400
Recreation Ground at Happy Valley is insufficient for the requirements of the colony and the demands upon it become greater every year, so much so that in the last allocation of days and pitches amongst the various clubs using the ground or desiring to use it the Kowloon Football Club was left out in the cold, somewhat unjustly as it seems to us, for that club has equal rights, with any other club. The laying out and turfing of the Causeway Bay Ground will afford much needed relief to the Happy Valley Ground, and we hope that the whole matter will shortly be settled on a satisfactory basis.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS AND PLAGUE.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS, AND
MR. EDE'S DEPARTURE.
In Mr. N. J. EDE, who left on the 18th May on his retirement from business, the colony loses one of its oldest, most successful, and
most useful citizens. Mr. EDE came out to the
In 1870
[May 21, 1898.
SUPREME COURT.
16th May.
IN APPELLATE JURISDICTION.
BEFORE SIR JOHN CARRINGTON (CHIEP JUSTICE) AND MR. JUSTICE WISE (PUISNE JUDGE.)
MANA SINGH V. YEUNG KAU.
Far East in 1862 to the insurance depart- ment in the firm of DENT & Co. he was appointed Secretary of the Union Insurance Society of Canton, and the great and uninterrupted success of that institution is to be ascribed in large measure to the
This was an appeal against the decision of Mr. diligence and ability exercised by him Justice Wise, sitting in summary jurisdiction in the management of its affairs. Mr.of the court, in the suit Mana Singh v. Yeung ED has also taken a keen and intelligent Kau, in which plaintiff claimed from defendant interest in public affairs, and has been (appellant) the sum of $590, principal and iu- more particularly associated with the sanita-terest due on a promissory note dated June tion of the colony. He
29th, 1997, given by defendant to one Yeung was appointed
San and endorsed to plaintiff. a member of the original Sanitary Board thirteen years ago and when the Board was reorganised and had its constitution fixed by law he was reappointed. During the whole
of that time he has devoted careful atten-
Mr. Francis (instructed by Mr. C. Ewens) structed by Messrs. Wilkinson and Grist) for appeared for appellant and Mr. Pollock (in- plain iff.
The Chief Justice said they had given con- sideration to the question of the course of argu. ment, and they had decided that it should be divided into two portions. The difficulty in the guish that case from the case decided by the full way of the appellant was this: he had to distin.
court in 1895, or if he could not distinguish it, he had to satisfy the court that he ought to be allowed to impeach the authority of that decision. Supposing he succeeded in either of these points the case would be open for argument, but supposing he failed on these points the case
would be at an end.
In an article in the Times of India on "Climatic conditions and plague" mention is made of an extraordinary fact which may possibly have animportant bearing on the cau- sation of plague at Bombay, namely, a steady tion to the business of the Board, never rise of the ground temperature there with-playing to the gallery, nor, for the matter of in the last twenty years. It is well known, that, to the dress circle, or in any way says our contemporary, that the diurnal striving for effect, but bringing to bear upon wave of heat due to solar radiation is not the various complicated and difficult ques- felt beyond nine inches below ground, and tions that came before the Board the same the annual variation not further than eleven scrupulous care that characterised his feet. The mean ground temperature at a
management of his own affairs and these depth of 132 inches at the Colaba Observa of the successful company with which he tory was 82.4 in 1880. and in 1897 we find it was 84.1. No sug- The Board's hands were tied to a great It has steadily risen has been so long and honourably associated. gestion is offered as to the cause of this rise, extent by the restricted nature of its except incidentally that a rise in temperature powers, but Mr. Ebe always endeavoured must accompany the decomposition and
to make the most of what powers there were ferment set up by filth, and presumably at and to render the Board a substantially the Observatory conditions of filth do not
useful institution. He was absent from the prevail. Whatever the cause of this increase colony at the time that the other unofficial of ground temperature may be, however, it members of the Board resigned as a protest must exercise an appreciable influence upon against the attempt of Sir WILLIAM ROBIN the emanations froin the soil, for the greater sox's Government to place further restric- the difference of temperature between the tins upon its action. What course ground and the air the greater the ground Mr. Ene would have adopted at that evaporation. It has been suggested, that time had he been present we cannot say, but plague is a malarial disease. If that suggestion be in accordance with fact, we may possibly seat on the Board and as the sole remain- on his return to the colony he resumed his
Mr. Pollock said that if their lordships had find in the increase of ground temperatureing representative of the public continued
not mentioned it he should have made applica- tion to their lordships to deal with the matter the real cause of the disease. Not much is
onerousduties his position imposed upon him, lordships. to discharge with zeal and fidelity the
exactly in the same way as laid down by their
Turning to utters of recreation we find The Chief-Justice--It may be that we may Mr. EDE a prominent figure in the yacht-be able to settle the whole matter to-day. ing world, and in bidding him farewell we are sure the community will join with us in wishing him many years of pleasant cruising in the Solent, near which we hear it is his intention to take up his residence.
T..E MANILA CABLE AND THE BAR.
known of the life history of the bacillus, but it is generally supposed to have its habitat in the soil, and it may be that it is there at all times but becomes malignant only under certain conditions of the soil and atmosphere interacting upon each other. All this of course is mere speculation, but it seems to open up a wide and possibly not unprofit able field of scientific investigation. In Hongkong, so far as we are aware, no record has hitherto been kept of subsoil tem- peratures, but in view of the remarkable observations at Bombay this is an omission No information can be obtained with which should now be remedied. In this reference to the probable date of the re- connection mention may be made of the establishment of telegraphic communication with Manila. The cable is, of course, a reported inadequacy of the instruments for scientific investigation with which the Medi- neutral enterprise, and therefore the Com- cal Department is provided by the Govern-pany owning it cannot repair it for the ex- ment, not even satisfactory microscopes being supplied. If we thoroughly master the plague it is desirable that we should try to find out all about it, and a liberal expenditure on the means of investigation is dictated by common pru- dence. The investigation of ground tem- peratures would presumably fall within the province of the Observatory, but setting aside the distinction of departments we trust the Government will not exhibit auy spirit of parsimony in providing all that may be necessary for the proper working of that great and important department to which all scientific observers belong, namely, the "intelligence department," so that we may be made acquainted with the enemy's movements and the means by which he can best be got at and defeated.
are
over
to
clusive use of one of the combatants only
Admiral DEWEY, however, declines to sanc- tion its use by the Spanish Government, and | thus a dead-lock is set up. The injury to business caused by the existing state of things is of course a mere incident of the war as to which there is nothing to be said, but there is another aspect of the interruption of telegraphic communication which is worthy of mention, and that is the flanger to shipping caused by the cessation of the storm warnings from Manila. Those warnings have in the past proved of the utmost advantage to shipping and have no doubt saved many a good vessel from loss. The typhoon season is now once more upon us and at such a time a lengthened interruption of telegra- phic communication cannot but be regarded with uneasiness.
changed the view they held on the last occasion Mr. Francis observed that their lordships had the case was before the court and had put the parties to unnecessary expense, because on the previous ocasion he could ex parte have dealt with the points suggested by their lordships, and then if their lordships had decided against him there would have been au end of the case without bringing the other party into court. into court, and their lordships intimated that But they gave him leave to bring the parties
the matter should be fully argued. He must confess that if on the last occasion he bad had the present intimation from their lordships be should not have served notice on the other side.
After some little further discussion, Mr. Francis said that to show what their lord-
ships required he would have to discuss the entire question from beginning to end. Continuing, he said that in furtherance of permission granted when the case was previously before the court, notice of motion was served on the other side that they proposed to apply for leave to appeal against the decision of Mr. Justice Wise on the ground that the maker of the note in question was on the date of such note au infant and in-
capable of incurring any such liability. The claim was for $590 principal and interest. He asked their lordships' attention to the fact that interest was claimed. It was clear from
the evidence in the court below that the maker of that note-the defoudant in the suit-was at the time he gave the note and at the time he was sued an infant under 21 years of age.
The case before the court in 1895–
Tang Kit Shang v. Ng Pak To-was this: The person sued was admittedly at the time he was sued over age, and therefore section 11 of the Summary Jurisdiction Ordinance, 1873, did not apply to him, because, section 11 said:"No person shall be precluded or exempted from saing or being sued for any debt or damages not exceeding $1,000 by reason of his not having attained the full age of 21
years or
reason of coverture where the husband shall uot be resident in the colony." There was another distinction between the two cases. In the case of 1895 the claim was for a sum of $200, money lent. Interest was not claimed, and there was no question of a promissory note. The suit now before the court was a suit speci- fically brought on a promissory note and for
interest. Defendant in the case was admitted-