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run. Sinking of underlay shaft on Gị L. 105- is being continued with reef over 3 feet wide between two good walls. Further dish trials give improved prospects.
DECIMALIZATION OF BRITISH
COINAGE.
It seems strange that a commercial nation like the British people should be content to allow years and years to go by, bearing with the trouble and indirect loss entailed by a faulty system of coinage; more especially so when that fault can to a great extent be set right with little trouble and at no inconvenience.
Amongst the numerous suggestions for commemorating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee was the placing of the coinage on a decimal basis, and the writer thinks that as a permanent memorial it was the best suggestion of all those proposed; for do we not to-day find some old coin the best and sometimes the only record of past civilizations, which had otherwise "passed out of human ken ?'
We will, with the foregoing slight digression,
return to the point at issue.
The British coinage, at present, stands thus: -4 farthings-1 penny; 12 pence 1 shilling; 20 shillings-1 pound sterling. There are, be- sides these, a number of additional coins, viz., the half-penny; the three-penny piece; the four-penny piece; the six-pence; the 2 shilling piece, or florin; the half-crown, or 2 shillings and 6 pence; the 4 shillings, or double florin; the crown, or 5 shillings; and the half-sovereign, or 10 shillings.
Now see the following tables! In the second, or proposed new table, is inserted a new coin termed a Victoria and intended to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of the great Queen of that name, as it, likewise, forms the missing link re- quired to place the coinage on a decimal basis without disturbing the existing currency; fact a radical change without change, anomalous as it may seem.
OLD TABLE.
in
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
CORRESPONDENCE
[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.]
THE LINGCHI PROCESS AND ITS APPLICATION TO INFANTS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS, SIE,-Not long ago the Shanghai papers in- formed us that a boy of fourteen was to be executed by what is known in China as the "slow and painful method," for the murder or manslaughter of his mother. In the British Legation at Peking I have seen a Chinese official Gazette translated into English, in which are enumerated the capital offences in China during a year and the punishments inflicted. I noticed that the punishment of lingchi was not parti- cularly rare, and was carried out indiscriminately on men and women, frequently lunatics, who were guilty of paricide. Talking to a Chinaman, however, on the subject, he appeared horrified to hear of a boy of fourteen undergoing the punishment, and said it was impossible, being contrary to law. "Well," said Î, "what will they do to him." They will keep him," he replied, "till he is sixteen, when the punishment will be carried out!" It would be interesting to know whether such is the case, as it sounds incredible. We comfort ourselves with the thought of the poor devil being dragged with opium, but I am assured that this is frequently not the case, Perhaps one of your correspon- dents learned in the ways of Chinese can supply some information on the point. Yours truly,
HUMANITAS.
Hongkong, 26th September, 1897.
THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE WITH THE FAR EAST,
1 pound sterling 20 shillings 1 pound sterling-10 florins from the Nippon Yusen Kaisha, dated 31st
1 billing-12 pence 1 penny farthings
PROPOSED NEW TABLE,
1 Borin=10 Victorias
1 Victoria-10 cents.
Now, to explain the new table. The Victoria is a new nickel coin of the value of 2.4 pence, and the cents are the old farthings, ten of which would equal 2.5 pence, but they would now be declared to pass as cents till all are called in and reminted with cent, in place of farthing, stamped on them.
How do we stand now? Thus we have introduced a new coin, the Victoria, a coin which would circulate in preference to the absurdly small three-penny and four-penny silver pieces, and have converted the farthing into a cent. The remainder of the coinage re- mains as before. What would this mean? Merchants would at once quote prices and keep their accounts in £ v. c. (pounds, victorias, and cents) instead of £ s. d., thereby simplify- ing calculations and promoting trade with other countries where a decimal standard is in vogue and where they do not understand our present stupid system, except as one calculated to cause confusion; Queen Victoria would receive per- manent commemoration; foreigners would cease to laugh at our perversity; finally a radical change would be quietly effected, for the other coins would still circulate at their face value. The Victorias should be made to weigh a frac- tional part of an ounce (say ounce) for use as letter weights, and all other coins adjusted for use as weights as opportunities arose for reminting them.
DECIMAL.
THE S.S. "KIANGNAN” ASHORE.
Shanghai, 30th September. The Chinese Trading Steamship Company, the owners of the s.s. Kiangnan, received a wire yesterday from Wahu, stating that the vessel went ashore shortly after leaving that port on Tuesday night. From enquiries we learn that the vessel is badly ashore five miles below Wuhu, and the tow-boat Kwongnang was des- patched from Shanghai at noon, to-day to see what assistance she can render. The Kiangnan, formerly the Adowa, is a vessel of 1,347 tons, and is in charge of Captain Inokai. She left Hankow on Sunday with general cargo, bound for Swatow and Hongkong, China Gazette.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS.' DEAR SIR,-We are in receipt of a letter July, in answer to ours of the 26th June last, wherein we brought under their notice the ab- sence of refrigerating space in their boats for the carriage of frozen meats. They now write to say that they acquiesce in our views and that in their new boats, now building, for the Aus. tralian trade they are making provision for carrying frozen meats. They hope to com- mence running about the beginning of the new year. We trust that our efforts in this direc- tion may result in business beneficial to both countries. We remain, yours faithfully,
FORD, RUTHVEN & CO. Sydney, 8th September, 1897.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS. Dear Sir,-Judging from the letter which appeared in your columns to-day from Messrs. Ford, Ruthven & Co., Sydney, one would suppose that there has been public want of refrigerating space in the steamers plying be- tween Australia and this, which the British lines had refused to meet, and that the Japanese is to be got to give the decadent Britisher the lead in this matter. So far, however, from this being the case I would mention that one at any rate of the British lines has had its steamers fitted up for several years now, with the latest refrigerating machinery and chambers of a size to carry considerable quantities of refri- gerated meats, &c., over and above what is required for steamer's stores, and yet the public caterers, though well canvassed, have shown a surprising apathy about availing of this till the other day. There are many toothsome supplies to be got from Australia in the way of meats, game, and fruit, which would be a great boon to dwellers in the tropics, especially during the hot season, when the jaded appetite calls for something tempting, and if only those whose business it is to cater in such things were a little more enterprising, there are ample facilities at hand for the safe carriage of such supplies.—I am, yours faithfully.
Hongkong, 4th October, 1897.
RESIDENT,
The damage by fire to the coal mines in Hupeh is said to be not so serious as was at first believed.
|
[October 7, 1897.
DIRECTORS AND CHARITIES.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE “ DAILY PRESS.”. SIR, We weep at the crimes committed in the name of religion, but we seem to have no shame for the falsehood and fraud of which we are guilty under the pretence of charity.
28
Charity seeketh not her own'; "but this is what I find in an extract from The Statist under the above heading in your to-day's issuO :----- 'Clearly, therefore, the directors are bound not to pay away the company's money without the sanction of the company at a general meeting, unless in their honest opinion they think it would be for the benefit of the company to do 80. It is not necessary that they should look for a money return for the money expended. They might obtain a very material and valuable return without any direct receipt of money" In my opinion what a man gives in charity should be his own individual, spontaneous, and private act, and directors of Companies have no right to give away the money of others for
W. any purpose outside the business of the company.
Hongkong, 5th October, 1897.
DISCONTENT AT SINGAPORE,
Singapore, 23rd September. Various rumours of an alarmist character are being circulated in connection with the inflam- matory Chinese placards that were found last Sunday. These rumours are very silly rumours, and as baseless as they are silly. It should be hardly necessary to declare that the Queen's Forces at Singapore are strong enough to deal, and to deal swiftly and fully, with any trouble that any body of Chinese might create. The Go- vernment is strong, and can afford, therefore, to consider any grievances that may be brought be fore it. No doubt, it should be made abundantly clear that the Government cannot and will not be coerced by sedition or threats of sedition on the part of people who, rightly or wrongly, consider themselves aggrieved. It will be a sorry day for such men if they attempt to stir up riot in this colony. Yet, as we pointed out at some length yesterday, there are some real hardships suffered at the present time by the poorer classes in Singapore, and it is the duty of the authorities, as far as in them lies, to alleviate or remove these hardships.
Municipality, another aspect of that particular With regard to the closing of the wells by the
matter has been pointed out to us. When the wells in these coolie lodging houses were closed, and Municipal water was laid on, the burdens of the owners were, of course, increased, but they recouped themselves by making every coolie pay so much more a month for his lodg- ing. Then the Municipality discovered that, on the basis of the rent, the sum paid for the water was altogether out of proportion to the quantity used, and they accordingly insisted upon meters. These meant a much larger charge upon these ignorant people for a prime necessary of life, and the whole operation, from the closing of the wells onward, is viewed by them as a taxing process. The point of the incident is that these people believe their wells have been closed in order to enable the Municipality to increase the Municipal water revenue. They believe that they have been subjected to a common Chinese "squeeze," and, really, looking at the facts, their belief, from their standpoint, is a natural one. The Municipality were not exactly to blame, though, perhaps, they should not have been in so great a hurry to see that these coolies paid for every drop of water they consumed. We want, first of all, to cleanse these people and improve their habits for their own sakes, and for the sake of the general health of the community. Questions of revenue are entirely secondary in this connection; and it is hardly a fair answer to the complaint of hardship: that the people, if they do not want water laid on, can go to the public standpipes.
While these hardships are troubling the poor, and while their food is very dear, it is unfortunate that the Government should have fixed upon October first as the day upon which certain clauses of the Copper Coin Ordinance are to come into force. On and after that day, it will be illegal to circulate copper coin other than that of the Straits Settlements, and total confiscation of such coin is one of the penal-