January 3, 1903.]
CHINESE EASTERN RAILWAY
COMPANY.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
1. As a result of investigations made by the police in connection with the murder of an Indian watchman at Quarry Bay on the 20th ult., a posse of police under Mr. F. J. Ladeley visited Shaukiwau on the 27th ult., and it is said that something like twenty Chinese have been arrested in connection with the affair.
Though the Indian watchman over whom the Quarry Bay frac's first arose was on Tuesday: fined $10 by Mr. Kemp at the Magistracy, we believe that thers are further developments to be expected. It has erroneously been tated that the watchman was sentenced to six weeks' impri onment; he was given the option of a fine, and the fine was paid.
Our contemporary O Patriota is responsible for the statement that Major J. J. Bragança, of the Macao police, whose conduct was very freely impugned by the Portuguese papers a few months ago, has been trausferred to Mozambique. The same pap rcntains a very ill-judged attack on the Porta.nese Consul in Hongkong, enbor Conselheiro Romano
With the great development in the last few months of Dalny-which if it does not you occupy that position will soon be the chief Russian.port in the Far East-a uatural and corresponding development takes place in the over-sea traffic of Russia in those waters. The Chinese Eastern Railway Company has within the past year or two opened a valuable trade; between Vladivostock and other Russian ports and Hankow and other Chinese ports. The Company has several fine steamers, but has not, until lately been maintaining a regular service to Japanese ports. A great development of both passenger and freight traffic is, however, looked forward to. 88 regards the former especially, when the advantages of the Siberian route to Europe are bet'er appreciated and the railway service improved. It is the intention of the Company to Inu 2 regular and frequent service between Japan and Russian ports with the beginning of next year, which Seven European seamen from the B itish will later form the connection between the steamer Tonbridge were placed in the dick at Siberian Railway and Japan and be increased the Harbour Mas er's office on Wednesday, as the traffic requires. Every three weeks a
five of them charged with disobeying orders steamer will leave Kobs for Vladivostock and and two with assaulting the chief engineer, every eighteen days for Port Arthur and Daluy. The five were sentenced to three days' impri
Several fue ships of the line have already soument and to forfeit two days' pay, and the visited Kobe, including the Manchuria, said to other two to six weeks' imprisonment, be one of the best-appointed steamers in the
The twenty Chiuamen arrestel by the police Far East. The Amur is now in port dischargou the 29th ult, ou suspicion of being cone rued ing Chines teak wood and rice.
+
This vessel in the outbreak which led to the murder is only twelve months old, is 275 feet in length of one Indian watchman and the injury of sev n and of 2;348 tons. She is capable of accam. others, were brought up on two carges, cue of modating fifty-six first-class passengers and
murder and the other of attempt d murder, many hundreds in the steerage. She is au They all pleaded not guilty, and were remanded exceptionaly well-furnished steamer...
for a week.
The Amur had a stormy passage from Hong. kong to Nagasaki. She left the former port on the 8th inst. and two days later was overtaken by a storm which beat about the ship for three days with great fury. The first officer describes it as rather a hairic ne than a typhoon and says it continued for three days, until a change in the wind to north-west caused it to abate.
Though the damage done will be easily repaired the inconvenience causel was very great, as the saloon was flooded, and not only was the glass in the port holes broken but the brass framework of the ports. A large quantity of water was shipped through the engine. room fanlight, the way 8 washing over the bout deck. It was a perfect hurricane, to ue the words of the chief officer, bat providing land is, not near such weather can do little harn to a modern vassel Althouga the hatches were battene down, the water found its way to the cargo and damaged that portion consign d to Nagasaki 00 bags of rica. The cargo for Kobe was undamaged, for a large part of it was undamageable, beiug teakwood from Can'ou.
The Amur is commanded by Captain Kurioff, and is officered and largely manned by Russiaus Since leaving Port Arthur she has visited Hongkong, Vladivostock, Chefoo, Hongkong, Canton, Nagasaki, and Kobe. From this port she will leave to-day or to-morrow for Ki o. chau, Chefco, and Port Arthur. Curiously enough, Russian does not seem to be the lan guage in common use on the Amur, but Ge man, while English is spoken as well by the officers.- Kobe Chronicle.
HONGKONG.
The wife of Mr. David Haskell, merchant, of this Colony, died at "Sperangee," Peak Road, on the 27th ult., and was buried at Happy Valley on the 28th ult. Much sympathy in his great loss is extended to Mr. Haskell.
The number of visitors to the City Hall Library and Museum during the week ending 27th ut. was 167 non-Chinese and 62 Chinese to the former and 36 non-Chinese and 2,370 Chinese to the later institution.
Detected by the inmates whilst he was at- tempting to perpetrate a burglary in a Chinese dwelling-house in Queen's Road West, and anxious to avoid arrest, a Chinaman jumped over the verandah to the street and was killed by the fall.
The funeral took place at Happy Valley on the 27th ult of Gunner Penfold, R.G.A., who committed suicide on the previous afternoon by jumping from the upper verandah in "C" Block. He had been in the Army for over
eleven years.
Captain G. Schlaikier of the German as Carl Died richsen, which arrived hole on the 29 halt. from Haiphong. Pakhoi and Hoihow. h ving left the last-named port on the 27th ult., reports that on Sunday morning, the 28th, he sighted the French 8.8. Quang Nam, from Saigou, flying signals of distress and laying at anchor in Sito Bay. St. John's, The Carl Diederichsen steared for the distressed vessel and found that sho was short of coal; she took one bag of mail matter, 76 Chiese passengers and 1 Japanese off the Quang Nam and proceeded to Hongkong.
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The surplus of the Coronation Fundať Tientsin, $5,317, is to be handed to the Diamond Jubilee Hospital there towards the cost of an Isolation Ward.
The veteran missionary, Sinologue and scholar, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Edkius, has completed the 78th year of his age. Dr. Edkins has been upwards of 53 yea 8 in China.
L'Echo de hine says that at the annual distribution of awards, at the Colonial Society's meeting in Pai, a large gold medal was granted to . Doumer in honour of the work accomplished by bim in Indo-China, M. Dou- merguo testified to the economic development of the colonies, declaring that work was neces- sary to enlarge prudently the empire, the duty of France being to measure bor external efforts by the extent of the meaus left disposable by her interu I necessities.
The Philippine Commission has passed a law prohibiting prize-fighting in the islands and placing a penalty of $2,500, or a year in prison, on any person who engages in, instigates, en- courages or does any act to further a contention or fight with or without weapons between two or more persons or a fight commonly called a ring or priz fight, or who engages in a public or private 8, rring or boxing exhibition, with or without gloves at which an admission fee is charged or r.ceived, other directly or indirectly, or who sends or publishes a challenge or accep- tauce of a challenge for such a contention, exhibition or light, or carries or delivers such a challenge or acceptance, o. trains or assists any person in training or preparing for such a contention, exhibition or fight, shall be punished according to law, as given above.
According to the Japan Times, a Japa- nese military officer has lately made a trip to Dolo-nor in Mongolia, and white there suc ceeded in obtaining an interview with the Living Buddha. As expected, the Living Budda turned out to be a young boy, but what was an; rising was that the Buddha offered his guest ryption cigarettes and coffee, in rooms furnished in all respects in the European style. On being questioned how he had acquired all these foreign surroundings, the living Buddha said they had been given him by some great friends, and if his guest wanted to see. those friends, he would find them in the next room. The officer went in and found portraits of the Tear and Tsariua of Russia; and the officer left,"musing over the special relations existing between the Lama believers and the Court of St. P. tersbu g."
In connection with the fracas which occurred at Kowloon on Saturday, the 20th ult, between some soldiers of the 10th Bombay Light In- fantry on one side and the police and a few civilians on the other, we learn that the military The Chefox Express remarks with much authorities have taken measures for the punish-satisfaction : --- There is now a rumour, which ment of the offenders belonging to the regiment, it is to be hoped rests upon a more solid basis General regret must be felt among Kowlo n than most of its forerunners, to the effect that residents at the unfortunate occurrence, which the troops at present stationed at Shanghai will after all arose from trifling beginnings; for few be withdrawn from that port, and established regiments have done more to make themselves
at Woibaiwe, to be handy in the event of popular than the leth Bombay, and from contingencies which may not be so remote as Colouel Birdwood downwards the officers and
the sanguine are prone to imagine. If this con- men are justly proud of the high rank to which templated move from Shanghai to Weihaiwei the battalion has attained as as disciplinary force. becomes an a complished fact, it is a perfectly The British troopship Clive left on the 27th safe guess that the increase in the population ult. for Calcutta with the 10th Jats ou board, of our neighbourhood will redound considerably On the 28th ult. the U.S. monitor Monterey left to our benefit. Addi ioual barracks will have to for Canton.
be erected, and a great increase in the supply of food-stuffs, clathing, and other necessaries will follow, and there is no doubt that the bulk of this business will pass through the hands of the merchants in Chefoo." Private advices from Weihaiwei nake no montion of this.
MISCELLANEOUS,
From private advices received in Singapore, it appears that in November last the orders that the 1st Battalion Mnchester Regiment were to leave South Africa for Singapore had been conntermanded, and that they were not expected to leave for another twelve months.
The new steamer San Francisco, 350 tons net, built by Messrs. W. S. Bailey & Co., arrived at Manila on the 26th ult, four days out She encountered rough weather on the way down and ran out of water. The San Francisco was built for Tan Auco, and will go into the coast- wise frade.
On the 17th ult. in the Osaka Appeal Court, judgment was delivered in the appeal made by Charles Clifford, an American citizen, against the decision of the Kobe Chiho Saibansho, by which he was sentenced on 21st Angust last to imprisonment for a term of four months with had labour, a fine of 5 yen, and to be placed under police supervision for six months. The offences proved against him (says the Kobe Chronicle) were that of defrauding the Oriental Hotel Company of 41.50 yen, and of fraudulently Judgment was given on the 12th ult. in the obtaining a suit of clothes from Tong Cheong. International Court, Bangkok, in the important a Chinese tailor, Kobe, and silk-embroidered action of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bankingwall hang ogs and other pictures from Tomoy- Corporation v. Khoon Yiug Prik iu which the eya, a Kobe silk store. 'lhe decision of the· ́` Bank sought to recover the sum of Tes. Kobe Court was quashed by the Appeal Court, 484,550.97 the amount of au overdraft. The a technical mistake having ben made in the Court decided in favour of the Bank for the reasons given. The prisoner, however, was full amount claimed. With reference to a sentenced to imprisonment for the same term mortgage on certain steamers and lo chas the with labour, fined the same amount, and con- Court decided that such mortgage hd no demned to polico surveillance for the same existence in the eyes of the law.
period as ordered by the Kote Court.