518
THE SULU ISLANDS.
Singapore, 7th June.
A charming little point of international law arises anent the Suin Islands and the British steamer Will-o-the-Wisp. In those islands, the Spaniards 'only effectively held the town of Jolo and a few neighbouring islets. The conn try beyond was in the hands of the natives. à warlike race and the Spaniards could only venture inland at the risk of their lives. Last month the Spanish garrisons concentrated at Jolo, and evacuated the islands. An American force landed and garrisoned Jolo. Ou the 1st June, we published a letter from Messrs. Syme
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESE AND
THE C. D. O.
FRESHI LEGISLATION.
Singapore, 10th June, The persistent agitation by the Straits Set- tlements Association here and in London, aided by the China Association, for more stringent legislation against certain contagions diseases' in the Colony resulted recently in the Secretary of State promising to direct the Governor to take some steps in the direction desired. The Secretary of State refused to sandtion the strin- gent measures pressed for by the Association, but agreed to meet its views on sundry minor points. Another matter that had aroused public indig
June 24, 1899.
China and Japan. There is, however, oue uncer. tainty as to how the Government would treat foreign gold-seekers. Would they be disposed to grant claims, licenses, or to tax the gold procured. or, what is not unlikely, refuse to permit foreign diggers to work the anriferous deposits. It is true that Japanese are permitted to take up claims and work them in Australia, Canada, and America, but it is by no means certain that the same liberality of treatment will be meted out by the Formosan authorities; but the experiment should be tried. The informa- tion we give about the gold deposits in Formosa we have received a reliable anthority.
mila Dispd'e igenic žøre, stating that the nation was the want of adequate legislation
FATAL ACOX
DMENTO ARCHDEA
steamer Will-o-the-Wisp had arrived at Kudat, in British North Borneo, with dates from the Philippines to the 18th May. The Will-o- the-Wisp brought the following warning from there. By the direction of the Commander-in- Chief U.S. Naval force on the Asiatic Station; All trade with the Philippines is prohibited, except with the ports of Manila, Iloilo. Cebu, and Bakalote. Ships are hereby warned to go no- where else in the Philippines," On the next day 2nd June the Straits Settlement's Government Gazette published a protocol signed at Madrid in 1877, between the Spanish, British, and Ger- man Governments, securing, freedom of trade in Solu.
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against disorderly houses and against traders in prostitution. The Secretary of State has brought under the notice of the local Govern. ment these matters requiring legislative atten- tion. The local Government now seeks to meet requirements by introducing into the Legisla- tive Council a Bill intituled: an Ordinance to amend the Women and Girl's Protection Or- dinance of 1890). The Bill is published in the last number of the Government Gazette.
CON WARREN,
``Kobe, 8th June.
that Archdeacon Warren has sustained a nasty Many of our readers will regret to learn accident at Fakuyama. While inspecting
the cellar at Mr. Swann's former residence, the reserend gentlemen slipped and fell on his beard. He was able to walk home, but has, WO understand; since become unconscions. The Statement of Objects and Reasons for. the measure thus sets forth the scope of the to learn that the
Since the above was in type, we regret Bill:-Section 2 puts a penalty, which may fatal. A correspondent writes:-Archdeacon accident has proved include banishment, upon any brothel-keeper Warren of Osaka died yesterday, Wednesday who permits a woman suffering from a con(exact time unknown) as the result of an tagions disease to remain in a brothel for the accident, at Fukuyama, Bingo province. It purpose of prostitution. This clause will, it is appears he was looking over one of the hoped, tend to promote the proper medical mission houses and in going down to inspect treatment of prostitutes when suffering from disease; and the most effective provision of the the house at which he was staying; but com- a cellar he fell ten steps. He walked back to Bill is one giving the Governor in Council plained of bis head and lay down in the hope power to banish any alien or any naturalised that the rest would do it good. Appearently he subject who is, for a second time, convicted of lapsed into unconsciousness, from which he never allowing a woman with contagious disease to recovered. Evidently there had been a rupture remain in a brothel. In practice the keeper of of one of the blood-vessels of the brain caused such places are soldom natural-born British by the fall. Medical assistance was subjects, so that the power of banishment is for but despi e all that the foreign and Japanese telegraphed likely to be effective and deterrebt. doctors could do; he gradually sank.-Chronicle Section 3 extends the Protector's powers of search. Section 4 adds four new sections this afternoon.
A meeting of the Sanitary Board will be held
numbered 18. 19, 20, and 21. Of these, Section 18 gives power to the Government to close a brothel without assigning a reason. It is not necessary under the new clause to prove to the Magistrate that the brothel is a nuisance to the neighbourhood. Section 19 gives the police as to the proposal to hand back Kowloon City With regard to the stories which are afloat and the Protectorate extended powers of visita-and Samchun to the Chinese we may state that tion and search of disorderly houses. Sestion everything has been definitely settled as to the 20 makes the owner of premises used as a taking over of Kowloon City, which has been brothel liable to fine, on a conviction being ob-handed over to the civil authorities. Samchun tained a second time for an offence under the is, however, still in military occupation. Ordinance committed in respect of the same premises. Section 21 reproduces the provisions- of "The English Vagrant Act 1998", which renders persons trading in prosititution liable to imprisonment. The class of persons to be dealt with is said to be on the increase in the Colony.-Straits Times.
To understand the Protocol it must be borne in mind that British and German subjects were then largely interested in the trade of Sala, and that the Spaniards were trying to utilise their nominal sovereignty there to trammel ommerce and to levy customs duties. Ger- many and Britain protested a,sinst this a9- sumption of power. The Potocol settled the difficulty by recognising almost thorough free dom of trade and commerce in the Sulu islands to the vessels and subjects of Britain, Germany, and other Powers. Freedom of fishery and freedom from sanitary restrictions were also recognised. Spain agreed not to levy duties and not to enforce sanitary or commercial restrictions save at points effectively o0. onpied by Spanish garrisons. It was stipa- lated expressly that, at places in the Sulu islands not effectively occupied by Spain, neither the ships nor the subjects of the afore. said Powers, nor their goods, should be made liable to the payment of any due or duty, or to come under any sanitary regulation whatsoever. The immediate republication of the Protocol, after the warning given to the Will-o-the Wisp, points to cause and effect. It is not probable that the Straits Government officials would have remembered this long forgotton document, or could have ventured upou republishing a Foreign Office notification on their own mere motion. It is most likely that the persons interested in the Sulu trade in North Borneo had moved the Foreign Office direct, and called its attention to the telegraphic reports sent home as to the interference with the Will-o-the Wisp. Further
GOLD DEPOSITS IN FORMOSA, Mr. Keyser, who is British Consul at Labuan, may, also, have telegraphically informed the Amongst the facts not generally known, we Foreign Office of the matter. It would then be may mention from information received, say the seen at once that the American action rau Japan Herald, that there are rich gold deposits counter to the Protocol, and that the new in Formosa which are being assiduously worked possessors of the Sulu islands should be reminded by Japanese, who are doing their best to prevent that they had also taken over the obligations of the outside world from acquiring knowledge that their Spanish predecessors. That might mean the auriferous treasures to be found in the that the British Foreign Office may simultane-alluvium, and also in the beds of streams, ously have made friendly representations to are remarkable for their richness. Not only Washington, and may have telegraphically in- strapted, the Straits and Hongkong Govern- ments to republish the text of the Protocol: That would be for the (indirect) information of the, American authorities at Manila, who will doubtless be informed at once, by the Ameri- can Consuls, of the rapublication of the Protocol. The American Commander-in-Chief, who authorised the warning to the Will-o-the Wisp, no-matter whether he knew of the Pro- tocol or not, may, of course, fairly plead that suarphy - prevails in the Sulu islands and that the conditions admitting of the full application of the Protocol temporarily do not exist. But in that osse, timely previous notification should have been given at ports trading with the Sula islands No official notification of it was cer tainly given here. Probably, to make a frank surmise, the American authorities were entirely ignorant that such a Protocol existed. Now they will soquire that information.-Stratis Times.
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The Hon. Treasurer of the Alice Memorial ·
and Nethersole Hospitals begs to acknowledge with thanks the following donation to the funds of the Hospitals-J. D Hutchison & Co. $50,
BANK-NOTE FORGERS AND
COINERS.
At the Mixed Court at Shanghai on the 16th Juus, before the magistratë, Mr. Wêng and the British assessor, Mr. Mayers, three Ningpo men were charged with being concerned with others not custody in forging a number of $5 bank notes, the facsimile of the Imperial Bank of China notes, thereby defrauding the Bank and the public, also with being in the possession of machinery and plant for their manufacture. Deputy Captain Superintendent Mackenzie pro- secuted on behalf of the police. Mr. A. W. Mait- land, acting Chief Manager of the Imperial Bauk of China, stated that on the 10th inst., two uotes were handed into the Bank which were forgeries. is this the case with the fred gold, but in He communicated with Detective Inspector the original matrix. The quartz is being Armstrong. On the 14th inst., four more of the crashed by machinery, and batteries of stamps forged notes were presented at the Bank and have been secretly imported from abroad and the men were subseqently arrested. Detective- are already at work, and are in course of being Inspector Armstrong said he arrested, the pri added to, so encourging are the results, since the soners on the 14th. For some time he had had percentage of the precious metal to the ton may bis eye on the chief pri-ouer's movements and be assumed to be sufficiently high to warrent the noticed that he was continually changing his erection of additional stampers. The locality abode, and upon examination of each of the va- where these successful operations are being carcated places he had always discovered traces of ried on is in the north eastern portion of the burnt parchment and occasionally marks of red island The Japanese who are obtaining so
and brown paint, On the 14th inst. he much gold are naturally desirous that the know arrested this prisoner in the Amoy Road, ledge of the fact not be spread abroad. lest and in taking him to the station prisoner tried there be a rush of others to participate in to pass a purse to another man, who was at their good fortune. These particulars have once arrested. The parse was afterwards found been privately communicated to us in the inter- to contain a forged facsimile of the 95 notes in est of the general public, so that they may be question. The first-named prisoner gave in- made known through our columus. It is not formation at the police station as to the where- worth while going to the Klondlike, with all abouts of an accomplice, and he (Armstrong) its risks, expenses, and hardships, when there are and Detective Gilfillan, upon senrobing the ac rich diggings so easily accessible from both complice's premises in Seward Road, found in