1
June 22, 1901.]
of 1901 Race Meeting. Entrance $3. 1st prize presented. 2nd prize $20,
6-6.00 p.m. Chair Race.-For Soldiers and Sailors in Costume. Four men to a chair. 1st prize, $20. 2nd prize, $10. Extra prize of 85 for best turn-ont Competitors provide their own chairs. Occupant of chair to scale 9st.
Entries close to the Hon. Secretary at the Hongkong Club, 6 p.m., Monday, June 24th, and the entrance fee must be sent at the same time, or the entrance cannot be received.
THE RUSSIANS IN SZECHUEN.
IN TROUBLE WITH THE TIBETANS. A Shanghar Mercury correspondent writes under date Yac how, 18th May:·
The Russians are on the western frontier of Szechuen and are moreover in some difficulty. As long ago as February last a party of twenty
Russians was reported at Tachienlu. They had come from the west, had been in collision with the Tibetans, surrounded by them indeed and only rescued by the good offices of Chinese officials with the Tibetan tribesmen. So says the official report to the Viceroy of this province. After staying at Tachienlu for a time the Russians are said to have turned on their tracks and again gone into the in- hospitable land of the Lamas. Now again a report is rife that they are in trouble with the Tibetans and the chief officials from Tachienlu bave gone in to their aid.
The appearance of a Russian party at Tachionlu is enough to set all the tongues on this border a-going.
At a protracted and very enjoyable dinner with the city officials here last evening it was
my good fortune to sit beside a much travelled official who has eyes that see. For some six years he has been stationed on the Russo-Chinese frontier in Ili and his remarks regarding Russian methods of extending her territory there are to the point and quite characteristic I should say of both Russian and Chinese methods. At first, said the garrulous official, we got together and delimited the frontier-"very, very clearly," and pictured it in a map "That's settled!" But the Russians commenced to offer attractions to the Chinese peasants to emigrate and settle on their side of the boundary so clearly defined.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
H.B.M. LEGATION IN SIAM.
The Bangkok Times learns that, at least as regards the salaries of the Legation staff, the British Foreign Office has not perpetrated any joke in granting the prayer of the petitioners for the appointment of a Judge. The Siam establishment is to be as follows:-Minster, £600; Second Vice-Consul, £450; First As £1,600; Judge, £1,000; First Vice-Consul, sistant, £400; 2 Second Assistants, £700; 2 Acting Assistants, £600; 1 Student Inter.
preter, £20; Consul at Chiengmai, £600; Allowance to Assistant, who also acts as Regis- trar, £50.
But when the
That seems on the whole very fair. The that at present given to the Consul, and the 1st salary of the Judge is to be £200 more than Vice-Consul will also get a reasonable increase, the vote passed in March for the two Vice: Consuls being only £850. did not imagine that they would lose their Britishers of Bangkok asked for a Judge they Consul. They would have thought twice before they signed the petition if they had. This is really a matter of importance especially as the
office of Minister-Resident is so often vacant
and it is to be hoped that the Consulship will be reinstituted in the near future. There is, the Times hears, some hope of that being done.
FRENCH INTENTIONS RE HAINAN.
&
A private dispatch from Canton to Chinese official residing here, says the N.-C. Daily News, gives gloomy predictions as to the fact of Hainan Island, better known to Chinese as the prefecture of Kiungchou, which the dispatch states may fall into the hands of the the intended encroachment. In the latter por- French unless strong opposition be made against tion of December last the French official in the South sent a dispatch to the acting Manchu to what the French government's intentions Viceroy at Canton embodying certain hints, as
were concerning Hainan Island. It has now transpired that the acting Viceroy gave a some- which might be construed in various ways what confused reply to the French dispatch
according as the receivers wished to take it. This naturally encouraged the French naval authorities, who have ever since, it is alleg. "What could we do?" asks the narrator.ed by deputies sent to enquire, been making "We had neither free seed nor money to provide oxen. We could not do anything”- the usual resource of Chinese officialdom.
When the land on the Russian side of the border was fairly settled, the boundary-stones had a habit of moving themselves far over on to Chinese territory, so far indeed as to all for remark and expostulation from the Chinese
Free seed, for free land, oxen if necessary, and irrigation where possible. Of course the Chinese went over in shoals.
official.
..
avowed the alarmed
"What do you want?" demanded the Russian when complaint was made. "Do you want to fight?" 'No, no, Chinese and the boundary-stones found them- selves quietly settled in the new location. Then was re-enacted the drawing of the peasants, the filling in of the filched land and a new migration of the boundary-stones, followed by more protests and more yielding by the Chinese.
There is much to be said for a frontier of this kind from a Russian point of view and to observers who do not always sympathise with the dogmatism and inefficiency of Chinese officialism there is much to commend it. Why alarmi Peking by anouncing your intention A formulated policy has the inconvenience of raising questions and inviting critici£m. the Russian follows his line and keeps quiet, he may rely on the guilty silence of the Chinese official, for why should Peking be informed of a circumstance that inevitably results in disgrate to the helpless informer P
If
515
and within twenty days five steamers arrived from Hongkong, bringing 2,253 Chinese passengers, followed the next month by 1,100 more, with the news that several thousand more Hawaiian Government sent another dispatch to were ready to embark. Accordingly, the the Governor of Hongkong refusing to admit any further immigration of male Chinese from that port.
preparations to acquire Hainau Island, which will give them the cominand of the strip of sea route between Pakhoi and the Tong. king coast, as well as make the French dominant Power on the Kuangtung coast line, especially with Kuangchouwan on the said coast in their hands. It is now stated that having made their necessary preparations the French recently notified the substantive Viceroy of the Two Kuang provinces of their intentions, sanction anything of the sort. An interna- but received in reply an absolute refusal to
tional appeal will probably be made against any attempt that may be made on Hainan island or any porti n thereof by any foreign
nationality.
THE LABOUR QUESTION IN HAWAII.
immigration were enacted from time to time, Various regulations restricting Chinese until in 1886 the landing of any Chinese The number of Chinese in the Islands had risen passenger without a passport was prohibited. to 21,000, and in 1899 it is estimated to be about 27,000, of whom about 6,900 are employed on sugar plantations.
for the cultivation of rice. Many of them are They have reclaimed many useless swamps shopkeepers, market gardeners, laundrymen and fishermen. They have been truly described
stands as high as as industrious, persevering, frugal, peaceable. and law abiding. Their mercantile credit that of any other
nationality..
The effect of annexation to the United States will be to put an end to all assisted immigration of whatever race, and to exclude all Chinese
labourers. But under the recent treaty between the United States and Japan, there is nothing to limit the free immigration of Japanese, and several companies have been formed to promote it..
An U. S. official report contains a statement by Professer Stubbs on the labour question on the Hawaii plantations, which in reproduced in the Honolulu pepers. Some remerks on Chinese immigration may be quoted: 2-
The decrease of the aboriginal population has still continued, from 44,088 in 1878 to 40,014 in 1884, 34,436 in 1890 and 31,019 in 1896, the rate of decrease being about 1.6 per cent a year. At the same time the part Hawaiians, the offspring of intermarriages between Hawaiian women and men of other races, have been constantly increasing from 3,420 in 1878 to 4,218 in 1884, 6,186 in 1890. gradual extinction of the full-blooded Hawaiians, and 8,485 in 1896. All these facts point to the and the absorption of the remnant of the race by the European and Asiatic population.
HONGKONG.
unofficial members of the Sanitary Board, has Mr. Chan A Fook, one of our Chinese
tendered his resignation to H.E. the Governor ou a plea of want of time to devote to the duties appertaining to the position.
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The following returns of the average amount of bank notes in circulation and of specie in reserve in Hongkong during May are certified by the managers of the respective Banks:-
Banks,
Chartered Bank of India, Aus-
tralia and China
Hongkong and Shanghai Bank-
ing Corporation National Bank of China, Limited
Average Spesie in Amount. Reserve.
8 2,840,858 1,500,000
7,957.563 5,000,000 441,499 150,000
Total... ..$11,239,920 6,650,000 A rumour was current on the 19th inst. that several prisoners had escaped from Victoria Gaol. On enquiry we learnt that the rumour had a very trivial foundation. The facts as given to us are these. At about two o'clock on the 19th inst. a Chinaman was seen on the roof of the gaol by a warder, who immediately raised the alarm. A muster of the prisonersshowed that one was missing. A warder ascended to the roof of the prison and saw the missing man lying dat on his stomach to avoid detection. He offered no resistance when the warder apprehended him, and was led quietly back to his cell. It is believed that he climbed to where he was fenud by means of a pipe.
There has never existed any treaty or labour convention between the Government of Hawaii The work in connection with Mosers. Butter. and the Empire of China. In early days a field and Swire's proposed new dock at Quarry limited number of Chinees settled in the islands. Bay is making rapid progress. The position intermarried with the natives, and by their in- of the dock, as is probably known, is to be on dustry and economy were generally prosperous. the site formerly occupied by the village of Shin As to the honesty of the proceeding-Ah! | About 750 of them were naturalised under the Ching Wan. The contractor for the work is that's another story—and after all who would monarchy. The first importation of Chinese Tang Kang, well-known in connection with wish to prolong the existence of an industrions labourers into the country took place in 1859. jects of a like extensive nature. On the 16th inst. peasantry under the corruption, uncertainty In 1878 the number of Chinese had risen to some interesting blastings were witnessed, grønt and inefficiency of China in decay? To inform 5,918. During the next few years there was mames of stone and earth being displaced like the Cabinets of the world that Rumian frontiers | s stendy influx of Chinese free immigrants, | so much cardboned. On an average about 1,500 have a habit of walking forward on dark nights which finally reached alarming proportions. tons of material is displaced each day. The would simply result in ink-slinging, protests, In the spring of 1881 the Hawaiian Govern- | bissting operations are conducted under the avowals, and many diplomatic evasions and lies. | ment was obliged to mend a dispatch to the "active supervision of Mr. W. Waters, who takes Cui bono? The frontier would walk just the Governor of Hongkong to stop this invasion. every precaution to ensure the mafety of the same, perhaps a little quickor.
Aguia, in April, 1983, it was suddenly renewed, workmen under him.