March 14, 1903.]
Thursday, 12th March.
IN BANKRUPTCY.
BÈQUE HIS HONOUR SIR WILLIAM M. GOODMAN (CHIEF JUSTICE)
AN UNFORTUNATE DEBTOR.
O. M. Madar was examined on a bankruptcy petition filed by himself, In examination by Mr. Bruce Bhepherd, the Official Receiver in Bankruptcy, the petitioner stated that he was a clerk in the Ordnance Corps Department. In April, 1899, the date of the receiving order, he had eight creditors. He owed them a total sum of $2,500. His salary was $110 per month. He first got into debt in 1894, when he borrowed $200 to pay the funeral expenses of his mother, who died of plague, and the cost of removal. In 1895 he stood sarety for $200 for a friend nam d Yacobi who died at the end of that year and left him solely responsible. He next borrowed $40 in 1896 to pay the funeral expenses of two of his children who died and the cost of removing to Macao. On several subsequent occasious ho signed promissory notes for friends and also on his own account. Asked how he got into debt with E. S.Joseph to the extent of $700, the petitioner said a friend of his in Canton had a cargo lying there upon which he wanted to borrow money. This man asked him to find a broker. He went to Mr. Joseph and of his friend's behalf signed an order to raise money on the cargo.
Afterwards his friend repu i- ated his part of the bargain, and fe, having signed the order, was held responsible. Mr. Joseph issued a writ against him for the amount. That was the case that brought him into Court
His Lordship- But why did you interfere in this transaction ?
Petitioner-He was my friend.
His Lordship remarked that the petitioner was not a man of money, able to make himself liable in $700 for a friend. It was an old say ing that one should not become surety for one's neighbour-unless one had got plenty of money to bear the possible loss. The bankrupt seemed to have signed a promissory note for anybody who asked him.
The Receiver-He is now beginning to learn that lessou, my Lord; he had not done it before. Petitioner further stated that he was 31 years of age and had a family of five.
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The Receiver informed his Lordship that the petitioner had proposed to pay a composition of! 50 per cent., which proposal had been accepted.. Since the receiving order was granted. the petitioner had paid him monthly instalments of $40 to the amount of a little over $1,400, so that he was now enabled to make the coin osi- tion agreed to.
CHINA ÖVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
CANTON.
[FROM A CORRESPONDENT.]
Canton, 10th March, HEALTH OF THE CITY.
The usual epidemic of cholera and plague has now returned to Canton, and the familiar white monrning decorations are conspicuons in almost every street, particularly inside the city, where the native ingonuities of insanitation are carried to their highest pitch. Fortunately there is no fear of a recurrence of last year's water famine, for the rains have recently con- tinned without cessation, and neighbouring fields are largely under water; as, however, the crops are quite young, it will tend rather to improve the ric; than otherwise.
EXECUTION OF SOLDIERS,
'The recent levies of troops have resulted io I wo:ing their general standard, and many of the men are of necessity recruited from the dregs of the population. Consequently a severe discipline is necessary to prevent abuses, and numbers have been recently executed, first some for stealing from the villagers near the parade ground, and afterwards some for paw ing their guns to ob'ain money for gambling.
BOOT AND SHOEMAKERS' STRIKE.
The strike of boot and shoe operatives, who have a sort of trade union here, has hampered the trade considerably, and the dispute has not yet been settled.
SWATOW.
[ROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.}
Swatow, 10th March.
NAVAL MOVEMENTS.
The US. gunboats Villolobos and Elcano, accompanied by the American supply ship Pompey, called in here on their way to Amoy and Shanghai. H.I M.S. Illis is in port now, having arrived from Hougkong a week ago.
JAPANESE ENTERPRISK.
A party of Japanese, with an outfit of tools for artesian well-boring, arrived hero from Foochow and have c mmenced boring operations in the English Presbyterian Mission compound. Should their undertaking be successful it would be an invaluable boon for Swatow and allay all anxieties during a drought, which occurs rather frequently here.
THE TROUB. E AT WEICHOW.
News of a very reassuring nature has reached here from Weichow, where indications point to a cessation of the recent ontbreak of dis- turbance.
GEO. FENWICK & CO., LD.
GENERAL MEETING,
His Lordship said that Madar had answered all the questions put to him very straightfor- wardly. He was glad to see that he had paid
The 14th ordinary general meeting of share- so much in instalments. He must let this be a
holders in the above Company was held on the Mr. W. warning to him. If he became surely in that 9th inst, in the Hongkong Hotel, haphazard way to oblige people and let them Parlano (chairman) presided, and the others keep the money he was very likely to get into present wore Messrs. A. Rodger, J. I. Andrew, trouble. His Lordship advised him to keep. J. Michael, Hart Buck, J. Rodger, W. H. away from money-lenders; once in their hands. Purcell, and W. G. Winterbarn (genral he might consider himself entangled.
manager).
· The examination was closed.
CORRESPONDENCE.
THE BUILDING NUISANCE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE
6 DAILY PRESS. Hongkong, 6th March, 1963. SIR, The letter of Nervous "
in your issue of this morning is well worthy of a braver siguature, and calls attention to a great and growing nuisance in our Colony.
The hoardings so incessantly and incon- veniently obstructing pedestrian traffic are almost intolerable. They may admit of excuse as being in a measure unavoidable, but that the noisy and dangerous chipping of the "cut stone" should be carried on, as now, on our very streets and close to the unprotected eyes and faces of our citizens is absolutely neeilless and therefore contrary to commonsense.
Our “nervous friend is not alone in his protest, and we ask our authorities, so ever- ready to redress our grievances, tɔ issue a mandate which shall not merely check but effectually stop the practice-Yours, etc.,
ONE WHO HAS NO EYES TO LOSE.
The notice calling the meeting having been read by the GENERAL MANAGER,
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The CHAIRMAN said-Gentlemen, I pre. sume that you will, as usual, take the accounts as read, and trust you consider them satisfactory. As stated thers, during the early mouths of the year work was scarce but later on it brightened, and for some time past we have been fully employed and the prospects for 1903 are good. During the year our total of work was much less than usual, having had po very large contracts, but we put through a great variety of work, including the installation of hot-water and sanitary work for nearly all the principal new buildings in the Colony, work that can only be done satisfactorily nndor the supervision of highly trained Europeans; and although competition in all departments has been keen, owing to the lessened quantity of work offering, we, I need hardly say, are quite able to hold our own, and are glad to be able to pay the same dividend as during the past three years. We continue to replace old by modern plant as occasion occurs, and have just air-compressing machinery, imported some with the aim of refacing labour costs. The land and property stand at $70,000, this after
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replacing part of macbine-house roof by a new iron one; this figure, I need hardly say,`is no criterion of the nal value of the property. At car last meeting I indicated that we hoped to remove our works to another site, and at that time had asked the Government to put up a site named to auction, and in anticipation had made the necessary financial arrangements; but after a delay of some 18 months, the Government offered a portion of the same site, but attached such overwhelming conditions in the way of reclaiming land, making stone nullahs, &c., all to be handed over to the Government, that we are unable to accept the conditions imposed; so that, in this respect, we stand where we did With these remarks, before moving the adoption of the report and accounts, I will be glad to give any farther information you may require regarding them.
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There were no questions, and on the motion of the CHAIRMAN, seconded by Mr. HART BUCK, the report and accounts ns presented were adopted and passed.
Mr. PURCELL. proposed the re-election of Mr. A. Rodger as director.
Mr. MICHAEL ɛeconded, and the motion was agreed to unanimously.
Mr. J. RODGE next proposed the re-election of Mr. Arnold as auditor.
Mr. ANDREW seconded, and the proposition was carried without opposition.
This was all the bus ness.
HONGKONG & KOWLOON WHARF
& GODOWN CO.,
ANNUAL MEETING.
1.D.
The 16th ordinary annual moeting of the above Company was held on Thursday in the Company's offices, 2. Connaught Road. Hon. C. W. Dickson (chairman) presided, and thero were also resent Messrs. N. A. Siebs, A. J. Raymond, G. H. Medhurst, J. M. Moses, C. H. Thompson, H. Schnbart, Hon. Sir Paul Chater, C.M.G, Messrs. A. G. Wood, E. Goetz, E. A. Hewett, C, Michielan (directors), A. R. Lowe, S. J. Michael, R. Chatterton Wilcox, J. G003- mann, Captain Clark, Messrs. J. R. Michael, Ho Fook, R, J. Macgowan, G. W. May and E, Osborne (secretary).
The SECRETARY having read the notice calling the meeting,
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The CHAIRMAN said,—Gentlemen, The re- port and accounts which have been in your posi session for several days, and which I conclude you are agreeable to taking as read, are so very fully stated that there is but little remaining for me to say in regard to them. Business dur; ing the year was on the whole dull and disap- pointing aud I cannot say that there appears to be any immediate prospect of improvement. The violent fluctuatious in exchange w ich have been experienced have eu endered a feeling of nneasiness in regard to our silver onṛroney, aud nnfil that "be overcome importers are likely to continue keeping very moderate stocks. A good deal of damage was done to several of our properties by a typhoon which occurred in August last, necessitating an outlay You will have for repairs of about 84,500.
noted that the net profit for 1902 is somb $27,000 larger thau the previous year and may perhaps ask how it is that with better results your directors should recommend slightly less dividend. To much a question I would remind you that in 1901 the balance available for distribution was increased by nearly $14,000 from premium on the now issue of shares, and you will observe that it is proposed to carry forward rather more to the current year than was done 12 months ago. In order to meet our steadily' increasing expenditure arising from lower exchange, your "directors decided to make their charges in sterling from the 1st January, and in response to representations from the Company's European employees agreed to fix their_salaries "balf in sterling and half in dollars. My predecessors in the chair bave at our annual meetings refer- red to the plague and its bearing upon the Company's business. I am glad to say that the improvements which have been made in our Chinese employees' quarters have amply justi- fied the expense, for whilst in previous years a number of them succumbed to the disease and work at the wharves was thereby seriously dis- organised, last year not a single case occurred although the scourge was prevalent in the
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