May:20,1897.|
MACAO.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.]
Macao, 14th May. On Wednesday at 2 p.m. the Monte Fort fired one round as a signal that the Thomus Andrea, bringing H.E. Senhor Eduardo Augusto Rodrigues Galhardo, was in sight. A orowd immediately began to gather along the Praia Grande to await His Excellency's arrival, as everyone was desirous of seeing the military hero, with whose appearance they were aç- quainted only by photograph. His Excellency's | dends in Africa, by which he and his companions have added one more bright page to the history of Lusitano, will never be forgotten.
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. benefits conferred upon the colony by Senhor Horta e Costa will long remain green and it is to be hoped Senhor Galhardo will also leave his mark on the colony in an equally beneficial manner.
It is said that Senhor Galhardo came out somewhat hurriedly on account of the trouble a few weeks ago with the Chinese in reference | to the island of Dom Joao and that he is to proceed to Peking, to arrange for the delimita tion of the boundaries of the Portuguese possessions in accordance with the treaty of 1887.
The new Governor has brought his family with him, consisting of Mrs. Galhardo, two Viisses Galhardo, and Master Galhardo, and two sides-de-camp.
The late Council of Government gave a dinner at Government House to celebrate the arrival of Senhor Galhardo, to which all the heads of departments were invited.
As steamers arriving at Macao are now exempt from tonnage dues and all other port charges, it is to be hoped the Hongkong, Canton and Macao Steamboat Co. will be able to see their way to make a reduction in the fare now charged for second class passengers and make it the same as last year. The present high rate presses hardly on the travelling public and is calculated to encourage opposition.
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must necessarily in many cases depend upon expediency. We hope that no undna pro- minence will be given to the cutting of bends: such works are familiar enough to the Chinese and have many attractive features to the petty officials, contractors, etc. It is well known that in the early days of the railways in China, earth- works cost less than half of what they do now; we do not want at the present moment to do anything but touch upon this matter, and we only do this because we have heard absurd figures mentioned as to the cost of such works. We feel sure, however, that Wu Taotai and, if necessary, the higher officials, will see that the works are carried out in the most economical and efficient way without strict economy and honesty being practised, the undertaking must necessarily end in failure-Rekiny and Tientsin Times.
·HONGKONG.
The public subscriptions towards the Diamond Jubilee Fund now amount to over $35,000, a very satisfactory commencement. The Admiral has decided that we shall have one first class erniser, one third class cruiser, one gunboat, and one storeship present in the harbour on Jubilee Day provided they are not wanted,else- where. It is possible there will be more foreign men-of-war in the harbour, so our navy will out a poor figure on the auspicious occasion. Hon. T. H. Whitehead, law-maker, was at the Police Court on the 13th inst. in the a law-breaker. He rode his character of pony on the footpath during a deluge of rain and was fined $25 for the offence. The Legis- The two training ships Fu-chi and Tung-chilative Council met on Monday, when the sani- are at the Bar with a large number of junior tary by-laws were fiually passed. The second officers belonging to the Pei-yang Squadron gymkhana meeting was held on Saturday at
the Happy Valley. (past and future). An examination of these officers was held at the Admiralty yesterday in torpedo science by Capt. Dundas, R.N.
8th May.
The Government servants, authorities, and Consuls were present at the wharf to receive His Excellency. After landing His Excellency went straight to the Leal Senado to receive his investiture. The proceedings passed off smoothly. The President of the Council of Government spoke a few words only in handing His Excellency the staff of power and wishing him every success in his government. The Vice-President of the Leal Senado then handed him the koy, also making a short speech. Senhor Galhardo was brief in his reply and did not indulge in promises. He said that he alone could not govern the place, but that he hoped good men would give him their assistance during his administration. He then returned the key of the city to the Vice-President of the Leal Senado, saying that he did so because he intended to let the Corporation We hear that the Railway School is to be manage all matters concerning the city.
removed from Shan-hai-kwan to the new build- Everyone knows how Senhor Galhardo ao-ings on the adjacent site of the Imperial quitted himself of his military duties. Now Tientsin University. that he has been selected. as the Governor of this colony we hope he will distinguish himself equally as a civil administrator. This is the first time he has seen Macao aud probably he has no idea what is required for her welfare, bat in a short time he will learn the ne- cessities of this little peninsula, over which the Portuguese. flag has flown for more than three hundred years. Some twenty years ago Macao was still of the brightest of the Portuguese possessions, but now its inhabitants daily see ruin ap- proaching nearer. Why is this? Because the Government will not look to the colony's wel- fare, but cares only to monopolise everything for the benefit of some half-dozen individuals, the remainder of the inhabitants having to submit to the caprice of the monopolists. In this way trade is brought to a standstill and people are afraid to enter on any new line for fear that if their enterprise should be rewarded with success the monopolists will at once come forward to deprive them of the fruit of their labour by offering the Government to work the business as a monopoly. His Excellency will earn the blessings of the community if he will sweep away these heavy burdens that we have to bear, and restore to us freedom of trade, allowing every one to engage in business according to his own free will. What is especially oppressive is that so many articles of daily use, the necessaries of life, are made the subject of monopolies, in consequence of which the cost of living becomes deurer and dearer.
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Another matter requiring His Excellency's attention. Some four years ago the Leal Senado foolishly accepted charge of the streets, drains, and public gardens, but very soon ascertained that it had not sufficient means for their maintenance. Senhor Galbardo' will see for himself the present state of the streets and Fraya wall. It is a year next month since the typhoon, and the Praya wall remains as though the storm had occurred only yesterday, The drains also are in a shocking state and the smells abominable.
Order after order is received from the Lisbon Government to send money to Timor. It will be Senhor Galhardo's duty to call the attention of the home Government to the. fact that the money is required for Macao's own use and that a stop should be put upon the drain of her exchequer for the benefit of the sister colony.
The last Governor, Senhor Horta e Costa, did all he could for the welfare of the colony and the reason that he could not accomplish more is well known. The memory of the
Referring to the recent tenders for 11,000 tons of rails and fastenings for the double line between this and Peking, we learn that the contract has been secured by Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co., on behalf of Messrs. Charles Cammell. & Co., Sheffield, for delivery at Tongku during the present season,
His Excellency Wang Wenshao has issued a proclamation which we recommend to the perusal of those of our readers interested in the prosperity of Tientsin. It is a some- what lengthy document, but there is not one word too much; and it is, we think, a very straightforward answer to the demand for remedies against the periodical silting up of the Peiho.. There is entire absence of equivocation: the Viceroy enumerates the various measures of improvement, as laid down in the report to the Chamber of Commerce, in a very business-like manner. He has appointed Wa Taotai, who was in charge of river works in various parts of this province for many years during the regime of Lf Hung-chang, to take charge of the Peiho. This official, so. rumour has it, enjoys the re- putation of being an intelligent and and active gentleman. We hope that in his new position he will act up to his character; he has some experience of rivers and their vagaries which may be useful to him, but which may also be a drawback if he happens to believe that the science of improving the navigation of tidal rivers is no further advanced than in China. He has a unique chance of making a name for himself and of doing good to his country; but we admit that there are difficulties in his way. When China began building rail- ways, the officials frankly admitted they must trust their foreign engineers to do what they thought best; they had seen a railway and could do nothing else. In the case of improving rivers for navigation they may not deem this necessary, but we would impress upon the authorities that those who have no idea of what has been done in similar cases in foreign countries, and who have not got the necessary scientific knowledge (which alone makes a man competent to judge whether measures which have been successful in one case, can be rightly applied under apparently similar circumstances) can know to what extent the varions, measures should be carried ont. To each engineering problem there is a financial side which cannot be neglected, and the final decision |
never
We recollect that a good many years ago when Mr. Dorobjee Nowrojee sent a small plate of strawberries of his own growing to the flower show great surprise was expressed at his succéss in cultivating the fruit in this climate. Now almost everyone who owns a garden grows strawberries and within the last two or three days baskets of the fruit, presum- ably Chinese grown, have been hawked about the streets for sale,
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In a private letter received by a Hongkong resident from Mr. Cash, the Australian mining expert, the writer says:-Messrs. Willmott and Oglethorpe invited me to go down Eureka mine and see the reef, which I did. I must tell you I have never seen a better show before.. The reef is from 3 to 5 feet wide and gold can be seen freely in the stone. I always thought Eureka was a good payable mine, but I did not expect see such a big reef in it.
Mr. R. M. Gray, for the Sub-Committee for the Jubilee Gymkhana, informs us that at the Jubilee Gymkhana to be held on the 23rd June cups will be given for the following pony races:-Three furlong race, for polo ponies; once round, handicap, for all ponies; Five furlongs race for subscription griffins of 1896- 97 and ponies that have never won a race and have been in the colony two months; weight for inches with 3lbs. added; subscription griffins, non-winners, allowed 7lbs.; Champions-From the two mile post, once rouud and in; weight for inches, for all ponies. There will also be prizes given for bicycle races, and probably a menagerie race, obstacle race for soldiers and sailors, and other events.
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At the Police Court on the 11th May three men were charged with attempting On the to extort money and with assault. 9th inst. the prisoners and six others, all of whom belong to the Tailors' Guild. went to a tailor's shop at 33, Gage Street and demanded 10 cents to be given by each of the employés in order, as they said, to defray certain expenses of the guild, such as rent, &c. The master of the shop refused to pay the money and after using threats the men, upset various articles in the shop and assaulted several of the immates. Luckily police assistance arrived and three of the men were arrested. Two of them were fined $50 each and the third $25, and in addition they were ordered to pay $5 each as compensation and to find security to he of good behaviour. The alternative was an appropriate term of imprisonment.