114
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE
CHINESE GOVERNMENT FOR.
PIRACY IN TONKIN.
The su
success of Germany in dealing with the invertebrate body doing duty as a Govern- ment at Peking has certainly had some good results. Having made ample com- pensation to the German Government for
THE HỎNGKỔNG WEEKLY PRESS AND
THE MERCANTILE MARINE AS A RECRUITING ground for THE NAVY.
[February 19, 1898. and that is that better inducements should be offered to boys to join the navy and that more training ships should be established, not only in the home ports, but also in the colonies. By this means the supply- of men might be materially increased. But whatever may be done in that direc- tion the condition of the mercantile marine as a reserve upon which to
IN a memorandum issued recently by the Navy League attention was drawn, not only to the importance of augmenting the fleet, but also to the insufficiency of officers and men to man the fleet we already possess. the murder of German missionaries in The excessive strain on all ranks of officers in times of necessity will alw Shantung, they could not refuse the in- on active service, says the memorandum, main a matter of supreme importance to the demnity asked by France for the kidnap-suggests that the breakdown of the whole country. If the local branch of the Navy
pace
ping of a Frenchman in Toukin. It is true machinery of defence at the critical moment that this is not the first outrage of the kind of sudden mobilization is within the suffered by Frenchmen in that so called limits of possibility. The local Branch of protectorate, bat it is the first time that the League, we hear, has at present this an indemnity has been paid. At first important point under consideration, with a sight it seems rather hard to expect the view to the preparation of a public memo- Peking Government to exercise control rial on the subject. Such a memorial, if over the actions of Chinese banditti beyond drawn in general terms, would receive the their jurisdiction. When France assumed signatures of practically the whole of the the protectorate of Annam and Tonkin, British community; but in respect to de- China was relieved of her responsibilities tails there might possibly arise wide ав suzerain over those kingdoms, and differences of opinion, more especially as could not be expected to make herself regards making the mercantile marine a answerable for their peace and good order training school for the navy.
With respect or account for the safety of foreigners to officers, there would be no difficulty in travelling or trading there. But this is getting as many as required, for the not the point; it is not, we believe, on these number of boys seeking admission as grounds the claim has been put forward. cadets is usually about three times the What has happened for many years is this. number of vacancies. All that has to be The Government of Yunnan, somewhat more done to maintain a steady supply of officers, corrupt and unscrupulous than that of most therefore, is to increase the number of.en- other provinces of the Chinese Empire tries. It would of course take some years because further removed from control by before the influence of the admission of ad- the Central Administration-were accus-ditional cadets could be felt in the higher tomed in former times when the soldiers of the provincial forces asked for their long over due pay to give them a supply of ammunition and tell them to cross the frontier and help themselves to what they could get by loot. The Black Flag bands had already pioneered the way in this line, and the Imperial soldier had no scruples in following the example so successfully set. That these banditti were Chinese was quickly known, and that they were regular troops was discovered ere long both by the tactics shown and the breechloading rifles and ammunition they carried. The ransoms demanded for many abducted Frenchmen have had to be paid before their release, and this has emboldened these wandering bands to fly at high game. Moreover, the predatory expeditions of these Chinese brigands served to incite the lawless part of the native population to similar deeds, and all efforts of the French authorities in Ton- kin to repress piracy so-called have failed. No doubt the country might have been brought into a better condition had the French administration been more vigorous and more strongly supported by arms, but whatever the shortcomings of the Tonkin authorities they had good right to complain when bands of soldiers were permitted and even en- couraged to roam over the Yunnan frontier into the country to make up for loss of pay by plunder of their neighbours. It is there fore with satisfaction we note that the French Government have at length suc ceeded in making the Chinese understand that such invasions of peaceful countries
will not be tolerated in the future.
The Sinwen Pao has a curious story anent a man living in the Yunnan Road, and who was supposed to have shuffled off this mortal coil, through heart disease or a broken heart, the other day. The usual "joss pidjin" was in full swing and the corpse was being put into the coffin when the deceased sat up and asked for a drink. The professional mourners were at once informed that their services were no longer required, and they, in consequence, commenced to mourn in earnest, while the resurrected gentleman cleared out the priests and received the congratulations of his friends. Mercury,
ranks, but the delay. is inevitable. The supply of officers, although ample material has all the time been offering, has not kept with the increased demand, and time is necessarily required to set right the mis- takes of the past in this respect. Additional expense would also be involved, but that is a consideration of small weight against the paramount necessity of providing a suf- ficiency of officers, without which the fleet must suffer seriously in efficiency. An adequate supply of men is no less important, and this is a question rather more difficult to deal with. We require not only a suf- ficiency of men for the fleet in ordinary times, but a large reserve to draw upon in time of war. Theoretically the mercantile marine is the field to which we should look or material to recruit the navy when thef necessity arises, but unfortunately the mer- cantile marine is to a large extent manned by foreigners, who would not be available for service in the navy. Naturally the shipowner is governed by the exigency of competition and the law of supply and de mand, and he selects the cheapest material for his crews that will serve his purpose. To remedy this it has been proposed that some measure of protection should be ac- corded to the British sailor, that a British ship should not be allowed to carry more than a certain proportion of foreigners amongst her crew, and that on such for eigners as are carried a tax should be levied; also that every ship, whether steam or sail, should be required to carry a certain number of apprentices. On the other hand it is urged that this would further handicap the British shipowner, who already has to compete with his foreign rivals at a dis- advantage owing to loadline and other regulations from which the foreigner is exempt. If the country requires an ad- ditional supply of seamen for defensive pur- poses the country, it is contended, should bear the cost of training them and not throw the burden on to the private ship owner. Whatever differences of opinion may be entertained on that point, however, there is one point on which all parties may agree,
League can offer any solution of the difficult problem the question presents it will render a valuable public service.
1HE HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI'
BANK.
The Chairman's speech at the meeting of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank on Saturday, exceptionally gratifying as it must have been to the shareholders, does not present many features of public interest beyond the assurance it gives of the con- tinued prosperity of the institution on which the trade of the Far East is so largely de- pendent for its financial facilities. There was no reference to the great silver question nor to the political situation in its bearings on tradal prospects, Mr. BELL-IRVING confining his remarks to the internal affairs of the Bank, except for a passing reference to the recent tightness of money. Mr. GILLIES, who seconded the adoption of the report, commended the policy of continuing to build up the reserve fund, which he said would in a short. time place the Bank in such a position of strength and stability as to be almost without a precedent in the annals of banking. This view commended itself to the meeting and was heartily applauded. The reserve fund now equals eight-tenths of the capital and with a continuance of prosperity it will in a short time reach the full amount of the capital. At the meeting in August last the then Chair- man, Mr. St. C. MICHAELSON, reminded the shareholders that the lower exchange goes the more onerous the task will be of main- taining a sterling dividend of £1 5s. per share, but he expressed confidence in the Bank's being able to do so. The report presented on Saturday justifies that con- fidence and may even raise expectations of some increase in the dividend in the not distant future. It is generally understood that the reserve fund is to be raised to $10,000,000 as rapidly as may be without interfering with the present dividend, and when that point is reached no doubt the policy of continuing to build up the reserve will still commend itself to the shareholders, but it may be thought that a smaller proportion of the earnings should beset aside for that purpose and a larger proportion for the payment of dividends. The reserve fund is remuneratively employed and as it grows in amount the shareholders may reasonably look for some additional return from it, though it must be allowed that the present return is a very hand- some one.
BICYCLING ON BOWEN ROAD. In Bowen Road Hongkong possesses a promenade of which it is justly proud. The bicyclist, however, has made his appearance upon it and there appears some danger of the comfort and pleasure of pedestrians being largely interfered with. Indeed, already some ladies have been deterred by this cause from using the road, according to the state- ment made by a correspondent whose letter appears in another column. – Two questions present themselves in this connection: (1)