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devote his whole time to this duty, but also for the appointment of an assistant. It was pointed out that though the tonnage of vessels entering and clearing from this port had more than doubled during the past twenty years, the Health Officer was still ex- pected to perform the same duties while he was also still permitted private practice. The cogency of these representations was promptly recognised by His Excellency the Governor, who forwarded recommendations to the Secretary of State for the Colonies for the appointment of a Second Health Officer of the Port and that the existing incumbent of the post be allowed to retain his private prac tice only on condition that, when himself so engaged, he should place at the disposal of the Government another officer as his substitute, such officer not to be allowed to take private practice. A further recommendation made by the Chamber to the effect that the Second Health Officer should hold a diploma certify. ing that he is thoroughly competent to deal with disinfection, segregation, and all ques- tions connected with quarantine regulations, was also favourably received by the Govern-
ment.
QUARANTINE RESTRICTIONS.
The losses suffered of late years in conse- quence of the imposition of quarantine against arrivals from this port were undimi- nished last year. The outbreak of plague was not only disastrous in its mortality but also by reason of the prolonged interference caused by it to the passenger trade. Hong kong was declared infected on the 25th March, and it was not until the 12th October that this Chamber was notified by Govern- ment that the port was free from plague in accordance with the terms of the Venice Convention.
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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
THE TRADE IN NAPHTHA,
[March 24, 1902.
The report of the Registration Committee | Office enclosing copy of a letter received was adverse to the proposal to register from the department of Agriculture and partnerships, the main difficulty being the Technical Instruction for Ireland inviting virtual impossibility of obtaining the true the Colonies to participate in an Exhibition names of the partners. The cost of main- for the purpose of stimulating the growth
and improvement of manufacturing, agricul taining such a department as would be re- quired for the purpose of registering and the tural, and other industries and handicrafts contingent likelihood that such legislation throughout Ireland, proposed to be opened Cork in May, 1902, having been would tend to drive capital from the Colony at also had weight with the Committee when transmitted to the Chamber by the local Government with a request for an opin- forming their decision.
ion on the subject, the Committee, while heartily sympathising with and wishing success to the enterprise, could not recom- mend any actual participation therein. PROJECTED WORLD'S FAIR AT 8. LOUIS, U.S.A. To an invitation through the United States Consal-General to take part in this Exposition the Committee had to return a similar answer to that given with regard to the Cork Exhibi- tion, but recommended that the Registrar-Gen-. eral be asked to represent to the Chinese manufacturers of silverware, ivory goods, and carved blackwood the advantages likely to attend such exhibits.
Early in the year the Government ad- dressed an inquiry to the Chamber asking whether the trade in naphtha or gasolene was likely to assume large proportions in this Colony. A reply was returned to the effect that it was difficult to estimate what dimen- sions this trade might attain, but it was possible a considerable demand would spring up in time if the regulations as to storage were not made too stringent.
AMENDMENT OF THE MERCHANT SHIPPING CONSOLIDATION ORDINANCE.
A Bill having been introduced into the Legislative Council to amend the Merchant Shipping Consolidation Ordinance, 1899, in September, a petition was presented to the Governor and sent to the Chamber by several native steamboat companies trading on the West River asking that more favourable con- ditions should be accorded to the boats running on that waterway, as to the number of passengers permitted them, than were pro- posed by the Bill, and begging the Chamber to support it. The Committee did not see their way to support this petition, as they thought these boats should not enjoy more favourable conditions than those extended to the regular river steamers. With regard to certain clauses in the Quarantine Regulations, Its freedom from these restrictions has they suggested an amendment having for its unfortunately proved short-lived, for on the object to relieve the steamship owners of the 24th January in the present year the Nether-responsibility for the maintenance of pas- lands Indian Government, hearing that some cases of plague had broken out in district of the city of Victoria, temporarily declared the port infected and subjected vessels arriving therefrom to ten days' quarantine.
PROHIBITION OF CHINESE IMMIGRATION.
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In May last, the measures adopted at Singapore to avert the introduction of bu- bonic plague into the Straits Settlements took the form of a prohibition against Chinese coolie immigration by vessels sailing from Hongkong after the 29th of that month. As this interdict meant the absolute suspen- sion of the passenger traffic between this Colony and the Straits, an appeal was made without loss of time to the local Government, asking them to represent the circumstances to the Secretary of State for the Colonies with a view to get the prohibition rescinded. To this suggestion, His Excellency the Governor responded by first telegraphing to the Straits Settlements Government and subsequently to the Secretary of State for the Colonies on the subject, but it was not until August that the prohibition was removed and quarantine only enforced. It is to be hoped that such drastic measures will not again be resorted to if plague should once more become epidemic here.
DIFFICULTY AND COST OF PROCURING BALLAST. Representations having been made to the Chamber as to the increasing difficulty and enhanced cost of procuring sand or stone ballast by vessels, a letter was addressed to Government on the subject in July last, in which the delays made by the Public Works Department in granting permits and the unsuitable localities to which vessels were directed to procure the ballast were pointed out. In reply, it was stated that instructions had been given to avoid such delay in future, and that the question of quarrying for ballast was now engaging attention.
ยท REGISTRATION OF PARTNERSHIPS IN CHINESE FIRMS.
An application for information on this subject having been received in July from the Singapore Chamber of Commerce, a promise was given to forward the report of the Committee then sitting to enquire into the desirability or otherwise of registration when issued, and in October this was done.
THE PACIFIC cable.
In view of the project for connecting Canada with the Australian Colonies by a cable across the Pacific now in progress, the Ottawa Board of Trade have initiated an agitation for the direct connection of all British possesi ns throughout the world by State-owned telegraph cables under the control of the Post Office, and a circular letter from this body was received in August asking for the co-operation of the Chamber in the movement to nationalise the telegraph system, by land and sea, of the whole Empire. In acknowledging receipt of this despatch, the Committee, while wishing the movement success as being calculated to reduce telegraph, rates, intimated that the Chamber, being a cosmopolitan one, could not take any definite action in the direction of securing State-owned telegraphs of an Imperial Post Cable service.
CABLE RATES.
sengers by vessels quarantined. This amend- ment was moved by the Chamber's Repre-
Owing to the postonement of the Telegraph sentative, but was not accepted by the Legis- lative Council. A petition to the Secretary Conference, no reduction in the tariff between of State for the Colonies was thereupon drawn Europe and the Far East has yet been secured, up by the shipping firms and agencies but the contemplated reduction in the rate from praying that this section of the Ordinance Europe (Russia and Turkey excepted) to India might be disallowed, and forwarded by the to 28. 6d. per word and to Ceylon of a similar Chamber with strong representations in sup-rate with 10 centimes additional, encourages port thereof to the Governor for transmission the hope that concessions may be made to the to Downing Street. His Excellency under- Far East later on, took to forward the petition, but so far no reply has been received from the Secretary of State.
THE BANKRUPTCY AMENDMENT ORDINANCE.
The amendments made to the Bankruptcy Law in 1901 having been submitted to Mr. Muir Mackenzie, legal adviser of the Board of Trade, certain points were raised by him and forwarded for consideration to the Colonial Government, who, in turn, referred them to your Committee, who returned an opinion decidedly in favour of Mr. Macken- zie's suggestions. These suggestions were in the direction of widening the scope of the meaning of the term "debtor" and allowing adjudication to be made against a firm in the firm-name so as to bind all the joint and separate property of the partners in the firm although not individually named in the order of adjudication.
THE PROPOSED ASHES MONOPOLY.
The proposal to farm out the monopoly of the collection of ashes from vessels in the Harbour made in May, 1900, was supposed to have been abandoned in deference to the strong opinion expressed against it when the was consulted, but in December Chamber last, to the surprise of the Committee, the re- gulations and conditions under which the monopoly was to be governed appeared in the pages of the Government Gazette as the first intimation of the intention of the Govern- ment to revive the scheme. A remonstrance was at once addressed to the Government, and subsequently further correspondence en- sued, a strong protest being entered against the creation of a Chinese monopoly, which, in the opinion of the Committee, is wrong in principle and almost certain to prove pro- lific of abuses.
PROPOSED INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION AT CORK, Copies of a despatch from the Colonial
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THE BURMA-SHAN-CHINA RAILWAY. Very recently a latter from the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, forwarding copy of a memorial addressed to the Secretary of State for India on the above subject, was received with a request that this Chamber would support it by making similar representations to His Britannic Maje.ty's Government. Your Com mittee however, do not regard this scheme as coming within the domain of practical politics, the country through which the projected lines are designed to pass being exceptionally mountainous and difficult, rendering the work extremely costly, while the markets to be opened up are poor, the population scanty, and the prospects of passenger traffic small. A reply was given, therefore, to the effect that the Committee were not satisfied that the results would justify the very heavy ontlay that would be entailed by the work, and calling the atten tion of the Liverpool Chamber to the speeches of the Viceroy of India on this scheme during his recent tour in Burma.
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PROPOSED REGISTRATION OF PRIVATE CHAIR COOLIES IN HONGKONG. Some months back, His Excellency the Gov- ernor, moved thereto by numerous complaints as to the difficulty of obtaining and, when obtained, of controlling private chair and jinricksha coolies, appointed a Commission, consisting of Mesars, T Sercombe Smith, R. C. Wilcox, and F. J. Badeley, to enquire into and report upon the question, with a view to recommend legislation if found necessary. The Commission, after hold- ing 14 meetings and examining 30 witnesses, sent in their report, strongly recommending registration of the coolies with photographs attached to the registration tickets for the purpose of identification. A copy of this report was sent to the Chamber, but no opinion was asked for. The recommendations of the Com- mission have not been adopted.