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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
GREAT BRITAIN AND FRANCE IN | his case was hopeless. It almost makes one hate
THE PERSIAN GULF.
the entire cabine race to see the dread result of a simple scratch inflisted by some trusted and loved pet upon a caressing hand. Mr. Palmer had not been in Shanghai very long, but leaves many friends who are filled with profound sor. row at his terrible death.
In view of the telegram stating that the Sultan of Muscat, yielding to the threat of the British Admiral to bombard the town, has can- celled the grant of a coaling station in the Per- sian Gulf to the French, special interest at- taches to the following article which we trans- late from the Courrier d'Haiphong of the 16th February
The Sultan of Muscat has ceded to France a port as a coaling station. The Sultanate of Muscat: commands the entrance of the Per- sian Gulf, to the north of the Indian Ocean, and situated at about an equal distance from India and Aden. As England has some trade in these parts a protest must be expected from her Government against the treaty signed by France and the Sultan. In a short time we shall hear the echo of the eagle cries of British statesmen and journals. Our Ministers have only to let them cry and take no notice of their shrieks, with which we have long been familiar. The country in which the ceded port is situated forms a narrow zone along the coast running up into the Persian Gulf to the north of the town of Oman. It is peopled by Arabs, Hindoos, a few Jews, and negroes from the East African coast. It is difficult to fix the exact figure of its population, but that of the capital, Muscat, estimated by travellers at from fifty to sitty thousand. France, which maintains a consul at Muscat, concluded in 1841, with the independent Sultan of the country, a treaty favourable to our trade throughout his territories. We recall that Eng- land formerly tried to obtain a direct route from the Mediterranean to India by the Euphrates Valley and the Persian Gulf, but it collided
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with Russian influence, which soon supplanted it in those regions. To-morrow we will be in:
stalled a short distance from our friends. Will
not this be sufficient to induce England to claim rights which have never had any existence ex- cept in the imagination of some of her Minis- ters ? No doubt she will invoke the services she rendered at the beginning of the century to the sovereigns of Muscat in their struggles against the surrounding tribes. Let us hope that Ministers will have sufficient energy to make the English understand that there has been enough of Fasboda.
ANOTHER DEATH FROM HYDRO-
PHOBIA AT SHANGHAI,
Mr. A. G. Palmer, of the staff of Messrs. Butterfield and Swire, Shanghai, died on the 20th February, being bitten by a pet dog.
The China Gazette of the 21st says:When some three or four weeks ago Mr. A. G. Palmer was scratched on the finger by his little Maltese terrier, while be was petting it, no one imagined, least of all the victim, that such a terrible termination was to follow so simple a thing. The dog, which he was but keep- ing temporarily for a friend, however, died within a couple of days, and it was only then that Mr. Palmer and his friends became anyway apprehensive. A number of rabbits were innoculated with virus taken from the dead dog, which was a very tiny creature, no bigger than a good sized rat, and after a short period of incubation the unmistakeable_symp- toms of rabbies were developed. Mr. Palmer was thereupon urged to proceed to Japan to un- dergo the Pasteur treatment, and remembering the failure of the treatment of the Shanghai patients at the Nagasaki Institute last year, Mr. Palmer's medical adviser ordered him to go to the more advanced Pasteur Institute at Tokyo, which is under the direction of the famous Dr. Kitasato. But it apparently was too late or some other explanation may be given for the failure of Pasteur Institutes in Japan to do any good to patients bitten by rabbid dogs at Shanghai. The unfortunate victim of this most horrible disease only arrived back in Shanghai by the Sydney on Sunday, with no hopes of his recovery and an agonizing and terrible death staring him in the face, and last night he passed away after awful suffer ings. Nothing that has occurred of late has given those who know the story of this most promising and genial young fellow's death such a shock as when it become known yesterday that
COLLISION AT SHA › GĦAI.
[March 4, 1899. nowadays; in fact, hardly a day passes without a report of fire, big or small, in Canton or its surrounding districts.
Copper cash is a little cheaper. A dollar can now be exchanged for nine hundred and fifty cash against eight hundred in the last two months. The Government has strictly probi- bited the exportation of cash and the melting of the same by the coppersmiths to make copper
ware.
HONGKONG.
There were 3,771 visitors to the City Hall Museum last week, of whom 132 were Europeans. We hear that H.E. the Governor intends to make a trip across the now Kowloon territory next week.
It has been decided to hold the V.R.C. athletic sports on the 25th March next at the Happy Valley,
It is notified in the Gazette that Mr. J. Dyer
Ball has been appointed Acting Assistant Registrar-General and Deputy Registrar of Marriages with effect from the 4th February.
The return of the number of cases of com.
manicable disease notified as occurring in the colony last week is as follows:-Enterio fever, two oases, one death; smallpox, five cases, one death. One case of each disease occurred in the harbour.
Shanghai, 24th February. About 2 o'clook yesterday afternoon as the Shell Line steamer Cowrie, from Hongkong, was steaming to the "deep hole," in charge of a pilot to swing on the last of the flood in order | to go alongside of the Company's wharf at Pootung to discharge her cargo of oil, she collided with the Indo-China steamer Esang lying at Hunt's Baoy. It appears that the vessel, which was going dead slow, took a sheer and although on starboard helm, would not straighten up; seeing an accident was inevitable, both anchors were let go but the distance was too short to allow of them bringing her up, and the vessel struck the Esong on the starboard side just. forward of the bridge, her straight stem tak- ing the whole side and denting it fully fifteen inches, besides bursting up the main and 'tween decks some seven feet inwards. The impact was such that nearly everything moveable on the Esang and also the Suiwo, which, unfortunately, was at the same buoy, was shifted,
The Medical Officer of Health for the Borough and a number of Chinese, unconscions of what was impending, were thrown from the stages on
of Lowestoft in 1893 and 1894, extracts from which they were working in the Esang's main whose reports on the use of sea water for flush hold, several of them sustaining slight injuries.ing drains and watering streets are reproduced For the moment quite a panic occurred in another column, was Dr. F. Clark,, now amongst the Celestials and vigorous cries for Medical Officer of Health for Hongkong. sampans were heard. The Suiwo, which was to sail for Hankow to-morrow, received considerable damage, some fifty feet of her guard being stove in, also seventeen of the knees supporting the same being broken, and the after mooring-chock torn out of the bulwark by the strain on the wire that held the two vessels together. The Esang's damage, which was considerably augmented by having the Suiwo alongside and thus lying betwe-n two forces, is such that she will have to go into dock, as the injury extends well below the water-line; happily the vessel is built of mild steel, for had the plates broken, instead of a slight leak there is no doubt that she would now be lying at the bottom of the river, Four of her frames are stove in and several stringer plates damaged. It is reckoned that ten plates on her side and six on both the main and 'tween decks will have to be taken out. The Cowrie, luckily, managed to swing clear of the several small craft at anchor off the Pootung shore and, on picking up her anchors, steamed to her berth none the worse for the mishap. N. C. Daily News.
CANTON NOTES,
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[FROM THE CHUNG NGOI SAN PO.” The Governor, who sometime ago gave orders for the purchase of a large quantity of rice from other places to be sold to the poor people at low price, has ordered all the tipaos to make a list of the names of the poor families residing in Honam and Canton so that they may be pro- vided with tickets to buy rice from the Go. vernment at cheap rates.
A party of engineers and experts of the Hankow and Canton Railway Syndicate who arrived at Canton the other day went to Ying Pak district on the 22nd February to make a survey there, and the Magistrate of Psing-un distriot has been instructed to make every preparation for their reception and to issue notices telling the people not to give any
trouble.
The employes of the tea houses in Canton are going on strike on account of their request for an increase of wages being refused. They have forbidden all the members of the guild to enter into such services until their request has been complied with, under threat of being put to death.
A big fire broke out in a grocer's shop on the 22nd ultimo in Hing Ling district. Over four hundred houses were burnt to the ground and property to the value of about four hundred thousand dollars was lost. It is said that this in a case of incendiarism, which is so common
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On the arrival of the P. M. steamer China
at Nagasaki from Hongkong, a steerage passenger was reported to be suffering from smallpox. The patient was removed to the isolation ward of the quarantine station at Megami, and the vessel, after being thoroughly disinfected, was permitted to enter the harbour.
We are informed by Messrs. Lutgens, Einst mann & Co., General Agents of the Great Eastern and Caledonian Gold Mining Co Limited, that a telegram has been received from the Manager at the mines as follows: Only a small quantity crushed, owing to breakdown in machinery; mostly fines, poorest part pad. dock; 80 tons, 50 oss., does not include 2 tons rich concentrates. Will recommence imme- diately."
At a meeting of the members and seat- holders of Union Church held on Tuesday even- ing a resolution was passed inviting the Rev. G. J. Williams to resume the duties of pastor of the congregation on his return from fur- lough. Mr. Williams signified his acceptance of the invitation. At a social meeting held after the business meeting Mr. Williams was presented with a cheque for $3,000, which bad been subscribed by the congregation and friends.
The oldest European resident of llongkong died at the Government. Civil Hospital on Sunday afternoon at the age 86 in the person of Mr. Patrick Fitzpatrick O'Toole, who came to the colony in the forties with Mr. Charles May, Superintendent, of Police, and remained in the Government service until 1867, when he was pensioned off. After being in business at Hoihow for a few years he returned to the colony again. He enjoyed the best of health up to a few years ago, when he became some- what feeble minded and had to be taken to the Hospital. He leaves a widow but no children.
Consul-General Wildman is in receipt of cablegram from Washington informing him that his request that the property of the wealthy. Cortes family of Manila, that was confiscated by the Spanish Government, be returned to them has been acceded to. The President of the United States bas restored all their family. property by proclamation. This act of the President is in the nature of a reward and re- cognition of the unswerving allegience of this powerful family to interests of the United States in the Philippines and will no doubt bind to the cause of the United States all the wealthy families of the: Islands as against those who have nothing to loce by a disturbed condition of affairs. Don Maximo Cortes. who has been in Washington, is returning to take over his properties in Manila, which are valued at million and a half of dollars,