500
FOOCHOW.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
CORRESPONDENCE.
[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.]
A. S. WATSON & CO., LIMITED.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS,”
Hongkong, 17th December. the 16th June, 1885, by a Deed of Settlement SIE,-A. S. Watson & Co. was formed, on containing certain Regulations with power to alter all or any of them.
The Foochow Echo of the 8th inst. gives an account of the athletic sports at that port on the 6th, which was quite a gala day for Foochow The whole of the community, men, ladies and children, a contingent of some seventy men from H.M.8, Mohawk, and several hundreds of Chinese, were all down on the recreation ground enjoying the sports in the finest of fine weather. The committee consisted of Messrs, Ramsay, Simpson, Brockett, Rogers, G. Greig, R. Greig, Balloch, Lachlan and Shearer. Mr. W. A. R. Knight acted as starter and Messrs. Baker and Galton as judges. Mr. Wallace,
The Company was registered, under the Com- the Hon. Secretary and Treasurer of the Foo-panies Ordinance 1865, with limited liability on chow Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club, was of the 19th January, 1886, and such registration course present and kept very busy throughout deprived it of the power of altering some of the the afternoon. Twelve items were on the pro- Regulations without the sanction of the Court. gramme of a most varied nature, the last of which, a tug-of-war between H. M. S. Mohawk and Foochow, was won, after breaking one rope and having a good tussle with a second one, by the naval team. The afternoon was a great success. It is impossible to say whether it was enjoyed most by the Foochow community.or by their visitors from the Mohawk. The prizes were presented by Mrs. O'Brien Butler.-Our Foochow contemporary has also the following item:-The installation of the W.M. of the Foochow Lodge took place on the 5th inst. The following are the officers for the ensuing year:- W.M., E. Wookey; I. P. M., G, Balloch; 8. W., C. Gray; J.W., T. Knudsen; Chaplain, S. L. Gracey; P. M., Treasurer, C. Skerrett-Rogers; P. M., Secretary, W. A. R. Knight; 8.D., H. Knight; J.D., C. Rosemann; I. G., G. Ander- Ben; Tyl, D. Silver.
CHUNGKING.
The Deed of Settlement is still subsisting, with certain slight alterations, but it is now proposed to adopt new Regulations to the ex- clusion of all existing Regulations. substance. The first is: Are the General Man- Two questions arise one of form, the other of
agers adopting the right course? The second is: Will the new Regulations be for the bene- fit of the Company ?
As to the first question, I pointed out to the General Managers, before the meeting of the 4th instant, that the proper and safe course was to alter the form of the Company's constitution by substituting a memorandum and Articles of Association for the Deed of Settlement under the Companies (Memorandum of Association) Ordinance, 1890.
This was the course adopted by the Hong- kong and Whampoa Dock Company last year under very eminent advice, and I have no doubt that it is the proper course to adopt in the pre- sent case.
There are many reasons why a Memorandum and Articles are more convenien than a Deed of Bottlement,
As to the second question, I venture to think that the Chairman at the meeting of the 4th instant did not sufficiently explain the objects of the new Regulations and did not show that they were for the benefit of the Company.
The advertisement of the meeting did not afford any information in this respect and did not even state (as is usual in such cases) that a copy of the proposed new Regulations might be seen by shureholders at the Company's office. I do not suppose that one tenth of the share holders know what the new Regulations are.
The N.-C. Daily News Chungking correspon- dent, writing on the 10th inst., says:- "We received the news the other day that the British Government had bought the Pioneer. This has given us a considerable amount of satisfaction for we now know we have a gun- boat (when she is so adapted) suitable for this river that will be able to give us adequate pro- tection, but many of us regret that her com- mercial capabilities were not fully tested. The question about which there is much con- jectare is, will the Government keep her up here with her present crew on board until she is reliev- ed by the Woodcock or Woodlark, or will she go down to Shanghai to be refitted and return. The former plan seems the most sensible under the present circumstances. It may seem farce to some to keep a gunboat in Chungking for the protection of sixteen Europeans, but it is necessary to look farther ahead than that. When we read of the "vast French interests-Under the present Regulations the General in Szechuan," as quoted by the Times from well known French paper referring to the "Evacuation of Chungking," we shall do well to keep the British flag well in evidence in the West of China, and it will never be ignored when flying from one of H.M.'s gun- boats.",
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The correspondent continues:-"We hear that some missionaries intend returning in the German steamer. It is to be sincerely hoped that they will not bring any ladies or children with them. Chungking at present is perfectly safe, but it certainly would not be if the Em- press come to Chêngtu, or even if the deplorable state of business continues much longer, sowing seeds of the discontent which quickly ripens into riot. Daily our friends ask us if peace has been concluded. We have to confess ignorance. It seems useless starting missionary work again with the chance of having it all upset as before, or until the safety of both
missionaries and converts is assured."
News is current, says the Corean correspon- dent of the Kobe Herald, that a proclamation has been issued in Seoul by Hi Yung Hick and his party calling upon the Corean Boxers to expel all foreigners, including the Japanese. The above-named gentleman is he (the correspondent adds) who caused all the recent trouble in con- nection with the gold mining affair. There is no doubt whatever that he is mixed up with the growing anti-foreign movement and is lending help to the Corean Boxers.
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I have, however, myself had an opportunity of perusing them, and so far as I remember, the chief provisions under the four heads men- tioned by the Chairman at the meeting of the 4th instant are as follows:--
1.-The remuneration of the General Manager,
Managers are entitled to a salary of $3,600 per annum. Under the new Regulations, they are to be entitled to a salary of $7,200 per annum and a commission of 5 per cent. on the net pro- fits in any year in which the net profits amount to 7 per cent. of the capital of the Company.
From the figures in the last Report it appears that if the General Managers had been paid for the year 1899 on the new instead of on the old basis they would have received under this head- ing $13,064 instead of $3,600.
If Directors are paid a commission on profits it is usual to provide that their total remanera- tion in respect of any one year shall not exceed a certain amount without the sanction of a General Meeting, but there is no such provision in the new Regulations.
2.-The increase in the number of qualifica- top shares necessary to be held by the General Mána ers. The General Managers are to hold shares of the Company of the nominal value, of $10,000—at the least-instead of $1,000.
3.-The change to the working of the London Agency. John D. Humphreys & Son are to be the London agents, and they are to receive a com. mission of 24 per cent. on all goods ordered by or for the Company from any person, firm or company carrying on business in Great Britain, the Continent of Europe, Canada, or the United States of America.
What will this commission probably amount to P
4.-The appointment of a consulting Com- |
[December 22, 1900.
is to be a member of the firm of John D. Humphreys & Son. The other four members are to be appointed by the General Managers, must hold 100 shares each, and are to be paid a remuneration of $2,500 in any year in which the netprofits amount to 7 per cent, of the capital.
Why did not the Chairman give some infor- mation on the above-mentioned points at the recent meeting? It was scarcely a representa- tive meeting. If one may judge from the names independent shareholder present; but, if the given in your report of it, there was scarcely an Chairman had gone a little into detail and explained why it was necessary or desirable to make the proposed alterations, the general body of shareholders might have known something about the matter.
When questions of remuneration are dealt with, I think that shareholders should have the fullest information, and it seems to me that in the present case the general body of share- holders have had practically no information whatever. I do not say that the proposed tioned, but I do say that it should not be increase of remuneration should not be sanc
sanctioned until the shareholders have had a fair opportunity of considering the matter, and especially of considering, with the facts and figures before them, whether the proposed alterations will on the whole be, as the Chair- man said at the recent meeting, "more profit- able to the Company's interests generally."
I should like to know, for instance, how the proposed alterations will probably affect future dividends. The Company used to pay a steady 14 per cent. It now pays 10 or 11 per cent. How much will it pay if the proposed new regulations are adopted ?—I am, etc.,
J. F. REECE.
THE PRICE OF LIVING IN HONGKONG.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESB.” Hongkong, 17th December. SIE,-On the evil that! is daily increasing, consequent upon the high living now prevalent in Hongkong, it is hardly necessary to dilate. Few there are, I believe, who need to be told how pernicious are its effects. And the few who have complained of it, no less than laboured to remove it, have, it may safely be asserted, been at the best entirely unsuccessful; not that the subject is trite, and has failed to engage atten. tion; nor that they were wrong in asserting its existence, for the truth of it is irrefragable since it exists now while it did not a few years since; but that, having gone so far, it is a pity they have not gone one step farther, and, instead of raising a hue and cry, calmly put to themselves these questions-Is it the duty of the Government to father the cause of its people? If so, can the evil be all done away with ? If not alto- gether, how far?
To the former of these questions the answer I give is, that the Government as such must do all that is within its province for their welfare; and this holds good in respect of its application to that of Hongkong. Of the latter and more complex question it does not present, at first sight, such an easy solution; nor can it become 80 with absolute certainty; nevertheless it is worth while arriving indefinitely near it.
Supposing it (the evil) cannot be completely removed, yet we can fairly expect its almost ‹ntire removal if such course as I shall pro. sently lay down be not inconsistent, and can be carried through.
The first and foremost of the causes produc... ing it, therefore, is the raising by leaps and bounds of house-rent. I know houses which, but a few years ago rented at $40 a month, are now rented at $110. The contrast, every one will admit, is anything but proportionate. And unfortunately the exorbitant rent cannot be reduced to what it was, as a great number of houses have changed hands, and a high price has been paid for them because of speculation running rife in them; but the obvious remedy is to fix a price on all houses according to their actual value, and a certain percentage, as the Government thinks fit, as rental income; and further, to stipulate that no house should hence- forth be sold for more than its intrinsic value :
| mittes.-There is to be a Consulting Committee otherwise, although restricted by the fixing of
of five members, including the Chairman, who ' the rent, it will not prove very beneficial.