April 28, 1897.]
CHINÀ OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
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precautions by disinfecting the drains and The proprietress of the Traveller's Hotel, carefully cleansing the more uncleanly quarters. Victoria Street, was on the 21st April fined $15 But the sooner they order the burial of the for serving intoxicating liquors during pro. coffins in the Chinese Hospital the better.hibited hours and refusing to show her licence Two years ago plague was very prevalent just to the police. behind the coffin depot and it seems probablė It is rather curious, says the Singapore Free that the bacillus has found a nidus there Press, to see that the Hongkong Volunteers and has become active again this year owing have, perhaps as an echo of the Singapore mot to the atmospheric conditions favouring it.to, "In Oriente Primus," adopted the motto Keeping corpses unburied for lengthened "Nulli Secundus in Oriente." Have they laid periods must be dangerous and in all cases aside or forgotten their own old historical mot- burial should take place within twenty-four to-that of the Hongkong Volunteers (1862) hours of death.
and the Canton Volunteers (1865)—“ Coelum non animum muto," with the "Dragon" badge? |
On the 23rd April Surgeon-Colonel Evatt, Principal Medical Officer, examined the ambu lance class of the Hongkong Volunteer Corps. He first gave written questions to the class to answer and afterwards pat verbal questions to. them, concluding by putting them through a course of stretcher drill. He explained at the finish that he would report the result in two or three days and that those who passed would be entitled to wear the Red Cross of the Geneva Convention.
HONGKONG.
It has at length been decided what form the Hongkong memorial of the completion of the sixtie' year of Her Majesty's reign shall take. The Committee appointed to consider the sub- ject met on Monday afternoon and it was re- solved to build a hospital for women and chil- dren and in connection with it to have a train- ing institute for nurses, and also to commence the construction of a road round the island. This decision is a popular one and there should be no difficulty in raising the $50,000 which it is expected will be forthcoming from public subscriptions. To this amount the Govern- ment will add an additional $50,000 and half the total sum will be given to each of the two schemes. The Hon. F. A. Cooper, Director of Public Works, is leaving the colony next week for Colombo and at the ordinary meeting of the Sanitary Board held on Thursday last a vote of thanks was passed to him for the invaluable public services he had rendered to the colony, Mr. Cooper was also entertained to dinner on Saturday night by the Civil Service. In con- nection with a fire in Jevois. Street on the 21st inst. five men are in custody charged with arson. There was a fire on the Belgic on the 22nd inst., but fortunately the damage was comparatively slight.
The Hon. Treasurer of the Alice Memorial and Nethersole Hospitals begs to acknowledge with thanks the following donation to the funds of the Hospitals:
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Rev, R. F. Cobbold, M.A. Mr. A. G. Ward gave an organ recital at St John's Cathedral on Monday afternoon, as- sisted by Miss Murray Bain and Mr. D. K. Sliman as vocalists, who gave two duets. The programme was as follows
i
Musical society in Hongkong has sustained a loss in the departure of Mr. E. A. Measor, who left by the Verona for Nagasaki, whither he has gone to take up an appointment in the firm of Messrs. Holme, Ringer & Co.. Mr. Measor, himself the possessor of a good tenor voice, is an enthusiast in musical matters and an ex- cellent organiser, and it was largely to him that the colony was indebted for the enjoyable concerts that have taken place during the last. few years.
At six minutes past two on Sunday morning a fire broke out at 95, Winglok Street, a building of three storeys used as a cloth, matting, and flour store. The Fire Brigade, under Mr. May, turned out and succeeded in confining the flames to the one building, the two upper storeys of which were practically burnt out, while the contents of the ground floor were damaged principally by water. Insurance was effected in the South British Fire Insurance Company for $6,000 and for a similar amount in the Hongkong Fire Insurance Company.
At the Magistracy on the 23rd April a chair coolie was sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment for trying to swindle Mr. G. P. Lammert. The prosecutor gave the prisoner a marked twenty- cent piece and soon after receiving it the coolie asserted that it was bad and produced a coin which was undoubtedly counterfeit. It was not the good one that Mr. Lammert had given him and the swindler was thus nicely caught. This is a common dodge and it is to be hoped that the punishment ordered by Mr. Wodehouse will act as a warning to other coolies with a similar weakness.
At the regular Convocation of Victoria Chapter, No. 525, E.C., held on 20th April M.E. Comp. E. C. Ray (in the absence of M.E. Comp. C. P. Chater, D.G. Supt.), attended by the D.G. Officers, installed the following Prin- cipals for the ensuing year:-M.E.Z., M.E. Comp. G. A. Caldwell; H., E. Comp. D. Mac- The donald; J., E. Comp. R. Mitchell. M.E.Z. invested his officers as follows:-So. E., Comp. G. Piercy, Jr.; Sc. N., Comp. W. J. Tutcher; P.S., Comp. G. J. B. Sayer; 1st A.S., Comp. J. Lochead; 2nd A.S., Comp. G. C. Hayward; Treas., Comp. H. M. H. Nemazee; Steward, Comp. F. M. Richardson; Janitor, Comp. J. Maxwell.
Fugue (St. Ann's) in E flat, in five parts, J. S. Bach, Duel...... "Love Divine"-("Daughter of Jarius") J. Stainer, Ja.
a. Serenade (Schubert) arranged for Organ by E. H. Lemare. b. Andantino
Cesar Franck. Fantasia
"The Storm"
J. Lemmens. Duet "My Song shall be alway" ("Hymn of Praise") Mendelssohn. Festive March
H. Smart. The fugue on the well-known hymn tune of St. Ann's was a pleasant introduction to an excellent programme.
In the third number Schubert's serenade was rendered with charm- ing effect, the canon being given with marked precision; the andantino was also all that could be wished. The principal number, how. ever, was the fourth, J. Lemmens' fantasia "The Storm," in which, the ability of the performer and the quality of the instru- ment were both conspicuously displayed, quite remarkable effects being produced in the pat- tering of the rain drops, the whistling and howling of the wind, and the rolling of the thunder, with the gentle accompani-fusing to stop when called upon by a police pin- ment representative of the worship of those
the tempest. The exposed to
perfor- mance of this difficult piece was noteworthy and proved Mr. Ward to be an accomplished master of the organ in technique and to possess highly developed qualities of im- agination and feeling, The last of the festive numbers for the organ, Smart's march, was played with appropriate spirit and vivacity. Both the vocal items were good. Miss Bain has a pleasing soprano voice and with a little more experience in its use great things may be expected of her. Mr. Sliman was perhaps not in quite such good voice as usual, but it is always a pleasure to hear Mr. Sliman sing, even when he is not quite at high water mark. A collection was made in aid of the organ fund.
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There were 2.077 visitors to the City Hall Museum last week, of whom 219 were Euro- peans.
The four-masted barque Ancona, which was considered very much overdue and for whose safety grave fears were entertained, arrived at Shanghai on the 19th April, having occupied 243 days over the passage from New York.
With reference to press telegram a reporting the robbery of Rs 75,000 from the Rangoon Agency of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, the Bank has received advice of the recovery of the total amount with the exception of Re 500.
The Hon. Treasurer of the Indian Famine Relief Fund begs to intimate that he has for warded the sum of Rs. 38 to the Hon. Sec. Central Committee, Calcutta, being the equi- valent of $240 at Ex. 160 received from the C. P. steamer Empress of India.
At the Magistracy on Monday a man was sent to gaol for six months for stealing $485 from the safe of a salt dealer in Jubilee Street. The, man opened the safe by means of false keys. He was arrested by Inspector Stanton and Sergeant Holt, who recovered nearly $200 of the stolen money.
On the 23rd April Mr, W. C. Barlow gave a lecture to the Odd Volumes Society, his sub- jest being John Stuart Blackie. Mr. Barlow gave some interesting facts about the late pro- fessor and added one or two personal reminis- cences, At the conclusion a vote of thanks was passed to the lecturer on the motion of Hon. J. H. Stewart Lockhart, who presided.
A coolie in the employ of Messrs. A. S. Watson & Co. was sent to gaol for six weeks on Saturday for stealing five bottles of mineral water and a quantity of whisky and brandy from the store. There have been several petty robberies from Messrs. Watson's store of late and on Friday the prisoner was caught by the watchman taking the whisky, brandy, and mineral water away under his jacket.
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On the 21st April the complete list of efficient members of the Hongkong Volunteer ('orps was issued. The total number in the Field Battery is 77 and in the "A" Machine Gun Co. ·22. The following members of the Machine Gun Co. have been awarded marksmen's badges:- Sergeant Fullerton, Corporals Smyth (best shot of the company) and G. P. Lammert, and Gunners Jupp, Hornby; and Shepherd.
About five p.m. on the 21st April afternoon the dead body of William Charles Owen, a sap- per in the 25th Company, Royal Artillery, was found in the harbour at Wanchai. It is not yet known how the deceased, who was 30 years of age, got into the water. He had been missing from barracks since midnight on the 17th inst., and from all appearances his body had been in the water two or three days.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Under instructions of the Shanghai Taotai, Mr. Huang, the Shanghai magistrate, recently summoned before him several of the leaders of the wheelbarrow coolies, and ordered them to form a regularly organised guild of their trade with the usual official sanction embodied in a proclamation posted at the doors of the proposed guild. Articles of Association are also to be drawn up by some proper person and they were to have been handed in to the Shanghai magis. trate yesterday afternoon. The head of the On Saturday, at the Magistracy, the coxswain present unauthorised guild is a man named of the launch Yuen Fat was summoned for re- T'ang Tze-ynu and the wheelbarrow men looked to this Tang Tze-yun to draw up nace. On the 21st inst. the police suspected their Articles of Association, he being the only that the launch was carrying an excess of pas- educated man among them, but Tang has sengers and the pinance called upon the defend- resigned his position as head of the wheelbarrow ant to stop, but he refused. Mr. Master, who coolie association, his reply being that “he was only prudent and that his shoulders were not appeared for the defence, argued that under Ordinance 26 of 1891, table U, no charge such broad enough to bear the burden of further as this could be established, as the regulation responsibility in case of future riots against the did not refer to steam launches. Mr. Wodehouse Municipal regulations." Tang also sent in a concurred and expressed the opinion that the claim to the Shanghai magistrate for $100 old, Ordinance was so elaborate that a charge could which he advanced from time to time during be established only with the greaest difficulty, the past four or five months. The question now is what has become of the three cash per and it was a pity the Ordinance was not more
The case was therefore dis- day, paid in every fortnight or half month, by clearly worded. missed, the Magistrate remarking that he would the 5,000 wheelbarrow coolies to their so-called draw the attention of the Government to the guild? The wish of the local mandarins for a Ordinance. The defendant was then charged properly constituted guild, which will keep a with not having lights on the launch after sun-check on the wheelbarrow coolies, is distinctly set and for this offence he was charged $5. to be commended.-N. C. Daily News,