' viz., the parties entrusted with the preparation of such plans."
Mesers Palmer & Turner, and Mr. Denison, we On behalf of myself, Messrs Leigh & Orange, 20.-The President in his letter to the Gov-protest most strongly against any such un- ernment on this subject states: "The con-
authorised statement on the part of the Pre- duct of a certain policeman in reference to his sident, so far as the matter refers to tirselves action after receiving a note signed by the (by insinuation or otherwise). I have the Secretary is too vague to admit of definite written, authority of the above gentlemen for investigation, neither the number nor that stating that in no case have their charges for of the premises referred to being given." preparing plans, &c., such as those referred to I beg again most strongly to protest by the President, exceeded the maximum sum against such a statement by the President, of $20, and in my own practice also I have with your knowledge, as misleading in the never charged more than that sum for similar highest degree, especially after your state work. The President never extended his en- ment in your minute that the men had been quiries to any of us, and we should be glad to themselves to you with your own letter in their know where he made them, and his authority hands, stating their own grievance; you and the for making such an accusation against the whole President must have known the shop. and the
of the architects in this colony. man. When they brought their complaints to me (I think on the 13th instant) I immediately sent them to you with your own letter of the 13th inst. (written on a large Sanitary Board memorandum form, and all in your own hand- writing). The parties returned in a short time to my office, saying they had seen you and that you have kept the letter, so I presume you have it now.
I venture to think the paragraph. just quoted, from the Board's letter to the Govern- ment, is what you would call, if I were the writer, "a gross misrepresentation."
21-No reference was made at the meeting or in your minutes as to whether policeman No. 103 is (as he told me he was) the sole au thority as to what sunshades should remain up and what should come down. That was one of the questions raised in my letter. The sun- shade in front of No. 55 is still in my opinion worse, owing to its mode of construction, than those that were adjoining it; these were made of zinc or tin laid on China fir boards, having no large holes or receptacles for filth or vermin to lodge therein; their thickness being about one inch only, exclusive of the battens to which the boards were fixed. The shade at No. 55 is "a built up one," having a deep false ceiling between the boards and the roof measuring from about 6 inches to 16 inches in depth, forming inside a large receptacle as before, mentioned for harbouring all kinds of dirt, filth, vermin, &c. I am still of opinion, seeing that other and equally good sunshades in the neighbourhood were removed, this one ought to have been removed also, and that its reten- tion or otherwise should not have been left to a policeman:
22-I deny the insinuations in the last paragraph of the letter to the Governor, and still adhere to the whole text of the last para- graph of my letter in the China Mail, which was as follows, viz., “No one appreciates more than myself the efforts of the Sanitary Board to improve the sanitation of the colony. I am now and always have been prepared to assist and support the carrying out of any reasonable measure for improving its sanitation, and in fact in some cases I would advocate even
more stringent measures. What I do object to, however, and that is the reason for my now writing you, is that all these regulations are not carried out consistently, without fear or favour,' and I hold that the Board and its officers should treat every one in the same manner, and not. blow hot and then cold Probably most of the owners referred to have received notices months and years ago, but they have been allowed to lapse, no steps being taken at the time to see them enforced. If a little more con- sideration was shown to the better-class Chinese, and no favouritism, but all treated in the same impartial manner, combined with a little tart on the part of the Board, I am sure you will find that the better-class Chinese, instead of obstructing the operations of the Board, would assist them all they possibly could. There is a right and a wrong way of doing things. In this matter, I am afraid, however, that the subordinate officials have struck the wrong way." In the letter from the Board to the Govern- ment (which was drafted by the President), and
The above-named gentlemen and myself deny the above statement and insinuations of the President most emphatically, and would look "pon it as a graceful act of justice on his part to ourselves if he would withdraw the above-quoted paragraph in the letter of the Board. to the Government.
*
I agree with the President "that there may be a difference of opinion as to what is abuse," and respectfully refer you to the last line in the President's minate, as to what I, and many other people, would call "abuse" serious kind.
of a very
I regret exceedingly having to take up and resume this matter in the way it has been forced upon me by the action of the Board at its last meeting. The original letter was published in the Press, that the mode in which the cleansing operations were being carried on throughout the city might be brought directly to the public notice of H.E. the Governor; the murmurings among all sections of the community were "not loud but deep," and I venture to think, with all respect, that had some of the principal officers with the of the Board been more in " touch community there would have been no occasion for any of these letters to have been written.- Yours truly,
WM. DANBY,
M. Inst. C.E, PS.-Copies of this letter will be sent to the
W. D.
local
papers.
ATTEMPT.NG TO BRIBE A SANI-
TARY BOARD INSPEÇIOR.
Hon. Commander W. C. H. Hastings, Lau Wah At the Police Court on the 1st June before Ching, a brothel keeper, of 19, 20, 21, Reclama- tion, Yaumati, was charged with attempting to bribe a Sanitary Board inspector.
Inspector Rennie said-I am Inspector of Nuisances in charge of No. 10 division, British Kowloon. At 4:30 p.m. on the 30th ult. I arrived home at 23, Praya, Yaumati. The defendant was there and my housekeeper told me she had come to ask me if I was going to pull down the rooms at her house. I told her that if the wood was dirty and rotten and conid not be properly cleansed without being removed it would be removed and burnt. I then sat down and defendant asked me, through the housekeeper, not to pull the rooms down, and she then put $15 in my left hand, saying I will give you this to buy whisky with." I sent for the police and she
was taken to the station.
The housekeeper corroborated, and a police- man spoke to arresting the defendant.
The case was committed for trial at the sessions.
REVIEW.
467
Mesny's Chinese Miscellany. A Text Book of
Notes on China and the Chinese. In two Volumes. By WILLIAM MESNY, F.R.G.S., F.R.Hist.8.. Brevet Lieutenant-General Chinese Army. Vol. I. Shanghai: Printed at the China Gazette Office. 1896. GENERAL MESNY has had a remarkable career, opportunities of acquiring interesting and valu- in the course of which he has had exceptional able information on things Chinese. Unfor tunately he has not the gift of imparting his information in such a way as to make it either interesting or generally useful to others. His ain, according to the preface to the present volume, is to supply "a handy and reliable standard anthority on China and things Chinese." Handy
At Shanghai on the night of the 21st May a man was murdered and two woman wounded by a gang of rowdies, the cause of the attack being that the man and women refused to afford their assailants facilities for drawing a lottery. On the alarm being given the detective branch of the police force were promptly turned out, with the result that nine of the criminals were arrested.
it most certainly is not; reliable it may be so far as its information goes, but "editors of news- papers, reviewers and general writers, as well as geographers and other scientific explorers, schoolmasters and lecturers " are not likely to look upon the Miscellany as the standard authority of which, according to Mesny, they stand so much in need. The General himself, however, appears well pleased with the result of his labours and thus apostrophises
it:-
"
General
As to my shortcomings, and many imper fections, I hope the public will be indulgent to- wards me, and that all who need a work of re- ference on China and the Chinese will kindly avail themselves of mine, until such time, at least, as a more capable writer has come forward to supply their wants, as well as mine, and bet- ter than I can do. Until such time, I say go forth then my little work, display thy light, feeble though it be, and mayest thon enlighten many a benighted pilgrim in search of facts or fiction, wisdom or mystery. Make friends of all thy readers, enemies of none what'er their sex or colour, creed or nationality. The world is wide I know, and it is said, there's room enough for all,' no doubt including thy meek self, on table, shelf, or stall. Some folks there be, who, for aught I know, may deem thou art but rub- bish, unfit for intellectual food. Others there be, I trow of better taste and mind, who will treat thee as a gem, though rough and un- polished, but genuine none the less. Once more I say go forth, my little light, what'er thy lot may be, in mercy, truth, and justice prove thy constancy. Thon mayest survive the battle though fierce, the strife may prove, and find a place on many a desk despite thy critic's mood."
16
The gem is certainly rough and unpolished and its genuiness is not above criticism. For instance, under the heading of "American Bible Society's agency," after a brief reference to the work of the Society-(why one Society should be picked out for mention in preference to all others does not appear)--we have some 'curious information about the Holy Bible," introduced on the plea that it "may prove interesting to the many missionaries and other readers of Mesny's Chinese Miscellany." - The information is taken from an American paper, is headed "The tree of knowledge," and the type is arranged in the shape of a tree, con- veniently padding out nearly half a page. A Chinese Miscellany is not quite the authority one would refer to for the number of letters,
etc., in the Bible. chapters, verses, have another instance under the head of "London." After the Chinese name of the metropolis, we have nearly a page of information about London, very indifferent information, and surely out of place in a work on
We
China. Perhaps the most conspicuous instance of padding, and the slovenliness with which it is introduced, is to be found under the heading "Masonic." If it was thought necessary to make any reference at all to Masonry in such a compilation a general statement of the posi- tion of the Craft in China, the number of Lodges, the constitutions under which they work, etc., might have been expected. Instead of that two individual masonic bodies, not specially repre- sentative ones, are picked out, the dates of their last installation meetings are given, with a full list of the officers of the year, and such particulars as that "at the close of the ceremony the com- pauions were entertained at a sumptuous ban- quet." In parts, too, the book appears to have been padded out from the dictionary, as for instance, “Chu-nu-To take a daughter-in-law,