December 4, 1898.1
THE DESECRATION OF THE GLINEALY RUOKERY.
(Daily Press, 20th December). Two practical suggestions are made in our
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
$19
A brief statement of the case may be useful. | rental may be taken as some guarantee on The whole property, including Burnbrue, that point. Patting the best complexion changed hands some time ago, as state on the mutter, however, it remains ex iu Mr. RoUNSEVELLE W
letter tremely unsatisfactory and is another published a few days since, at squire
illustration of the disabilities under which
correspondence columns to-day with referfoot. It changed hands the property the community of Hongkong suffers for the
#
ence to Glenenly, one, by Mr. H. Hum- PHREYS, that a subscription should be opened with a view of purchasing the ground on which it is 'prop
senting it to the pd to build and pr. -/
Old Resident,
should be presented to the Government for advantage, for which no one can blame been neglecteɗl steps could have been takana
was ( 'conjointly by two deceased estates and the Hon. C. P. CHATER, and the parties finding it convenient to liquidate their several interests sale, was decided upon. The new owners were naturally desirous of utilising their purchase to the best them, and they employed Messrs. DENISON and RAM, architects, who made plans for the erection of three houses on the particular portion of the property now in question. These plans were submitted to the Govern ment for approval three months ago, in the usual course, and were sanctioned, and an application for permission to erect balconies" over Crown land-which course cannot be done without permission -was granted. The owners then mide i contract for the erection of the buildings for $17,500. In estimating the amount that would be required for the resumption of the land, whether by the Government or by public subscription, regard must be had not only to the price at which the property last changed hands, but also to its actual value as affected by the owner's designs for its development. We understand that
of
want of a Municipal Couficil or other repre- sentative assembly. Had Glenenly been in charge of some popularly constituted body. the probability is that the whide glen would long ago have been secured for public use in.. perpetuity, or if by an oversight that had to preserve it as soon as the idea of building upon it was mooted, wherens under the existing circumstances the public, had no opportunity of knowing anything about it until the building contract had een entered into and the work was on the point of commencing, when it was too late for anything more effective than grumbling.
*
MAJOR BOWER'S CHINESE REGMENT.
and the other, by. that a
public. petition the resumption of the land. With reference to Mr. HUMPHREYS's suggestion, we will be pleased to receive and acknowledge in our coluinns nny subscriptions that may be sent in for the p purpose indicated, but would suggest that before opening a subscription the effect of a petition to the Government should be tried. It is in the public interest and in accordance with public feeling that the ground should be pre- served in its present condition, and the cost should full on the Colonial Treasury, The amount of ground involved is about 6,000 feet, and we understand the price at which it recently changed hands was $2.50 per foot. It is reported that the owners have since been offered $3 per font, but if the Government decided to resume probably the matter could be arranged on the basis of the last sale. The duty of resuming the land is the more incumbent upon the Go-$125 a month has already been offered for vernment inasmuch as it is not very many years ago that the land was granted as au extension of the lot upon which the United States Consulate-General stands. A public subscription therefore would be in effect a subscription for the rectifying of a Govern- mental mistake. It seems more appropriate that the mistake should be rectified at the Government's own expense. Whatever is other charges, a sum of say $25,000 is left {ent in courage if properly drilled and led
*
one of the houses and that the totul income from the three is estimated at not less than 8300 a month, or any $3,600 a year. Now $3,600 a year capitalised at seven per cent, comes in round figures to 850,000, and educting the $17,500, the cost of erecting the buildings, together with loss of interest during the time of building and
done, however, should be done quickly, for as the value of the land. That seems at the work of clearing the ground is now in first sight an extravagant figure and pos- progress and each day will add to the ex-sibly if the owners had been aproached pense of "resumption. The public regret before the plans had been drawn they and indiguation at the diversion of this might have been induced to accept rather beautiful fernery to building purposes are less, but we understand that they were very great and a petition on the subject indisposed to cousrter any offer under would, we doubt not, be signed by practi- $20,000. When it was realise that the cally the whole of the European community and was to be built upon and thats the If the petition proved ineffective possibly a beauty of Gleuealy was in danger of des- sufficient sum might be raised by way of truction considerable popular feeling was public subscription for the purchase of aroused and several persons moved iu the the ground, or the petitioners might,mater in the hope that something might be as a guarantee of the genuineness of doue to save it. Amongst others the Hon. public feeling on the subject, offer in ap-C. P. CHATER went into it, but ou finding proaching the Government to subscribe a the details stated above is to the cost of portion of the cost of resumption, say one-resuming the land he felt compelled to fourth, the Government being requested to abandon further action. Mr. T. JACKSON,
Who will take the vote the remainder.
we understand, also gave the matter his lead in the matter? The unofficial mem-attention, and Ir. H. HUMPHREYS followed bers of the Legislative Council, as the re- presentatives of the public, may be appro- priately indicated for the work. Failing them we must trust to some other public spirited citizen to set the ball rolling.
in contemplation forcessity
up his letter which appeared in our columns by an offer to increase his promised sub scription and by other practical steps, but the difficulties in the way seem to have been found insuperable: The Government has many works of public
on hand or (Daily Press, 22nd December).
funds are The west side of Glenealy, we regret urgently required, and from the official to say, is irrevocably gone, so far as its unsympathetic point of view an expenditure public use and enjoyment are concerned, of $25,000 on what might be termed a matter Everybody must regret it, but it is diffic slt of sentiment; seems to have been considered to say how
site could have been saved unjustifiable, while to have asked the public unless
some philanthropist | to raise such a sum would have been almost would bscribed a very handsome equivalent to starting another Jubilee sul- number of people were ready to scription. Consequently, much as it may be subscribe sums rauging from $200-down | regretted, we must reconcile ourselves to wards, and if four or five thousand dollars the introduction of bricks and mortar into would have sufficed there would have the glen, and can only hope that the been little difficulty in raising it, but houses will be of such a design as at least five times that amount would have to constitute as little of an been required, and it has been found as is possible under the circuïustances. The impossible to get subscriptions running fact that they are to be Europeau dwellings. into four figures to head the list with.| bailt with the üles of
ng a high
eyesore
|
.
(Daily Press, 19th December.) The intelligence telegraphed by Reuter concerning the formation of the new native regiment for service at "Weihniwel is in- tereating. The officers have, it is said, left England for Chica, and the men are to be entisted in the province of Shantung. The battalion is to be termed the 1st Chinese Regiment. From this last announcement we gather that, if the experiment should prove successful, further regiments will be raised. It was at first intended, we bes lieve, to enlist men from Kwangtung," but probably consideration has convinced the War Office of the inexpediency of such course. Not that the Cantonese are defici-
but because, being natives of va country situated in the tropics, they might not be able to stand the rigours of the Northern winter but fall victims to pneumonia and other lung complaints. The natives of Shan- tung are for the most part fine well set up men, and should turn out good soldiers if they can be rendered amenable to discipline. That, however, has yet to be seen. If they can be induond to cut off their queues and dress in something approaching Western uniforma grent point will have been gaified. No troops can march properly in Chines shoes; they can never be made to look smart with rolled up pigtails, and the basin- shaped hat is enough to destroy all mien of spirit or dignity in the wenfer, vide the miserable appearance cut by that abject looking body the Chinese lukongs of Hongkong. It is to be "hoped" · "that" Major BowER will see in these wretched looking figures an object lesson of how not to do it. The Chinese Submarine Minera attached to the Koyal Engineers are a dis tinct advance upon the lukougs, but their get up is susceptible of a good deal of im- provement. No doubt, however, the gal- lant Major has ideas of his own on the sub- ject, and will do his best to make a smart and soldierly battalion out of a thousand slovenly slip-slop coolies. We wish him all success in his tąsk.
",,
Medical inspection at Japanese ports of resecta arriving from Formosa ceased from the 90th November.
An interesting case is reported from Bangkok. A Chinaman of that place sent his boy to Canton to be educated. There he was kidnapped and cont back to Bangkok in a theatrical troupe." He recognised, but before lie could be rescued Mr Hearn, of the police, the boy spirited away to Singapore. By