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among the partners, and the institution has now been reopened.
A DISAPPOINTED JUDGE.
A certain graduate of the district of Sun Ui, by name Chan Sew Shang, is rich, and is con- sequently one of the best friends of the late governor of Kwangsi. The latter appointed him a provincial judge in Kwangsi. The officials here beard of this news and were very much surprised, as he has not passed through all the necessary gradations of ranks to be appointed to such a high position; so three days after his appointment the newly appoicted governor of Kwangsi, Wong Chee Chon,ordered Chan to take the seals of office to Wucbow, and hand them ever to another of the new Kwangsi judges.
CHENGTU.
Chengtu, 4th September. THES.TUATION,
It is difficult to describe the present situation, or to for cast with certainty the future. Tho greatest loss of life and property thus far has been in the Kintang and Chungkiang districts, which lie to the north-e st of the capital and within sixty miles from the city. This region has no Protestant missions. but the Roman
Catholics are strong, and they have lost in this region over 1,000 members slain, aud every chapel outside of the two cities destroyed.
SEVERAL BATTLĘS.
There have been several battles fought, with varying success, within 20 miles of the city, and the robbers were last week encamped to the number of over 3,000 about eight miles from the city gate. The tactics of these marauders is to plunder tho Christians and extort money from the gentry without reference to their religions connections, and, if a large body of troops appear, to disperse in small bands and gather somewhere else. The troops are not attacked unless they out num ber their opponents. This gives the Feitou ample opportunity tó disperse.
the
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A VILLAGE DESTROYED
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
In the Chungking district lives an expect ant Taotai, whose son is studying English and mathematics in the city. His village Was attacked. but rallying the twan," he fought off Feitou for over a week, but the Chungkiang Magistrate could send no relief and the Imperial troops, though not 20 miles away,
dare not go to the relief of the village. The village was mostly destroyed, and many women and children killed, as well as men. There was not a single Christian in the village.
THE PRESIDENT VICEROY
lacks decision, and no energetic move is being or has been made. The official in the Foreigu Office said that the various district officials do not care to stop th 8: troubles, as they will make money out of it. It looks as though the For- eign Office was also on the make. It is reported that the official of a neighbouring hsien was obliged to pay the Foreign Office 200 taels on ac ount of a small theft from a mission. It is needless to say that not a cash of this went to the mission.
THE NEW VICEROY,
Business is seriously affected by these disor- ders, and everybody looks forward to the coming of the new Viceroy, who is expected about the 18th September. His reputation has extended from Shansi here, aud when he comes the people say he will put down Boxers and robbers.
WILD RUMOURS,
The Examiner, who is a Banner man, arrived here yesterday. The city is very fall of students; a out 13,000 are said to have already arrived. But the city is even fuller of wild talk. gerative reports of outrages are constantly coming concerning places where there is no serious trouble.
THE RICE HARVEST
i xag-
has commenced, and through the Tsichou sec- tion and Tungchuanfu is about a half crop. But to the west and south of Chêngtu it is an unusually good crop.-N.-C. Daily News.
A shield; commemorative of the Interport Cricket of 1901, is to be affixed to the walls of the pavilion of the Singapore Cricket Club. The shield bears the names of the Straits Settlements team and is also inscribed with the names of the Straits Settlements, Hongkong, and Shanghai Cricket Clubs.
оn
CHUNGKING,
Chungking, 11th September.
THE BOXER MOVEMENT
in this province still spreads and the officials are hard put to cope with it. The latest news is hat, under a leader named Liu, 60) men, armed with gingals. are encamped in a fortified chai at Anjo, a town situated west of Hochow and Suining, about fifty miles to the north-west of Chungking and near the high road hence to Chêngtu. Our city of Chung. king is to be attacked, without and within, the day of the mid-autumn Festival, the 18th instant, but these threatened irruptions seldom eventuate, as your readers will learn by telegram, negatively, so to speak, before this letter is read by them. The officials here are on the alert and making the best show they can with their scanty resources. The garrison of this place, nominally 1,000 but notually shout 200 men, has gone in part to attack the rebels. Tho question is, Ilow far can the troops be relied upon?
In the recont encounter outside the gates of Chêngtu, they certainly me a very poor exhibition, considering that these, the Viceroy's men, aro foreign-drilled and armed with magazine rifles, while the wretched Boxers carry only knives and here and there a gingal. Altogether in this vast province there are probably not more than 5,000 or 6,000 regularly drilled troops, and these are scattered in small coutingouts. Every threatened place calls out for troops, and Boxers, or bandits, which is much the same thing, appear to be ubiquitous. Foreign travellers are a cause of much anxiety to the military; the French Consul, who left for Chêngtu last mouth, had a guard given him of 400 men, and two missionaries, who left for the capital about the same time, forced the Taotai, in his anxiety lest he should have to answer for a European life, to send along with them a guard of 97 soldiers. The object of the latters' journey was to distribute tracts to the students upon their issue from the Examination Hall in Chêngtu at the termination of the triennial examination now in progress there, the very time when disturbance is probable. Ou the other hand the British Consul is ding all in | his power to dissuade British subjects from travelling with the view, apart from the risk they run, of lessening the embarrassments of the hard-driven officers. The trouble has no don bt come to a head through the foeble char- acter of the old Viceroy Kwei Chun, a Mauchu who is entirely in the hands of a parcel of the most reactionary anti-foreign mandarins in the province. The new Viceroy, Tsen, who is now hastening down from Shansi by forced marches. is reported to be a strong man: he is 44 years of age and the son of the late Viceroy of Yun- nan.-N.-C. Daily News.
NORTHERN NOTES.
The following items are from the P. & T. Times of the 20th ult. :-
The arbitrators on the British-Russia railway question held their third session on Wednesday, and meet again to day.
has broken a rib at Shanhaikwan, through the We are sorry to hear that Major Menzies capsizing of a Russian cart.
We hear that the sentence on Private Jones, R.W.F., in connection with the recent court- martial verdiet is one year's hard labour.
The departure of Major Grimston involves some changes in the General's staff. Captain Young becomes D. A. A. G. iu place of the Major, and Lieut. St. Jobiu takes Captain Young's place as A. D. C. to General Creagh,
V.C., C.B.
His Tientsin friends will be glal to learn that Major-General Wogack has had the honour of an audience with H, I. M. the Tsa-, and has been decorated with the Order of St. VI.dimir, Third Class, with crossed swords.
A local statistician writes to us that he has counted thirty foreign houses in course of erection in the British Municipal Extension alone, We presume that it would be within the mark to double this number for the whole of the Concessions.
[October 6, 1902.
result of the Dowager's recent recommendation, made in consideration for his quasi-father's losses in 1900.
We bear on good authority that the Japanes) have struck artesian water at their boring at or near the Hai Kwan Ssu at a depth of 400 feet. It is stated that they are about to try another boring in the British Municipal Extension, though we have personally failed to detect the locality. This discovery, interesting as it is, is of less importance than it would have been ten or even five years ago, as the Tientsin Water- works Company is now a going and well estab- lished concern, meeting our wants admirably.
A wise step has been taken by the Tientsin Magistrate in legislating against public coolie gangs which have recently been dominating various sections of the city and terrorising busi- ness folk. They have bullied and blustered unfor- tunate traders into employing them whether they wish to or not, and at their own terms, until a man dared not carry his own bundles. The Magistrate now declares these coolie companies illegal, and orders all uative merchants to employ their own coolios under a headman, who will be held responsible for the good behaviour of his
|
The adopted son of the eunnoh Li has been appointed to a good position in the Board of' Revenue, a plum usually only falling to officials of ten years' standing. This is of course the
gang.
The acceleration of the new train service is mot marked: the Peking and Shauhaikwan mail train is scheduled for 1h. 45m. less than in
We
the old table. This train has no accommodation for more than ordinary baggage, but subsidiary trains meet all demands in this direction. now have four trains daily to Tongku: 6,45, 10.25, 12.22, 16.15 down; and 6.55, 10.18, 13.50 and 16.10 up.
Westinghouse air-brakes have been refitted to the mail trains between Peking and Tientsin to the indefinite enconomy of time in approach. ing and pulling up at the stations, to say nothing of the greater safety of the passengers. We heartily congratulate both the administr.- tion and the public on the restoration.
CORRESPONDENCE.
We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.]
HONGKONG AND WHAMPOA DOCK CO., LD.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS," Hongkong, 29th September. SIR-Referring to the allusion made to his colleagues at the last ordinary meeting of the shareholders, as men of business and experience, the Chairman, no doubt, meant to imply that implicit onfidence should Le placed in them as men of superior talents, and a dis- regard of that fact would be construed by them as a vote of want of confidence as shown by the Chairman's subsequent remarks.
That directors in a public company are generally elected because of their superior administrative capacity is unquestionably true; but to think for one moment that, from amongst the rest of shareholders, there are none to be found of equal, if not superior capacity, is quite In Lis letter in the Daily Press, erroneous. dated the 22nd August, a correspondent very properly said about the Chairman of the Dock Co. that it was not his personality that in- fluenced the shareholders to elect him, but the consideration of his being the representative of a contributing shipping firm.
As a matter of fact, directors bave been known to fall into such grave errors, that only men devoid of any reflective faculties are liable to commit. And such errors were perpetra:ed notwithstanding timely warnings given them, either directly or through the Press, by the rest of the shareholders. The corollary to this is that directors are not always a gafe guide to follow. The shareholder must alto- his mind gether dismiss the idea from that the directors' interests are the same as his, and that they know more about the Com- This supposed pany's affairs than he does." unity of interests," as Mr. Spencer says, "often does not exist-the interests of the directors may to iu sundry ways at variance with those of proprietor.."
Бе
'T'he mere fact that a director, aco rding to the Dock Co.'s articles, is allowed to enter into contracts with the Co. of which he is a director, and participate in the profits of such contracts, should be a conclusive proof that the directors