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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[October 1, 198.
the committee, viz, Mr. Geo. Murray-Bain. | would quite justify the Government in taking Hon. T. H. Whitehead, H. E. Major-General | the responsibility of guaranteeing the small Wilsone Black, Mr. J. C. Peter, and Dr. Alex. interest asked, especially so as the engineering Rennie.
difficulties in carrying it through Yunnan have | bern absurdly magnified, there being no serious difficulties whatever. and the country passed through will be found far from sparsely popn. lated, rather the reverse being the case, especi ally in the northern portion of the province.
the Megistracy on 29th Ɛept. of a case heard the previous day in which a compradore was fined for selling breney to which an excess of water had been added. He said the liquor as exactly | as it was received from a Geimen firm, and We learn that the Society has decided to again that his client did not know it was adulterated. | give a ball on 30th November next. He suggested that the importers were the people who should be proceeded against. Commander Hastings, however, could not see his way to grant le application. He remarked that the price paid for the stuff showed what it was, though he said he too was of opinion that the police should go for the importers.
THE KWANGSI KEBELLION. From Wuchow we learn that on the 20th September Chaug, a rebel leader who had been captured, was being brought in irons across the Fuho River, when he committed suicide by jumping into the water. The body was covered, a reward of 8200 having been offered for it, and it will be decapitated.
re-
On the 21st. H. E. the Governor of Kwangsi arrived from Kwei'in with two thousand solders and left for the districts abore Wuchow with
the intention of "wiping out the rebellion." The sungli Yemen have allowed him a limited period in which to accomplish the task.
[FROM A CORRESPONDENT.]
Wuchow, 24th September. Yesterday afternoon at 3 p.m. eight of the
THE WRECK OF THE "COMET.”
The American bark Comet departed from Amoy on the 28th August loaded with 690 tous of sugar and other merchandise. bound for Newchwang. All went well until the afternoon of the 29th, when a fierce typhoon was encouu- tered with mountainans cross seas. About 3 a.m.. a blinding rain having set in and the baro- meter down to 28.05, a crash was heard and the three topmasts went over the side with all spars attached. The storm continued all day and the barometer went as low as 27.90. The wreckage was cut away and a spare foresail was bent and an effort made to set towards the China coast, but at 3.45 a.m. on the 31st the vessel went on shore near Aulang (Koro), a village on the north-west coast of Formosa. Shortly after the Vessel struck, she commenced listing over to the starboard, and continued doing so until the tops went out of sight. Heavy seas now dashed on board smashing up the boats and deck houses. Upon the cabin deck breaking away, the Chinese crew, some thirteen in number, clung to it and were washed out to sea, where they were later
picked up by the s.8. Hamun. Captain and
Mrs. Broadhurst and Mr. Holm, the mate, who were the only foreigners ou board, and the Chi- nese steward lashed themselves to the sheerpole of the wizzeu rigging, immersed to their breasts in water, the seas continually breaking over them
subordinate rebel leaders were beheaded on the execution ground here. These unfortunate wretches, gagged and bound, were carried in baskets through the principal street on their way to execution, or butchery would be a better from 6 a.m. until 1.30 p.m. It was a desperate teru. One man had managed to slip the gagfight for life and that the captain's wife did not out of his mouth and was protesting his in- nocence amidst the laughter and jeers of the crowd assembled at all the shop doors and windows to see the procession pass. As Byron puts it: I will not plead the cause of crime,” but knowing so well what Chiuese administra- tion of justice means one cannot but think that possibly his cry for merey, although unheeded, may have been that, of an innocent man. It is perhaps too early to expect China to understand that the object of punishment is that it may act as a deterrent of crime, and without attempting to refute the exception made by that great writer who says " Waruiug is in ordinary cases the principal end of punish ment; but it is not the only end: t remove the offender, to preserve society from those dangers which are to be apprehended from bis incorri-
gible depravity, is often one of the ends, it is certain that had he witnessed the scene of yester day, where men struggled for places to gaze on. and gloat over, the shedding of their fellow creatures blood; where boys of a tender age whooped and jumped amongst the ghastly re- maius and, with a glee horrible to see, performed, in play, its sickening details over again; and where one overheard criticisms of the keen stroke of the headsman or the bungling attempts of his assist cuts in the same cold blonded way as the points of a horse would be discussed on a race course he would have thundered forth in that eloquence of which he was the master for some America or England to arise and inaugurate a new state of things in Count which is a stain and blot on the civilization of the world.
ry
HI NGKONG ST. ANDREW'S SOCIETY.
The seventeenth annual general meeting of this society was held in the City Hall on Mou- day afternoon, 26th Sept. The Hou. J. J. Bed Irving, President of the society, was in the chair. The usual report and statement of accounts were presented to the meeting and passed. It would seem from the report that this Socie y not only dispenses Scottish hospitality to the community of Hongkong on the anniversary of their patron Saiut, but dispenses in charity to needy but deserving copatriots who may
find themselves in the colony in need of such.
succumb to the hardships of the trial sponks much for her courage and strength. The tide then fell and they were able to change their position to one ou the side of the vessel. Soon afterwards they were observed from ou shore ad at 5.30 a Chinese bout came out to the wreck and carried the plucky survivers off to shore, where they were kindly received by the Japanese Customs officer in charge. On the news of the wreck reaching Tamsui, soma 50 miles to the north, Mr. Nomura, the Sup intendent of Customs, at once despatched a cruiser to Aulang and brought the rescued people to Tamsui. Once at the port Mr. No- mura placed his pleasant residence at their dis- posal and treated them with a kindness which could not possibly have been excceded.
Customs
Nichi Nichi Shimbun that the wreck and cargo will be sold at public auction at Twatutia on the 30th of September.
We note by an advertisement in the Formosa
NATURAL PHILOSOPHY APPLIED TO RAILWAY CO - STRUCTION
IN YUNNAN PROVINCE.
(COMMUNICATED.)
Now, having made a sweeping statem- nt quite at variance with generally accepted opinion, let us proceed to see how far natural philosophy will bear us out and investigate the country to be traversed, without leaving the four walls of our study and making the arduous journey to the much maligned province of Yunnan. To do this we will get two good maps before us, the one of Asia and the other of China, and with the aid of these and the proper use of our intellect we will proceed.
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The first thing we will note is the general trend of the great mountain rauges of Asia and as a sequence the direction in which the great rivers of that continent flow, finally paying particular attention to these two facts as re- gards the province of Yunnan. Secondly, we will note the relative age, geologically speaking, of the different mountain ranges and observe their points of intersection, where they do intersect each other.
Having done this and taken cognizance of all that is to be learned from these simple facts we will find that the lesson taught is in accordance with the aforesaid sweeping statement and ad- verse to the generally accepted opinion on the subject.
L
to the former.
We have said that we will first uote the great moutain ranges of Asia. It will be sufficient Southern Asia: they are the Himalayas, with for our purpose to note the great ranges of their continuations right into Chins which separate the West River Valley" from the Valley of the Yangtsze," and certain rauges running north and south, almost at right angles A sequence to this formation is that the Yangtze River runs east and west, to the northward of the great east and west moun- taiu range just mentioned, the northern bound- ary of the Yuugtsze Valley being another great east and west range, and the West River flows east and west ou the southern side of the first mentioned range, its southern boundary being anot.oz great east and west range, not to be seen on even the best maps at present issued, probably on account of their elevation being inuch less than those ranges iudicated on the maps.
The rivers of Burmah, Siam, and Au¬am; on the contrary, run north and south, showing,
clearly that they are hemmed in by north and
south mountain ranges. The same will be ob served as regards the rivers passing through the Yunnan Province. Now the 'Himalayas are known to be a mountain range of recent date, geologically speaking, and all the great east and west ranges of Chiua likewise prove to be so, or of later date to the carboniferous era, for coal and more recent formations are found in The concession to build a most important them. The north and south mountain ranges, railway in China has been obtained by the
on the contrary, prove to be of much greater British Government, viz., one through the pro- age, for gold, silver, copper, fin, etc., are fonod vince of Yuunan, from Burmah into the Yaug-in them, minerals only found in rocks of tse Valley. Although this valuable privilege has been obtained, some months ago, no word of auy British Company being formed for the exploitation of this profitable enterprise has yet been heard of.
robably the reason of this want of enterprise on the part of British capitalists is the very lugubrious view put forward, on the part of the B.iish Premier, as to the prospects of making the line pay, owing to the great engineering difficulties to be met in carrying the line through the excessively mountainous and sparsely popu. lated province of Yunnan; he having s'ated in Parliament, in reply to a question as to whether the British Government would guarantee a small rate of interest on the capital invested in the project, that there were precipitous mountains to be climbed and vast chasmns to be spanned. This was doubtless the real reason for refusal to guarantee the interest asked for the outlay, The Hon. J. J. Bell-Irving was again unau- although the fact that the line would not ruo imonsly elected President of the Society for the through British territory was the reason put ensuing year, Captain G. C. Anderson Vicn.forward.
President, Messrs. D. R. Crawford and J. McG. Such a line would really be one of great im- Forbes Treasurer and Secretary respectively.|portance to the interests of the British Empire, and the following gentlemen were appointed on both commercially and politically, and as such
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great age; there is no trace of coal in these bills.
Here comes another sequence: the newer mountain ranges, i... those running east and west, should, where they intersect the older ranges, cut through or fracture the older rauges run- ning north and south, and hence, as another sequence, the great river gorges, where they ocenr, should have an eastern and western trend. All travellers in Chinu attest to the fact tha the great gorges do have this trend, as should be the case if our line of reasoning is correct.
Coutinuing the thread of reason, we arrive at the conclusion that a railway line running east and west through Burnah will be most costly, as it will meet with the difficulties spoken of as to Yunnan, viz., precipitous mountains to be climbed and vast chasms to be spanned. Such has indeed been the case. The reasoning seems to have been that the line must be carried east and west through Yunnan, meeting with similar or greater engineering difficulties.
What, however, are the facts? Why, that there is no need to follow a difficult ronte when an easy one is open. The railway having reached Kaalon Ferry, on the Salween River, will now, naturally, run in a northerly direction up the
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