:
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September 1, 1897.]
HONGKONG,
The Mount Austin Hotel will be closed on the 16th inst., when the War Office will take over the fine building and convert it into military barracks. There can be no doubt about the hotel's doom, for the Secretary of Stato has wired stating that the Government cannot accede to the wishes of those people who petitioned for the retention of tho place as a hotel, a result which everybody, including the petitioners, doubtless anticipated. The Legis- lative Council met on Thursday and passed two or three Bills. The police scandal has lain low this week, the only new feature being the dis- missal of two Chinese interpreters. Further developments are expectel.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT,
The proclamation of Formosa under tho antine Regulations is revoked.
quar-
On 24th August, a bricklayer fell from a house in course of erection in Queen's Road West and to the Government Civil Hospital, where he sustained such injuries that he died on his way
was taken by the police.
The three
193
We understand that two Police interpreters in the Central Division have been called upon by the Captain Superintendent of Police, to resign. The allegation against them is, we bribery scandal. are informed, that they were concerned in the
On 25th Aug. the Magistrate resumed the hear- with obstructing the police were again brought a boy of attempting to obtain $8 from a pawn- Chinese gentlemen chargeding of the charge preferred against a man and before the Magistrate on 26th Aug. They were broker on two toothpicks which, it was alleged, each fined $10 and the charge of assault pre- ferred against Sorgenut Scott was dismissed. of zinc washed in gold. It was proved that the were made of gold, but which were really pieces
sergeant had performed his duty very satis he was went to gaol for six months with hard The Magistrate expressed the opinion that the man sent the boy to the pawnbroker's shop, and factorily and with the greatest discretion. labour. The boy was discharged.
Our readers will be glad to learn that Singa- pore has found itself able to accept the invita- tion of the Hongkong Cricket Club to send a team and one from Shanghai. The dates fixed cricket team up to Hongkong to meet a local
are the 8th to the 13th November, and an in-
There were 1.917 visitors to the City Hall Museum at week, of whom 145 were Europeans. The Hongkong players his resigned both games in the cable chess match with Singapore.teresting and enjoyable week ought to be spent The victors must be congratulated upon their
success.
by visitors and guests. We may usually count ou fiue weather in November and the ground The Ordinance to amend the Regulation of ought to be in its best condition at that time. Chinese Ordinance, 188, the Stowaways Ordin- ance, and the Latrine Ordinance have been ap-slendor chance of any of our friends of the We are sorry to hear that there is only a proved by Her Majesty.
Messrs. Hughes and longh on the 25 Aug. sold by auction the houses No. 29, 29A. and 31, Mosque Street, by order of the Official Ad- ministrator. The first lot realised 82,325, the second $2,600, and the third $3,025,
A Chinaman who has not been quite right in his head for some time past jumped or fell from the roof of a house in Wellington Street early on Sunday morning. He was taken to the Go- vernment Civil Hospital, where he died soon after admission.
The owner of a sampan was charged at the Police Court on Saturday with being in unlaw- ful possession of several coils of new rope and rolls of sail cloth. Inspector Hanson found the goods in the defendant's sapan. Mr. K. W. Mounsey appeared for the defence and said the prisoner's explanation was that the goods had been given to him by captains of various sailing vessels within the last two years, it being a custom amongst some captains to pay wages in kind. The Magistrate convicted the prisoner and fined him £10. Notice of appeal was given.
was
The band of the West Yorkshire Regiment played at the Mount Austin Hotel on Saturday evening during dinner and afterwards at a dance in the ball room. Most of the residents at the hotel had parties for the occasion and altogether about two hundred and fifty sat down to dinner, amongst those present being H.E. the Gover- nor. The hotel and its approaches were tastefully illuminated for the occasion with Japanese lanterns and the ball room decorated with ferns and palms. The dinner and the attendance were good and Mr. Cook, the manager, is to be complimented on the ex- cellent arrangements he made for such a large gathering. The dance afterwards proved a most enjoyable one, and hopes have been ex- pressed that another similar function may be arranged before the closing of the hotel. As that event takes place on the 16th September there are only two more Saturdays available.
team, as owing to a scarcity of officers and the Rifle Brigade being included in the Straits approaching departure of the Regiment for England it would be difficult for any of them
to obtain leave.
The Straits Times is informed that the state- ment that the Singapore Chamber of Commerce had communicated with the Chamber of Com. merce at Hongkong with reference to the currency question is incorrect. Our contem- position of the Straits in this matter is totally porary, in an article on the subject, says :-The different from the position of Hongkong and Shanghai; and to enter into consultation with these two latter ports must be considered as mere waste of time.
coolie, however, did not appear at the Police Court and therefore the charge of assault could not be proceeded with. At the suggestion of His Worship. however. Mr. Master got over the difficulty by charging the defeudint with dis orderly conduct. A fine of $5 was imposed.
At the Magistracy on Monday Mr. Master and Mr. Gedge, solicitors, prosecuted an engi ueer named Williams for assaulting a coolie.. The evidence of the legal gentlemen showed that they were riding in chairs along Battery Pathway on Sunday evening on the way to the From the Colonist, of Nelson. New Zealand, Tram Station when the defendaut struck one we regret to learn of the death of the eldest of the chair coolies and also used bad language. and of the Eastern Extension Co. at Hong-defendant was charged with the assault. The son of Mr. Squier, formerly Superintendent | A constable was shortly afterwards met and the kong. The Colonist of the 21st July says- Wide and heartfelt sympathy will be felt for Mr. and Mrs. Squier, of La Perouse, New South Wales, who came hero a few weeks ago to be with their eldest son during what turned out to be his last illness. Yonug Douglas Squier was not a stranger in Nelson, having been for some months in the service of the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company, at Cable Bay. During that time he made many firm and last- ing friendships and became very popular with his fellow officers and all with whom he became asociated, and deservedly so, for he was one of those happily constituted young fellows with whom it comes natural to practice the amenities considerate actions. of life and to continually be doing kindly and Few young men of his age had seen so much of the world as he had. Born at Hongkong, he was taken home to England by his parents at a time of life when its sights and associations were likely to make a lasting impression upon him. Later on he came out to Australia, his father having been appointed Superintendent of the Eastern Extension Company's Station at La Perouse.
In about a fortnight's time the Guiding Star, a new Kowloon ferry launch which has been built by the Hongkong and Kowloon Dock Company, Limited, will be put on the regular run across the harbour. The launch is strikingly different from any other launch in the harbour and until such time as the novelty of her appearance wears off she will doubtless attract considerable attention. She is a novelty only as far as this part of the world is concerned, as there are many other and larger vessels of a At the Magistracy on 25th Aug., before Hon. similar type in various parts of the British Isles. H. F. Wodehouse, two men were charged with The Guiding Star is a double-ended ferry obtaining $400 by means of false pretences. boat and she was most successfully launched Mr. Gedge prosecuted and Mr. Reece defended.
on Monday and was christened by Mrs. Edward Mr. Gedge asked for a remand for a week on
Osborne, the vessel sliding steadily down the the ground that the Captain Superintendent ways as soon as she was released, no hitch of any of Police had applied to the Viceroy of Canton
kind occurring. Her dimensions are as follows: for the rendition of a man named Li Kam-Length 90 fest, breadth 20 feet, depth 8 feet, Sang. The facts of the cass were that the master of the Sang Loong timber shop received, on the 14th inst., a letter from Sai- gon stating that a draft on the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank for $400 had been sent to him by a firm in Saigon. He made enquiries about the draft at the Bank and found that the draft had arrived but it had been given up. Further enquiries showed that the draft had been sent by the shroff at the Bank in a letter to the Sang Loong shop, but the coolie had delivered it to the shop in which the prisoners were em- ployed. The draft was handed to the man whose rendition has been asked for and he went and cashed the draft at the Bank. He after- wards left the colony. After hearing some of the evidence His Lordship granted a remand for a week.
with success.
He
Mr. A. G. Aitken, of the Hongkong and Whainpoa Dock Company, has very successfully undertaken the role of amateur detective. to detect a crime and happily he was rewarded was astute enough to adopt up-to-date measures
For some tinie past he has missed money from the pockets of his trousers while they were hung up in his bedroom. Aug. last he privately marked nineteen five and On 24th
ten cent pieces and put them in his pockets. the trousers which he left in his bedroom. He dressed for dinner and left the money in
Having set this trap he went downstairs to dinner and we sincerely hope the weight of this great secret did not seriously affect his appetite. However, after dinner he went to his bedroom again and found that fifteen cents had been stolen from his pockets. The ultimate result was that Inspector But. liu was asked to send one of his detectives to the house. The amalr was just leaving the house when the detective asked her
what she had in her band. She showed a ten cent piece, a five cent piece, and two cents. The ten cent piece bore the tell tale mark. She was at once taken to the Police Station and, on the strength of the evidence, charged with stealing fifteen cents. Hon. H. E. Wodehonse, convicted the woman The Magistrate,
hard labour. and sent her to gaol for three months with
COMMERCIAL.
TEA.
EXPORT OF TEA FROM CHINA TO GREAT BRITAIN.
1807-48
lbs.
Canton and Ma ao
Foochow Amoy
6 inches. Her speed is 10 knots. The hull is composite and her engines are compound surface condensing. the cylinders being re- spectively 13 inches and 16 inches in diameter, Shanghai and Hankow and the stroke 15 inches. There are two steel boilers of 7 feet 9 inches by 6 feet. The new launch has a rudder and propeller both forward and aft, the latter acting simultaneously when the vessel is under steam. The passenger ac- commodation is admirable. The first class passengers will be accommodated on a shade deck fitted with ample seating space both on deck and in two deck houses: After the launching ceremony the Guiding Star took a small party on board and proceeded on a trial trip, which proved most satisfactory to every. one concerned. We heartily wish success to the Guiding Star.
1,827,118 8.913,241
7,338 000
1896-97
lbs. 1,778,1-10 13.587,563
8,326,723
$16,200
379,122
18,495.970
21,071,550
EXPORT OF TEA FROM CHINA PO UNITED STATES AND CANADA.
1507-93
12.
Shangbai
Amoy
Foochow
5,517,207
1896-97 Ike. 4,057,470
7.187,187
6,998,012
3.631,537
3,637,906
16,338,901 14,653,388