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May 20, 1899.1
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
kinds (which wear out the roads and cause a large outlay yearly), and the establishment of compulsory registration of servants, with pay. ment of fees by employer and employed. It is much to be regretted that we have Penny Post. age thrust upon us. While perceptibly benefit- ing no one here, it entails a loss of some $30,000 in revenne yearly!
THE OBSERVATORY REPORT.
19
The report of the Director of the Observatory for 1898 is published in the Gazette. We make the following extracts.
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Mrs. Wright and Miss Wallace. I exchanged a few words with them and then passed on. On our return, when we had got to the west end of the long bridge, my dogs went to look over the precipice, and immediately afterwards we heard shrieks. We at once rushed forward, and guided by the shrieks Messrs. Gregory and Apcar descended the incline, while I stopped on the path to keep the coast clear there. About eight foot down my friends found Mrs. Wright and Miss Wallace in a most distressed condi- THE FIRE IN HOLLYWOOD ROAD. sary notices, and only necessary notices, were tion. We helped them on to the road and saw them safely home. In the meantime I reported the matter to the police.
"It seems that the ladies caught sight of my dogs, and though their assailants had their hands over their mouths and were almost choking them they managed to make the noise which attracted our attention. The China men must also have seen the dogs, for they at once rushed through the bushes and made for the direction of Wanchai.
"After dinner my friends and myself and a party of young men went with lights to the spot where we found the ladies, and succeeded in finding Miss Wallace's glasses and her brooch, and also an umbrella evidently belonging to one of the ruffians. Of the four men whom we met two were carrying umbrellas.”
H. E. THE GOVERNOR AND LADY BLAKE EXPRESS THEIR SYMPATHY,
On seeing the account of the affair in the papers His Excellency the Governor at once wrote to express his own and Lady Blake's sympathy with Mrs. Wright and Miss Wallace and a hope that the scoundrels might be brought to justice.
THE WEICHOW REBELLION. News has been received at Canton that the rebels of the Weichow and Chinchow districts captured the city of Lakfung on the 10th inst. They are said to have been ten thousand strong and the mandarin soldiers were unable to check
their advance. H.E. the Viceroy of Canton has ordered General Wong Kum-fuk to organise an additional force to cope with the rebellion.
2.
THE “BENLAWERS" ASHORE,
Messrs. Gibb, Livingston & Co. inform us that they have received a telegram from Naga saki to the effect that the "Ben line steamer Benlawers is aground on the Fukuse Reef, near Saseho, about three hours' steam from Nagasaki, Part of the local cargo of rice and sugar has been jettisoned, and discharge of further cargo is being got on with as fast as possible. Six feet of water is reported in the forehold and two feet in the mainhold, other holds tight, Pumps have been sent from Nagasaki and it is expected that the steamer will be got off. The steamer was on a voyage from Antwerp and
London and sailed from here on 7th inst. for Nagasaki, Kobe, and Yokohama.
INCREASED TAXATION.
The Hongkong correspondent of the N.-C. Daily News writes.-
Coming events cast their shadows before," and I see, in outline, a prospect of increased taxation. The much-needed public works (for which there are no funds available.) the hinter- land, which must be opened up by roads and policed, and the sanitation of Vio- toria, which still remains to be pleted, all require money for their efficient provision. In what form that taxation will be levied I am not prepared to say. All I now
com-
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SIX BODIES RECOVERED.
13th May.
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"The typhoons in 1898 were above the average both with regard to number and inten sity. The telegrams issued from here attained that year a maximum of efficiency,⠀ All neces-
issued, so that the shipping was not needlessly disturbed. They were subsequently compared with entries in logbooks, and confirmed by snoh About half-a-dozen persons who occupied the entries. In all 275 typhoons have now been ground floor of the house at 118, Hollywood
investigated at this Observatory. Road, which was destroyed by fire on Wednes
"The comparison of Weather forecasts, day evening, were known to be missing, and on issued daily about 11 am.. the weather Thursday a careful search was made in the subsequently experienced, has been condnoted front part of the premises, but without result. on the same system as heretofore. We have: Yesterday the search was continued, the great Success 66 per cent, partial success 28 per cent. heap of debris in the back part of the house partial failure 6 per cent. total failure 0 per being removed, with the result that six dead cent. Following the method used in meteor- bodies, all of which have been identified, were ological offices and taking the sum of total and recovered. When the fire broke out it spread partial success as a measure of success, and the with great rapidity. The means of exit on the sum of total and partial failure as a measure of ground floor were soon blocked, and the ocon-failure, we find finally that:-94 per cent of the pants were thus entrapped and burned to death, weather forecasts were successful. The ground floor was in a very short time filled with wreckage from the rooms above, and con- sequently it was not known for certain until yesterday that any lives were lost.
In 1898 the number of transits observed was 2600. The axis of the transit instrument was
levelled 215 times, and azimuth and collimation were determined 67 times by aid of the meridian mark erected in 1884. No measurable déviation
HONGKONG RIFLE ASSOCIATION. of this mark from the true meridian has yet
SHORT RANGE CUP AND SPOONS.
Mr. F. Beck registered his second win for this Cup on Saturday last with a total score of 96 including 6 points handicap. There were twenty entries including several new mem. bers. Scores :-
*Mr. F. Book
200 47
300 H'oap. Total.
6 96
43
*C. S. M.Wallace R.E.45
90
Mr. Diggins
43
43
90
*Capt. Carlyle, A.O.D. 43
46
89
*Mr. Skelton
44
89
Pte. Pond, R.W.F.
47
41
88
*Mr. J. Marshall
44
43
Ar. Sergt. Blair
45
87
Mr. Watson
45
40
85
Mr. Pidgeon Mr. Read
4"
38
43 40
85
* Winners of Spoons.
THE VOLUNTEER CORPS.
The following appointments are notified in the Gazette :--
Mr. Owen Ordish to be Captain in "B" Machine
Gun Company.
Mr. George John Budds Sayer to be Lieutenant
in "B" Machine Gun Company. Mr. James Herbert Aitken to be Lieutenant in
"B" Machine Gun Company. Mr. Joseph Harry Uderwood to be Lieutenant
in "C" Machine Gun Company.
THE AMBULANCE OLA88.
Major J. J. Watson, R.A.M.C., in his report on the examination held on March 23rd of Volunteers attending the classes for instruc. tion in ambulance drill and first aid to the wounded says:-"The general answering, with most highly, Bomdr. Nobbs for his admirable one exception, was very good, I must commend, paper and for his thorough practical knowledge, also Gunner Sutton who sent in the next best paper The stretcher drill was admirable, and reflects great credit both on the men and their Instructor. It was a great pleasure to me to
been detected. Mostly stars of southern declin. ation, whose right-ascension is not very a0- ourately known, have been observed, and it in intended when 20,000 transits are available, say in five years from now,-to form a catalogue of right-ascensions of about 2,000 stars, so distri- bated that when the sky clears for only a couple of minutes a satisfactory determination of the time can be obtained. This is of great import- ance especially early in the year, when the sky is generally clouded here.
"But with this view it is absolutely neces- sary that a fixed transit-circle be added to the equipment of this Observatory, the same as in other observatories. Such comparatively sm ler centres of shipping as Madras and Forth (West Australia) have observatories supplied with fixed transit-circles, whereas the enormous shipping at Hongkong depends for its time and position and consequently safe navigation after leaving this port upon observations made with a small semi-portable instrument. I have al- ready submitted to the Government that this defect ought to be remedied. A transit-dirdle is not only needed for determining time and longitude, but serves also to lay down geodetic bearings, latitude, right-ascension and declina- tion. It can be used for observing eathquakes and would enable me to run a level right across the harbour, and otherwise contribute informa tion required in survey work, which would be not only important at the present time but likely to be more and more useful in the future.””
Amongst the tables given is one showing the results of fifteen years' meteorological obser vations made at the Hongkong Observatory, concerning which Dr. Doberok says: In Appendix B to my annual report for the year 1893 (Observations and Researches in 1893 p. 20) are given ten years' means for the daily variation of the meteorological elements. The of the annual and monthly values of the following table shows the fifteen years' means meteorological elements. It also shows the probable upper and lower limits of certain of those values, so determined that in fature
years the actual values observed are as those limite. For instance, the mean tem-
is that the Government are considering from examine a class having such an able Instrac-ikely to fall outside as they are to fall within
er:
what sources it can be most readily and most justly drawn. Probably au increase in the
as Surg. Capt. F. O. Stedman at its head.” house tax (otherwise the Municipal rates) will
Bombardier A. P. Nobbs gained the maxi-perature of January 1897 being 63°1, by in- specting the following table, where the upper be proposed, or resort will be had to new light gunners has been awarded Red Cross badges
mum number of 100 marks, and the following limit is given as 61.1 for January, we learn dues, which some persons think would not be Gunners A. L. Sutton, 90; J. Mody, 85; J. H that this month was unusually warm in 1897,----
inequitable or even burdensome to the ship ping interest. Any tax, however, that in the remotest sense threatens to infringe the free- dom of the port will, I am confident, meet with vigorous opposition by the Chamber of Commerce and the commercial commnuity. I would suggest, for what it is worth, a tax on alcohol (it is a luxury which is sadly abused, a tax on wheeled vehicles of all
R. Hance, 80; W. A. Baker, 80; Chunnatt, 80; L. E. Brett, 80; and G. Tuohy 50.
The Foochow Echo of the 6th inst. says:--- H.M. surveying vessel Waterwitch arrived at Pagoda on the 29th ulto, and we learn that she will leave immediately to survey the coast at and in the vicinity of Samsha Bay,
18.630 inches while the upper probable limit but the total rainfall for June 1896 being
for June is 22.792, we learn that this montido
was not unusually wet in 1896, or the total rain-fall for May 1885 being 4.860, while the lower limit for the month is 5.178 May was unusually dry in 1885. By the laws of chance a number of pro can be determined when such limita
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