456
China, subsequent to King's arrest, have been of such a nature as vory effectively to distract public attention and preoccupatión from a per- sonal grievanco; otherwise the case of King would certainly have brought forth a strong protest of righteous indignation.
The facts of his case are very simple. When the Empress Dowager at the beginning of this year contemplated and even decreed the deposi tion of the Emperor, the manager of the Tele- graph Co., a prominent member of the Chinese community at Shanghai, headed the list of signatories to the telegram of protest, sent by prominent Chinese of Shanghai and other ports. That action brought upon him the indignation of the Dowager and her ministers, and Sheng Taotai was ordered to produce the offender. King consulted his safety by flight, and took an early steamer for Hongkong. He was ill- advised enough, however, for some reason or other, to come to Macao. There, according to his own statement, he received word that the acting Viceroy of Nanking desired to see him, and trusting to that official's goodwill and sincerity, he was about to leave for Shanghai, when he was unexpectedly arrested here at the request of Li Hung-chang. Trusting still in the justice of his cause and the sincerity of high officials, he says that he wanted to proceed at once to Canton to present himself to the Vice- roy. His friends, however, better advised per- haps, persuaded him to the contrary; and then, once arrested, he was a Portuguese prisoner,
and was not free to leave Macao.
When he was arrested, those who were fami- liar with Portuguese jurisprudence said that he could not be detained beyond eight days; at the end of which time he would have to be Bet free, if not previously oxtradited.
Eight days passed, and King remained in prison. Months passed, and the question still dragged on. Governor Galhardo" went away, and left King in prison. Then came the mem- orable events in the north. Finally the case got out of the court, and the report of that tri- bunal was submitted to the Council governing ad interim. That body did not see fit to take it upon itself to set the prisoner free, and the case was referred, with all the documents, to
Lisbon.
Then came another spell of waiting. The new Governor came, but there was no news for
the prisoner of the mountain. He passed the hot summer in confinement, and there he is still at the approach of winter, without a word from the Portuguese capital to show that any notice is taken of his case. It is true he is not treated badly. He has the liberty of the Monte Fort, but being old and infirm, and accustomed to the conveniences and amenities of home life, with his family around him, he feels his confinement
very much.
Moreover, there would seem to be no further reason for his detention. The Dowager and hor friends have enough to think of. without caring for the punishment of an offence which events have thrown into the background.
Hoping that this statement of Mr. King's grievance may interest some of your readers, I am, yours, etc.,
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
Tientsin garrison, later on move: 1
company, marines Tientsin garrison, later on
Transport and Engineers' Staff
Men
240
move:
30
1,007 at least.
Altogether, without officers
Yours sincerely,
ROLLMANN, Capt. S. M. S. Cefion. [The statement to which our correspondent refers appears in the home papers, which quote the Cologne Gazette as their authority. Un- fortunately we cannot refer to the original statement in the Cologne journal. glad to be able to publish Capt. Rollmann's correction-Ed. D.P.]
We are
A. S. WATSON AND CO., LIMITED. On Tuesday, 4th inst., at noon. an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in the above company was held at the Company's Office, Queen's Road Central, Mr. Hart Back presided, and there were also present, Messrs. C. Ewens (solicitor to the company), A. H. Maucell (secretary), G. Murray Bain, J. S. Hagen, J. A. Tarrant. E. H. Joseph, and W. E. Clement.
The SECRETARY read the notice convening the meeting.
The CHAIRMAN said-Gentlemen, this meet- ing has been called, as stated in the notice just read, for the purpose of adopting certain new regulations, a draft copy of which has been open to your inspection in the Company's Office since the 24th November. These new regula- tion do not in any way affect the clauses con- tained in the original Articles of Association which define the objects of the Company, nor those parts of the Articles which would have been included in the Memorandum of As. sociation, if a separate Memorandum had been registered. The reason why new Articles of Association are required is that certain changes are considered necessary from the old articles which were drawn up in 1885, when the manager ment of the Company was vested solely in your late general manager. Mr. John D. Humphreys,
December 8, 1000.
SUPREME COURT.
Saturday, 1st December.
IN ORIGINAL JURISDICTION.
BEFORE HIS HONOUR SIR JOHN CARRING. TON, C.M.G. (CHIEF JUSTICE).
HOWARD AND STEPHENS V. THE ATTORNEY- GENERAL.
The Chief Justice gave judgment in this case. The plaintiffs were represented by Mr. J. J. Francis, Q C. (instructed by Mr. Stephens) and the Attorney-General (the Hon. W. Meigh Goodman, Q.C.) appeared in person, instructed by the Crown Solicitor (Mr. F. B. L. Bowley).
The Chief Justice said:-In this case the Court is called upon to determine the following issue of law!" Assuming all the facts stated in the Petition to be true and having regard to the provisions of the Praya Reclamation Ordin- ance, 1889, has the Court jurisdiction to inquire into the proceedings connected with the award referred to in the Petition and to set aside the said award and declare it null and void P*"
For the purpose of determining this issue I think it will be convenient in the first place to state the facts set out in the Petition, in the second place to state the provisions of the Praya Reclamation Ordinance, 1889, so far as they have any bearing on the issue, and, lastly, to state the conclusions to which an examination
of the facts and of the Ordinance seems properly to lead.
As the facts set out in the Potition are to bo
taken as true, I will state them in the form of a narrative, in the same manner as if I were set- ting forth findings established by evidence.
The plaintiffs were until quite recently the Crown lessees and the owners and occupiers as tenants in common of Marine Lot No. 184 There were godowns in the City of Victoria. erected on the Lot and the plaintiffs carried on there the business of godown-keepers.
The Lot is situate in the western district of
the City, and from the time when the Crown lease for it was granted, that is, in 1884, until about April, 1898, it abutted on the north side for a length of 100 feet on the Praya, and was only separated from the sea in the Harbour by the Praya. At that point the Praya was about 50 feet wido.
Until the construction of the reclamation works which will be presently mentioned, the sea in the Harbour came at all times of the tide to the foot of the sea-wall bounding the Praya, and the plaintiffs were able, at all times of the day and night and at all states of the tide, to bring cargo-boats to the sea-wall, to load and unload goods into and from them, and to convey such goods easily and cheaply from and into their godowns.
For instance, the old articles did not give us power to appoint a Consulting Committee. a course which we are desirous of taking. The principal changes between the old articles and the new articles, which we are now considering, are: The remuneration of the General Managers, the increase in the number of qualification shares necessary to be held by the General Managers, the change in the working of the London Agency, and the appointment of a Consulting Committee. These changes are dealt with in paragraphs 80, 81, 82, and 87 respectively. The other alterations made are not important and consist mainly of the substitution of the name of John D. Humphreys and Son, the present
About the year 1891 the Governor, acting general managers, for that of John David Humphreys, the late general manager, where under the authority of the Ordinance already such changes are necessary. I think. gentle- mentioned, commenced to construct an embank- men, that the revised Articles of Associationment along the Harbour front of the City, from now before you will be found under the existing a point to the westward of the plaintiffs' Lot to a point to the eastward of it, and to construct a altored conditions of the working of the Com- pany to be more useful and more practical than sea-wall, and to reclaim and fill in the foreshore the old articles, und also more profitable to the and bed of the Harbour between the Praya GERMAN DECORATIONS IN CHINA. Company's interests generally. Before proceed- and the new embankment and sea-wall. Those ing to move the adoption of the new Articles works have been carried on ever since and are I shall be pleased to answer any question refer- still being carried on, and the result of them, as far as the plaintiffs' Lot is concerned, has been ring to them.
that the Lot has been converted from a Marine Lot into an Inland Lot; it no longer abuts on the Praya or sea road, and no longer has any direct access to the sea, but is separated from it by the old Praya, by a piece of reclaimed land, the property of the Crown, of about 185 feet in width, and by the new Prays and sex-wall, of
X.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE " DAILY PRESS.
Hongkong, 5th December. SIR,---There must be some mistake in your statement to-day from the Cologne Gazette about the award of second class military honour decorations by the German Emperor.
The decoration was not awarded to all the men who took part in the different places; only
the
crew of the Illis, 101 non-commissioned officers, petty officers and men, got it as a whole. Altogether 266 decorations of this class (not 248) have been awarded, so that 165 have been distributed on the different landing parties.
For these 165 decorations there were in com.
petions, officers always excluded:
Men
486
about 145
about 106
With Admiral Seymour, under Capt.
v. Usedom Taku storming-party, under Capt.
Pohl Tientsin garrison, before capture of
Taku
Thore being no questions the CHAIRMAN proposed:-That the Regulations approved by this meeting and for the purposes of identifica tion subscribed by the General Managers be and the same are hereby approved. And that such Regulations be and they are hereby adopt ed as the Regulations of the Company to the exclusion of all existing Regulations thereof."
Mr. MURRAY BAIN-I have great pleasure in seconding the resolution, the object of which is to introduce these changes in the regulations.
The resolution was carried.
The CHAIRMAN--There will be a confirma- tory meeting of which you will receive due notice. I thank you very much for your atten-
dance.
Captain Moseley, who has been appointed Deputy Consul-General for the United States of America in the Straits Settlements, is a brother of the late Dr. Moseley, who died at Yokohama on the 14th ult.
|
about 75 feet in width.
During the progress of these works the plaintiffs' access to the sea along the whole front of their Lot was seriously impeded and dim. inished, and they suffered heavy losses in their business as godown-keepers, and upon the com. pletion of the works the Lot was seriously de- preciated in value by being entirely shut ont from direct access to the sea and by being converted from a Marine into an Inland Lot.
By the diminution of their business during the construction of the works the plaintiffs suffered a loss of about $25,000, and by the de- preciation in value of their Lot they suffered a further loss of about $90,000. Before the
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