February 16, 1901.j
CAPTAIN'S CUP AND SILVER MEDAL FOR FEBRUARY.
The uncertain state of the weather prevented the appearance of several of the regular com- petitors, but those who had the courage to face the rain were amply rewarded by a clear course and essy greens. Some fine scores were re- turned, making it very evident that the new bunker is a poor substitute for the now extinct
burn."
46
CAPTAIN'S CUP.
Mr. E. J. Grist .
Lieut. U. C. Walcote, R.N.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
CHANG.
137
ROYAL HONGKONG GOLF CLUB. one hundred and sixty-three. Ordnance officers | AN INTERVIEW WITH LI HUNG- at seventy-one, and Signal officers at thirty-five. It provides that after the expiration of the terms of the present staff officers, all staff details mente to fill present original vacancles. Chiefs cently had the pleasure of an hour's conver. are to be made from the line, including appoint By appointment at his lace in Pekin' I of staff are to be hereafter selected from the sation with the veteran Chinese staterman army at large, and all promotions are to be by Grand Old Man of the long-lived Chinare seniority. The new law provides that volunteers Empire. After salutations in which under forty years of age are eligible for first hold of my hand between both of his, the frail the date of their commission in the service. him and puffed away at his Chinese pipe, and second lieutenanta, ranking according to old man requested me to be seated close beside Regular and volunteer enlisted men are refill which seemed to be the undivided duty of eligible for second lieutenancies after two two attendants. As usual in Chinese inter- years' service in the army. The total number views, he fired off a string of questions as to of enlisted men in the regular army of the my age, profession, pay, seciál position, aims United States shall consist of one hundred life, whether married, and how many thousand men, this number to include twelve etc. It took some adroitness to get him to thousand native troops. The captains in the divulge an opinion, and the throwing in of a regular army are to be promoted to majors in joke or Irish ball occasionally helped him to the native battalions, while lieutenants are to unbend a little, when he talked freely and joked be promoted to captains, and enlisted men of consumedly in turn, and laughed very heartily. two years' service are to be eligible to appoint. He said he enjoyed good health, although look- ment as lieutenants in the native battalions. ing worn and feeble. I ventured to advise him, Officers of volunteers who were commissioned as a medical man, to conserve his health and since April 21st, 1898, are eligible for Quarter-strength, in order the better to serve his masters and Commissaries of Subsistence. The country during the great crisis she is just pass- bill further provides that the first-class at the ing through. Reports since then of his illness Military Academy of West Point shall graduate çonfirm the diagnosis casually arrived at that in February, and that the graduates shall take he was not very robust. presedence in the appointments under this new
Capt. C. C. Banton
89
85 less 12
73
91,
14
77
90
11
79
Lient. R.E. E. Krickenbeek
97 „
14
83
Mr. E. F. Mackay
92 5
87
"
Com. Davison, E.N
100 13
87
Mr. T. 8. Forrest
87 plus 2
(20 entries.)
POOL.
88 less 14 85 12
72 73
12
91 16 78 plus 2 8416ss 2 100 13
75
80
(14 entries.)
"
t.
Lient. C. C. Walcots, R.N.
Mr. E. J. Grist...
Lieut. C. Maclachlan, R.N.
Mr. T. 8. Forrest
Lieut A. J. M. Grieve, RN. Com. Davison, R.N....
222885
87
HONGKONG VOLUNTEER CORPS. army measure.
"
“A” MACHINE GUN CO. The eleventh shoot of the series took place at Kowloon on 10th inst Gun, H Hursthouse won both cups. The following are the highest
scores :---
200 500 600 Hep. Total Guar. Hursthouse... 25 25 23 13 86 Bomb. Wodehouse 23 30
5 80 Capt. Sanders..... 23 25 18 13 79
THE HONGKONG RIFLE
ASSOCIATION.
There was a large attendance of members at the Range on the 9th inst., for the opening Com petition for the Long Range Cup. A strong left wind at the 800 yards range proved somewhat disconcerting to the competitors. Instructor Wakes B.N. registered the first win with the ereditable score of 90.
Following are the best scores.
急
*Sgt. Wake, R.M.L.I.... 48 42
Mr. J. Marshall
41 48 4
90
89
84
*Mr. J. Pidgeon
45 41
~
86
*Mr. Hursthouse
*Mr. A. Watson
33 39 46 37 x
46
37
Q.M. Sgt. Wallace, R.E.
Gunner Pond, R.W.F... 45 28 10
Mr. Fisher
Mr. Blason
உள்
Mr. Cameron...
Ac. Sgt. Blais
Mr. Horley
+
37 45
42 80 10
45 21 15 41 39
28183828788
THE SIBERIAN RAILWAY.
The Sibirskiya Shier states that the centra- lised administration of the Siberian Railway has already proved to be too unwieldy and wholly inadequate to a practical and satisfac- tory working of the great trans-continental line. It leads to delays, confusion and block. ages. The Imperial Government has, there fore, decided that there shall be three semi. independent administrations, centred respec- tively at Omsk, Tomsk, or Krassroyarsk and Irkutsk.
The Siberian line is altogether of too great a length to be efficiently controlled from one chief headquarters. The Sibirskiya Shier does not, indeed, hesitate to attribute all the lamentable accidents, which have already given an evil reputation to the line, to the muddle and general confusion existing between the various sec tions, nor does that journal, which writes on 700 800 H'cap. Total expert authority, attempt to disguise the fact that many portions of the line will shortly have to be relaid and partly rebuilt, The haste with which some sections of the road were constructed is only to a certain degree ac countable for this necessity. The wholesale and rampant system of speculation which obtained among many of the contractors for the supply of first-class building mater ial, and the notorious scamping of the work on some sections are chiefly responsible. It is true, however, that the Committee of Construction made a primary mistake in laying rails of only 44lbs to the foot; the minimum should have been 6lbs. Such feeble material, although of good or fair quality, will not long bear the wear and tear and weight of the heavy largely to this cardinal fault and to the fact that traffic of the Siberian Railway. It is owing instead of chairs and fishplates being used the rails are simply riveted together, and stapled down to the sleepers, that over some sections the locomo tive drivers are not allowed to travel at more than five miles an hour. Through the corrup tion and peculation referred to a huge number of the sleepers are of soft and perishable timber, instead of oak and the other, hard and durable wood contracted for. Another standing danger to traffic is the flimsy and insecure structure of some of the smaller bridges, and many of the culverts. -
45 27
*Winners of Spoons.”
THE U.S. ARMY BILL.
A New York telegram, dated February 6th, to the Manila Times says:-The Army Bill was passed by the Senate last Thursday, and signed by President McKinley, and is now law It provides that the Army of the United States shall consist of one Lieut.-General, six Major-Generals, fifteen Brigadier-Generals, fifteen regiments of cavalry, thirty regiments of infantry, a corps of artillery with chief, one hundred and twenty-six batteries of coast artillery, and thirty batteries of field artillery. If further provides that Lieuten ants in infantry and cavalry regiments may transfer to the Artillery Corps, ranking by date of their original appointments. The artillery shall consist of nineteen thonsand, fo be increas. ed from the present status at the rate of twenty per cent, annually. It provides for three hun- dred and twenty-one doctors, besides one hundred and fifty volunteer physicians for the Philippine service. The bill fixes the total number of Adjutants General at twenty-eight, Inspectors General
Judge, à dvomates at twelve, - Qu
ninety-six, Com- forty-four, Engineer omcers
The Universal Gazette give ⇓ long list of treasure and other things looted by the various foreign troops in North China. From the list of Government treasure taken from places near Peking, it appears that (according to the Chinese socount) more than 555,000 Tis., beside | large quantity of valuables, furs, rugs, syces silver and small monies, have been lost to the Imperial Government in the neighbourhood the capital alone.
iren,
He asked what I thought of the international looting attributed to some missionaries, and particularised a number of the American Mis- sion Board. I said in so far as the missionaries participated in looting they were departing from the true tenets of Christianity, and that such conduct could not be defended'; but that the looting accompanying an invasion provoked by Chinese murderers must be submitted to one of the fortunes of war. He then said,
Yes; but I think the decalogue of Christian- ity in that case, requires revision beginning with, for example : Thou shalt not steal-but thou mayest loot," at which we both laughed very heartily. He hoped to settle matters before April, and wished to use all his infueñes to get the Emperor back and conclude peace an speedily as possible. The Chinese, he said, did not much relish the Manchu dynasty at heart, but from their ancestral system of worship could not overthrow it constitutionally. Họ was in favour of them adopting all the benefits of Western civilisation-electricity, railways, mining and all that ministers to luxury and case-but gradually. The Chinese, he thought, would voluntarily adopt many of our inventions presently, but as they were a very conservative people, it would require great tact and judgment to introduce such desirable innovations and reforms. He said, in reply to a question, that he thought China would soon rally and com- pletely recover from the reverse infioted upon her that the open door policy should be reciprocal.
How," he asked, "can you justly put a poll. tax on Chinese smigrants entering Australia and America, and demand free admisión för, mis- sionaries, traders, and undesirable characters, and people of easy virtue, into the treaty ports in Chinese territory "He strongly contended
or the open door all round and Even the missionaries he is not pointedly asked, "How can ■ posed too; but discourages women twenty-one years, however enthusiasts, gifted, or sealona, have any weight in Chinese learned man of fifty years experience of the world ? - Her offence to Chinees ideas of propriety." He admitted that as lady doctors they had a legiti- mate sphere of work, which he could most cor- dially endorse by its results and gladly on- courage for the future.
tured
I then ventured some remarks on the value of
life and the most desirable things in this world for the natural man. He agreed that money per se was not the object to live for. He concurred that the best things are the gift of a beneficent Creator, that the world was not a bad plaos live in, provided we had a good ideal to live up to, and did not injure others or violate our own conscience and its dictates of rectitude. This led to a talk about his own bona fides in the present negotiations and the that hoped to 1
Powers with
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