November 4, 1901.]
Dr. and Mrs. Bateson Wright arrived by the Empress of India on the 30th ult. from their holiday at home.
Mr. Marcus Warre Slade, barrister-at-law, returned to Hongkong by the Bayern on the 30th ult. with Mrs. Slade.
Mr. W. Milne, Acting Inspector of Ship- wrights at Portsmouth, has been appointed Inspector at Hongkong.
Lieut.-Colonel R. F. Johnson, Royal Gar- rison Artillery, has been appointed to command the Royal Artillery at Hongkong.
Rules concerning the collection of revenue at Cheung Chau and Ma Wan in the New Territories are published in the Gazette.
A notification is published in the Gazette that no dogs brought from Shanghai will be allowed to land in the Colony for a period of six months from the 1st inst.
Inspector Ford on Friday issued licenses for fifty more new Japanese rickshas owned by Ngan Wing Chi. On Saturday an additional fifty were put on the streets.
The only case of communicable disease re- ported as occurring in the Colony last week was one of enteric fever in the harbour, the sufferer being an European from the transport Tongku.
The return of visitors to the City Hall Library and Museum last week shows 371 non- Chinese and 133 Chinese visitors to the former, 99 non-Chinese and 1,541 Chinese to the latter institution.
The police are investigating what at present appears to be a wholesale attempt to poison an entire family at Tai Shan village, in the New Territory. The occurrence took place on the 27th ult., and the family concerned is that of Tan Him, a farmer, who, with his wife and two children, the latter aged respectively four and eleven years, became violontly sick after their evening meal-which consisted principally of fish-and showed symptoms of poisoning. On the following morning the father and uncle of Tan Him parlook of some of the fish that had been left unconsumed from the night before, and they, too, soon afterwards fell sick and developed the same symptoms. Dr. Ho Ngai Hok attended the six people and had them removed to the Government Civil Hospital, where Tan Him died on Thursday. It is not yet definitely known, however, whether he died from poisoning, as he was suffering at the time of his death from pleurisy. The police took charge of the food and arrested one of the inmates of the house, a widowed daughter-in-law of the deceased Tan Him, who performed the duties of cook for the family. Traces of arsenic have been discovered in the fish, but pending its complete analysis the accused woman, who was formally charged at the Police Court on Thursday, has been remanded until Tuesday at 2.15 p.m.
|
|
|
|
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
The London Gazette notifies that the King has been pleased to approve of the appointment of John Thurburn, Esq., to be an Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council of the Colony of Hongkong.
There arrived by the British transport Itria on the 27th ult., en route to India, the following troops :- -"B" Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, “A 2" Ammunition Column, and
A 22" British Field Hospital.
H.M.S. Dido, which arrived from Yokohama on the 25th ult., weighed anchor for home on the 30th ult. about 11.30 a.m. to the strains of "Home, Sweet Home played by the ship's band. The ship was accorded a vociferous send off by the men of the other British men-of- war in the harbour.
01
371
Sir James L. Mackay, K.C.I.E:, left Brin- disi for Hongkong on 13th ult, per P. and O. s.s. Ists, connecting with the s.s. Britannia at Port Said on 16th ult., and with the Ballaaral at Colombo.
were
The
A Tokyo telegram of the 23rd ult. says :- The negotiations about the Honolulu quaran- tine affair which have been going on between the American Government and Mr. Takahira, Japanese Minister to Washington, formally concluded a short time ago. Japanese Minister requested the American Government (1) to reprimand the quarantine officers concerned in the affair; (2) to issue strict instructions to the officers with a view to preventing the recurrence of such an incident; (3) if in the future it should be necessary to examine lady passengers, lady officials shall be employed; (4) the American Government to send a formal apology to the Japanese Govern. atment for the affair. The American Government complied with the Japanese demand, and the unpleasant affair was thus terminated.
The French gunboat Decider and the British sloop Phoenix left the harbour on the 26th ult. for Pakhoi and Shanghai respectively.
dock H.M.S. Sandpiper went into Kowloon on the 29th ult.
The U.S. gunboat Princeton arrived on the 29th alt. from the Philippines and the British transport Multra from Taku. The British transport Itria left for Calcutta.
H.M. surveying-ship Waterwitch arrived from Shanghai on the 30th ult., the British gunboat Bramble from Weihaiwei, and the German gunboat Iltis returned from a cruise.
The British torpedo-boat Whiting arrived from Shanghai on the 31st ult. H.M.SS. Ala- crity and Aurora arrived from Nagasaki and Wosung respectively, and the transport Sumatra from Shanghai. H.M.. Isis left for home, and the transport Multra for Calentta.
MISCELLANEOUS.
An act has been passed in the Philippine, creating a Mining Bureau, under the Depart- ment of the Interior, and providing a mining code for the islands.
Mr. A. G. Lyssakovsky, the new Secretary and Acting Consul at the Russian Legation, Siam, in place of Mr. A. Bobroff, is expected shortly at Bangkok from Japan.
Messrs. Douglas Lapraik's steamer Haimun, which reached Manila from this port on the 12th inst. in the fast time of 54 hours, has been chartered by the U.S. Government for ninety days to be used as an inter-island transport.
A Tientsin letter reports the return of Na. Tung, special Ambassador to Japan, and staff to Tongku in the China Merchants' steamer Hsiny on the 11th instant, and his landing the next day to take train from Tongku to Peking vid Tientsin. It is further reported that Na Tung intends to hasten to Kaifeng to meet the Court on its arrival at that city from Hsian.
The London Gazette notifies :-Captain (now Brevet-Major) E. W. M. Norie, the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Reg.), to be Assistant Quartermaster-General for Intelli- gence. China Expeditionary Force, from Sept. 12, 1900, to July 21, 1901. Major S. L. Craster, R.E., is granted the local rank of! Lieut.-Colonel in China, whilst Deputy Director of Railways in that country.
Mr. J. Galloway Weir, M.P., who is on tour round the world during the Rarliamentary racation, has not been idle during his stay in Hongkong. On Friday in company with Major General Sir William Gascoigne, he visited the barracks and military hospitals to see how the private soldier is housed and looked after. He found the barracks scrupulously clean, and was satisfied with his visit. Later Mr. Weir, accom.
With regard to the appointment by the panied by Dr. Macdonald and Mrs. Macdonald (who is also a Doctor of xedicine), visited some British Government of the special Commission of the Chinese dwellings in the Colony; and Dr. which we have already announced. Router's Macdonald's opinion is that the English Agency in London states that Sir J. L. Mackay language fails to express adequately the will have as secretaries Mr. C. Somers Cocks, abominable insanitary condition of the slums of the Foreign Office, and Mr. Clark, of the Board of Trade. Sir James will proceed direct they inspected. He is not susprised at bubonic plague being with us, but is astonished we do to Hongkong, and will visit in turn the more not have "all the plagues of Egypt" annually. important Treaty ports in order to acquaint Dr. Macdonald, who is a Scottish medical officer himself with the commercial conditions. The of health, thinks the successful future of Hong-Chinese Commissioners are the Commissioners kong depends upon the abolition of all insanitary of Customs at Shanghai and Sheng Taotai, of buildings and surroundings in the Colony, Shanghai. and asks the pertinent question whether the sky- scrapers on the new Praya are in fulfillment of the Ordinance dealing with the restricted height of buildings. He also suggested-a
-as we did recently that the Sanitary Ordinances of this Colony might be redrafted on the lines of the Glasgow Sanitary Regulations. It is to be hoped that when the question of the sanitary condition of Hongkong comes before the House of Commons, Mr. Weir may be able to give a few facts gleaned from personal observation. Mr. Weir and his party visited Macao on Saturday and thence go to Canton, returning here on Wednesday next.
There is a strong belief among army officers in Manila that General Bell will be sent to Samar to take active part in the campaign that is now be to conducted on that island. The Manila authorities are rushing reinforcements to Samar. On the 21st ult. the first battalion of the Twelfth Infantry arrived in Manila. Next day the men went aboard the transport Sumner bound for Samar. On the 22nd, the U.S. cruiser New York left for the scene of trouble. Major Waller, of Tientsin fame, was in com. mand of the three hundred and thirty marines, who are expected to give an account of them- selves which will sustain the splendid record made by them while in China. The gunboat Princeton was also under sailing orders to leave for Samar. Word has been received in Manila
This
from Zamboanga that the Datto of the Moros at that point, upon receipt of the news of the massacre, offered the commanding officer of the American forces one thousand of his men to form an expedition to Samar, saying that if the offer was granted he would guarantee to clean up the island in one month, and this without any expense to the American government. request of the Datto, while showing his good will and the esteem in which American occupa- tion is held by the Mahommedana, was not accepted. The exodus of the natives from Samar still continues, but it is hoped with the late additions from the Navy sent that this will be stopped.
The following list is published in a Northern native paper of the amounts which each of the nineteen provinces will be required to play between 1902 and 1910 towards the liquidation of the Indemnity China has to pay to the Foreign Powers on account of the disturbances in the North last year
Chihli Kiangsu Anhwei Shantung Shansi Honun
7
Tls. 800,000
2,500,000
1,000,000
900,000
900,000
900,000
Shengi
600,000
Kansu
300,000
Chinese Turkestan
400,000
Fohkien...
800,000
Chêkiang
1,400,000
1,400,000
1,200,000
700,000
2,000,000
2,000,000
300,000
300,000
200,000
...Tls. 18,800,000
Kiangsi Hupeh Hunan Szechuan Kwangtung Kwangsi Yunnan Kweichow
Total
According to the Ostasiatische Lloyd of the 25th nlt. the German Association in Shanghai It will be observed that Kiangsu is con- has forwarded to the East Asiatic Associationsidered the richest province, having to pay Tls, in Hamburg the following telegram:-
1:-" We | 2,500,000 as its share in the above nine instal. request you to insist strongly in the proper ments, whilst Kweichow province is the poorest, quarter upon payment in each of admitted claims being required to pay only Tis. 200,000. for indemnity. No Bonds." From previously published information in the same paper it seems that the German merchants in the North feel some apprehension lest their claims should be paid by the Chinese Government in Bonds, EXPORT OF TEA FROM CHINA TO ODESSA. payable at some future date, instead of in cash; and this will explain the action taken by the German Association in the matter.
COMMERCIAL.
TEA.
1900-01 1899-00
Ibs.
lbs. Shanghai and Hankow... 24,492,015 33,483,942