729
THE CHINESE POSTAL SERVICE.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
The Shanghai Local Post Tariff has been fized at so low a rate that the proposed charges by the Imperial Chinese Post seem at first night excessive, but they bear comparison very well with the rates charged in other countries. The system of
of a uniform rate for the whole Chinese empire, whatever the distance, has been adhered to, the charges to all the open ports including Hongkong, Macao, and
ormosa, being:
For letters not exceeding ‡ ounce..............
2 cents For letters not exceeding & ounce.. 1.4 cents and 2 cents for every additional † ounce.
For post cards, each....
...1 cent ✦ cent 1 cent oz.2 cents .4 cents For registration return receipt ..4 cents For parcels first Ib. 10 cents, each
.5 cents subsequent lb. The limit of weight of parcels is 11lbs., and the limit of size 2ft. by lft. by lft,
*Domestic mail matter sent by overland courier to the North during the winter months in subject to the special tariff.
For Chinese newspapers, each ... For Foreign newspapers, each For books, patterns, eto:, etc., per 2 For registration
A note is added that in the postal currency $11,000 cash; and we understand that the cents mentioned above are cents of a Mexican dollar. N. C. Daily News.
HONGKONG.
The Hon. Wa Ting-fang, the new Chinese Minister to the United States, arrived from the North on the 22nd January.
In the Rugby football match, The Club Navy played at Happy Valley on Monday, the former obtained an easy victory, winning by seven goals to nil.
It is notified in the Gazette that Tuesday, 2nd February, being the Chinese New Year's Day and a bank holiday, is to be observed as a holiday throughout the Government depart-
ments.
Unusual smartness Chinese coolies
the Police Court on the 221 men lived in a house near H
January 2
Several but one
the
and
them decided to quit his lodgings the night of the 20th inst. He settled up the whole of his bills before leaving and it was generally thought that he had taken his departure from the neigh- bourhood. During the early hours of the morning $8.50 was stolen from a box house, the thief having gained entrance by pushing his hand behind the door an
The police At the invitation of H.E. the Governor the ing the latch,
ce at Hong ham remaining members of the committee which were communicated with and sus
The com arranged the celebration of the Queen's Jubilee fell upon the erstwhile lodger. met at the Government Offices on Saturday to plaining parties were instructed to keep a consider the steps to be taken for the cele-look-out for him and they at once came over bration of the completion of the sixtieth year to Hongkong and fortunately caught s of Her Majesty's reign. The Hon. C. P. Chater of him in the Queen's Road near No. 5 Police
Station. The thief— -he at once admitt occupied the chair. It was decided to recom- mend His Excellency to appoint a committee theft was surprised at his early captur consisting of the members of the old Jubilee seemed anxious to be taken to the nearest
up. committee with a number of additions to as-
But this procedure would not suit the certain the wishes of the community.
convenience of his captors, who kept a tight At 10.20 p.m. on the 18th January a grip of him and took him all the way back to fire broke out on the second floor of a Hongham, where they handed their prize over piece goods shop at 138, Jervois Street. to the care of the police. He is now serving a The fire brigade promptly responded to the sentence of four months' imprisonment with alarm, but it was impossible to save the hard labour. premises from complete destruction, as the fire quickly shot through the whole place and so the efforts of the men were in a large degree confined to preventing the spread of the flames to the adjoining houses. In this the fire. men were successful and there was only a slight damage, which was occasioned by water, to Nos. 136 and 140. The premises were insured with Messrs. Carlowitz & Co. for $5,000. The origin of the fire was the upsetting of a koro- sine lamp.
The great social event of the week was the English ball which was given at the City Hall last Friday. It was generally pronounced one of the most gorgeous and enjoyable functions ever given in the colony. His Excellency the
The following telegram has been received at Governor made two important appearances in Singapore from Raub - The crushing for the public this week. On the 20th inst, he opened two months ended January 9th has been com- the lecturing season of the Hongkong Odd pleted; and shows that 2,400 tons of stone have Volumes Society by delivering an excellent been crushed, realising 1,806 ounces of smelted lecture at Government House on Charles Dic-gold." The Free Press says:This is an kens, and on the 22nd inst. he distributed the prizes at Queen's College. The anniversary of Burns birthday was celebrated by a concert at the City Hall on the 25th inst.
There were 4,219 visitors to the City Hall Museum last week, of whom 218 were En-
ropeans.
The entries for the Races have been published. For the Derby there are 23 entries and for the Challenge Cup 48.
The Hon. Treasurer of the Alice Memorial and Nethersole Hospitals begs to acknowledge with thanks the following donation to the funds of the Hospitals:-
{
Zoroastrian Charity Fund
$250.
The Registfar-General's returns of births and deaths for the fourth quarter of 1896 give the birth rate for the British and Foreign community as 24.08 and the death rate as 25.91. Amongst the Chinese community the birth- rate was 3.61 and the death-rate 21.27.
|
The match between H.M.S. Centurion aud the Hongkong Football Club in the shield com- petition was witnessed on the 21st January by an unusually large crowd. The spectators were treated to a capital game, which was, however, marred by two or three weak displays in front of goal which meant the loss of points to both sides. The first half was very keenly contested, the Club having rather the better of the game bnt both teams at times passed particularly well, their great weakness being in front of goal. Neither side had scored when half time was called. The second portion of the game was all in favour of the sailors, but they could not once succeed in breaking down the Club's defence, and as the Club also failed to put the ball through extra time was played. Two minutes after the re-start the Centurion scored and the point was greeted with tremendous eering by the man-of-warsmen on the ground. The game, which had all through been fast, became fasterstill and the excitement increased when the Club put the ball through and made matters equal. In the last ten minutes the Club threw away a splendid chance of winning; a swift slot would have won them the game, unity was not taken advantage the player missing and then muffing the ill When the final whistle blow the game stood a draw, one goal each.
•
|
|
excellent wind up to the year's work, the average being almost 88 good as that of the preceding two months. To get 15 dwts. 8 ton out of two thousand four hundred tons at 8 time when, owing to the effect of floods, no stoue was being sent to the mill from the Raub Hole lodes, shows that the big reefs at Bukit Koman, which were at first believed to afford quantity rather than quality, are now proving capable, without any "stiffen- ing" from the Raub Hole reefs, of producing excellent bulk crushings. The return for the two months represents over £7,000, or say over $65,000.
directories for
|
The Chronicle and Directory for China, Japan, &c., for 1897, is more voluminous than ever. The publishers have for years used every device for compressing information, but the work necessarily grows with the increase of the foreign population in Eastern Asia. The field it embraces has this year been, by particular request, widened to include the Netherland Indies, with which trade is continually grow- ing and the communication becoming more frequent. In consequence Batavia, Samarang, Sourabaya, Macassar, and Padang, with accurate descriptions, brought up to latest date, of the islands of Java, Celebes, and Sumatra, together with accounts of the chief ports, will be found following the North Borneo Directory. All the other ports have been brought up to date, both as to the descriptions, directories, and statistics. The usual valuable maps and plans which have been so appreciated in the past will be found in their places, also brought up to date and rplemented by a new plan of Tientsin showing the British, French, so-called Americar, and the lately ceded German concession. The extent of the foreign settlements of the rthern port will, we imagine, surprise some of our readers, even those who were formerly fcquainted with it. The Appendix has been also subjected to revision, and in it will be found the text of the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Japan and China, signed at Peking on the 21st July, 1896. The work, which has reached its thirty-fifth year of publication, now incorporates not only the "
• “China Directory" but the "Hongkong Directory and Hong List for the Far East
Last Sunday evening, at the invitation of the Trustees of the Parsee Charity Fund, almost all the members of the Parsee com. munity in this colony met at their premises in Elgin Street to offer prayers invoking the Almighty to abate the bubonio fever now raging in Bombay, and to alleviate the distress and suffering from famine that is raging almost in the whole of India. After special prayers a sum of $1,100 was subscribed on the spot for transfer by wire to Bombay for the general expenses of the special fever hospital started at Bombay for the Parsees by the eminent Parsee doctor, Dr. K. N. Bahadurjse, under the support and auspices of the Trustees of the Parsee Charity Funds in Bombay, The sum of Rs. 2,000 was remitted by wire on Monday. A laudable zeal was also evinced by the meeting to start an Indian relie fund on the spot, but after some consideration it was deemed advisable to postpone same for any wider measures for help that it may pro- bably be considered essential to inaugurate in the colony. At the time of the Irish Relief Fund, the Indian community, at the call of Messrs. H. N. Mody and H. M. Mehta, who were appointed members of the committee then organized by Sir John Pope Hennessy, very liberally contributed the handsome sum of $3,000, and we are quite confident that the exhibited by other same spirit will be nationalities in this colony for the Indian Famine Relief Fund as soon as it is considered opportune to start the same in Hongkong.
Stupidity and wanton obstinacy on the part of a quartermaster named Franklin resulted in his getting a biting rebuke from the Magistrate on Tuesday and a sentence of imprisonment which will probably tame his wild spirits. Franklin was a quartermaster on the P. and O. steamer Canton, and while in the wheel house he struck one of the coloured seamen, who, he said, was asleep when he should have struck the time bell. The fourth officer remonstrated with Franklin for committing the assault and Franklin said he would serve the officer in the same manner and he thereupon carried out his threat. For these two assaults he was logged and on the entry being read over to him he behaved in an insolent manner to the captain and was consequently given into custody At the Police Court yesterday he admitted the offence when the charge was read over and his Worship sent him to gaol for six prisoner then demanded the evi. weeks. The prisone dence of the witnesses and while it was being taken his conduct in the dock was very unr The evidence throw further light on the case and the magistrate altered the sentence of three months imprisonm labour. In passing this Hastings said it was men brought disgrace on
so let in foreigners, who we
er nigh to discipline. The priso himself in the wheelhou allowed to do so in the Polic good to a shipping company
him
Page 20Page 21