Page
THE
Hongkong Weekly Press
AND
China Overland Trade Report.
VOL. LI.]
CONTENTS.
Epitome of the Week, &c.
Leading Articles :-
The Philippine Commission
The Victoria Diamond Jubilee Memorial
The Health of Hongkong
Afforestation and Spoliation in Hongkong
The Boxers Advance on the Capital.
The Foreign Trade of Japan
Hongkong Legislative Council
Supreme Court
Hongkong Sanitary Board
Victoria Diamond Jubilee Memorial
The Governor's Salary
375
HONGKONG, SATURDAY, 2ND JUNE, 1900.
The people of Kao-mi district, Shantung, creating such continual trouble in consequence of the German railway line, that General Yuan has consulted with the German authorities in 376 order to divert the line some 80 li from the .376 district.
377
..378 A Corean telegram received by the Jiji
378 states that the French Minister has demanded| 379 from the Corean Government the concession of 379
a mine. The same message reports that Mr. .380
Jordan, British Minister at Seoul, who was a .383
few days ago relieved by the new Minister, Mr. 385 Gubbins, left there on the 17th ult. for Vladivostock on his way home by the overland route.
384
The Queen's Birthday Celebration .
.385
The £200,000 Loan...
Attempted Murder at Shaukiwan
The New Hamburg-America Liner
385 385 386
The Theatre
Loss of the s.s. "Ussuri,'
The New Soldiers' and Sailors' Home
The Lekin Question
Canton
Correspondence
Olivers Freehold and Queen Mines, Limited
Hongkong Volunteer Corps
Hongkong Rifle Association
Hongkong and Port News Commercial
Shipping
BIRTHS.
.386 386 386
A Peking telegram of the 18th ult! announ- 386 ced the arrival of three United States gunboats at Taku, in connection with the rioting near Peking. The telegram continues:-"The num- ber of native Christians killed is put at 72. The 387 Foreign Ministers are of opinion that the pro- tection of their Legations is necessary in view of the crisis. The Powers will not, however, take concerted action."
.386
387
388
388 388 .390
The Grand Review of troops of the Kiangsu 391 province has been postponed till the middle of June next, instead of on the 2nd as previously intended. Governor Lu, knowing that a good number of outlaws, probably Boxers, have recently come from some other places to the vicinity of Soochow and fearing that disturb ances will occur, has thought it necessary to keep soldiers in readiness.
On the 22nd May, 1900, at Madrid, the wife of HILARION G. DEL CASTILLO, ex Spanish Consul at Nagasaki, of a daughter. Japan papers please
copy.
At No. 1, Albany Road, on the 26th May, the
wife of Capt. HODGINS, of twin sons (prematurely). On the 31st May, 1900, at 22, Morrison Hill Road, Hongkong, the wife of PHILIP S. PRIMROSE, Master Government Vessel Hercules, of a son,
DEATH.
At his own Villa in Rossetti Road, No. 668, at Trieste, on the 23rd April, 1900, CARLO ZANELLA, the late Agent of the Austrian Lloyd's S. N. Co. in Hongkong. B.I.P.
ARRIVALS OF MAILS.
The German mail of the 18th April arrived, per N. D. L. steamer Oldenburg, on the 29th May (41 days), and the Canadian mail of the 8th May arrived, per C. P. R. steamer Empress of China, on the 30th May (22 days).
EPITOME OF THE WEEK.
electric
Disturbances in opposition to the tramway in Seoul have again broken out, this time in consequence of a man having been killed by a car. The rioters attempted to destroy the tramway station on the night of the 17th ult.
&
The Shanghai mandarins are said to have received despatches from the South to the effect that the Siamese Government is considering measure for the taxing of Chinese in that king- dom at the rate of $8.00 per head per annum. This, it is estimated, will bring an additional
revenue to the Siamese Government of some- thing like $240,000 a year.
Our Canton correspondent writes under date 28th May:It is said in mandarin circles that HE Li Hung-chang has received a telegram from the Tsungli Yamen confirming his appoint- ment as Viceroy of Kwang Tung and Kwangsi, and that the late Viceroy Tan Chung Lin is appointed president of the Board of Rites at Peking.
Despatches from reliable quarters at Peking state that many scions of the Manchu nobility have joined the Boxer Association, and that several Princes and Dukes have given their con- sent to act as Patrons of that Society, although the walls of Peking have recently been placarded with Imperial proclamations denouncing the Boxers as outlaws, and they are therefore liable to be executed according to the laws.
22
The administration report on Penang for 1899 sets the revenue during that year at $1,672.525 -a slight increase over the figures for 1898. The expenditure, exclusive of Crown Agents' accounts, shows an increase of $85,814 over that for 1898, but a decrease of $400,820 on the esti- mates. The total import and export trade was $130,502,479 against $114,816,346 in 1898.
12
The Chih Pao gives a story to the effect that an attempt was recently made to poison the Heir Apparent by means of a cup of tea brought to him by a eunuch when he was at his studies, “in the name of the Empress.' The youth in ac- cordance with custom hastened to thank her before drinking the tea, on which the schemers had apparently not reckoned, and the fraud was thus discovered. The colour of the tea is stated to have been very dark. Two eunuchs have since been beheaded, and some suspicious appar- ently rested upon them as being concerned in the attempt.
Mr. Kwon, whose arrest on landing at Chemulpho has just been announced, says the Japan Daily Mail, was Chief of Police in Seoul at the time of the coup d'etat November 2nd, 1896 when the Prime Minister Kim was mur- dered, and the King took refuge in the Russian Legation. Kwon escaped to Japan, and has remained in hiding ever since. It is not clear what sin he is supposed to have committed: Public opinion inclines rather to the belief that he was sinned against. At all events he appears to have grown weary of exile, and in spite of the urgent remonstrances and warnings of his triends, he repaired to Corea and gave himself up.
The Kobe Chronicle says:-The remark of tion at Masampo, which our correspondent the Times concerning Russia's recent acquisi- wires, appears somewhat surprising. It would almost seem that the Times believes Russia to have practically taken possession of Masampho, though information reaching Japan scarcely supports this view, it being understood that Russia has merely acquired the right to establish Grand Secretary and Generalissimo, Jung Lu, a coaling depot at Masampo for a line of steamers who had been seriously ill of late, is now out of which is to run from Port Arthur to Vladivo danger. There were fears at first that Jung Lustok. Possibly, however, the Times has received
A telegram received by Shanghai mandarins from Peking on the 22nd ult. states that the
had been made the victim of the friends of the
Empress Dowager's lately deceased favourite eunuch, whom they accuse Jung Lu of having poisoned; but this charge, according to the telegram, was groundless.
The Asahi has received a Seoul telegram to the following effect:-" Seoul, May 21st.-Mr. Hunt is reported to have obtained a perpetual lease of the Unsan gold mine, with full mining privileges. He is reported to have paid yen 300,000 to the Corean Government for the con- cession. Mr. Leigh Hunt is an American and general manager of the Oriental Consolidated Mining Co., Chemulpo. The Unsan concession, however, has already been reported granted to Mr. Pritchard-Morgan.
The following telegrams were received in Hongkong on the 29th and 30th ult. with reference to the Boxer disturbances in the North-(1) & Boxers' outbreak occurred yester day (28th May) between Tientsin and Peking, The rioters are proceeding to Peking. They have destroyed the railway to prevent pursuit. The warships at Taku are landing men. Tien- tsui itself is quiet. (2) Peking is quiet. The Algerine and Orlando with 100 marines and a gun have been despatched to Taku from
Weihaiwei.
some special information not yet made public, for the Peking correspondent of the London journal has recently been in Corea making a special study of the position.
While Japan was absorbed in the Imperial Wedding, says the Tokyo correspondent of the Nagasaki Press, there was quietly going on at Masampo, on the 30th April, the second sale of land. Of the total sections offered for sale (68) 55 were brought down under the hammer and the rest withdrawn, as there was no bidding for them. The sum realized was Yen 5,1331 against the estimated price of Yen 3,098. Eighteen lots went to Japane,ides two and six lots respectively purchased 1y the Japanese Consulate and the Post Office; sixteen lots to English; and thirteen lots to Russians. As on the first occasion, the official languages used by the auctioneers were English and Japanese If the whole proceedings were remarkable for any- thing, it was for the complete absence of excite- ment, which characterized the first auction sale Perhaps it will be remembered that on the first occasion the total sum realised for the land (30.185 square metres) was Yen 49,342 against the estimated price of Yen 1,811 Compared with the result of the second sale, the difference becomes obvious,