216
HE PLAGUE ROLL.
ONE European dead, year's plague onses now tutal 178. This eek' returns include the case of an English- an on board the steamer Hyades, lying at owloon which proved fatal, according to the return furished us by the Sanitary
authorities.
The following Government Notification was published on the 1st inst.-Notice is hereby given that the Superintendent of Customs and the Doyen of the Consular Body have declared the Port of Hongkong to be infested. All vessels arriving therefrom are to abide by and be governed by the revised Sanitary Regulations for the Ports of Shanghai and Woosung.
THE CURRENCY QUESTION.
Students of the Currency Question will read with very great interest the passages on the subject in the annual report of the Philippine Commission. It is a very lucid and cogent indictment of the silver standard, the evils of the existing system being stated to ba:-
(1) The finotuation currency hampers busi ness enterprises and readers investments therein
uncertain and dangerous.
"(2) It raises the rate of interest decidedly, because the lender must charg, a rate of in- terest, where the loan is made in local currency and to be repaid in local currency, sufficient to cover the possible and probable less he may sustain in his principal when it is returned in the same currency with a lower value therefor. (3) It demoralises the whole civil service of the government, and creates intense dissatis- faction on the part of all civil employees.
“(4) It results in enormous "losses to the insular treasury.
"R
(5) It opens great doors for fraud on the part of receiving and disbursing officers of the Government.
(6) It renders accurate accounting exceed ingly difficult and laborious and well-nigh impossible.
(7) It continues a system that is odious to the people and to the business men of these islands."
These evils, as the N.-C. Daily News remarks, are not all present in China, but quite enough of them are to indicate that China must adopt the same remedy that the U. S. has given the Philippines, a gold standard with a limited silver currency with its value fixed in gold.
SILVER BULLION FOR THE PHILIPPINES.
The Manila Cablenews of the 21th inst. has the following:-
The Civil Commission yesterday took steps looking toward the purchase of silver bullion for the minting of the Philippine pesos as provided for in the Act of Congress of March 2,-1933.
The act passed by the Commission authorises the Secretary of War to issue certification of indebtedness in the name of the Insular Government to the amount of three millions. These certificates are to bear interest at a rate not exceeding 4 per cent. payable in periods of three months or more and not longer than one year. They are to be in denominations of $1,000 and redeemable in gold coin.
The Secretary of War is authorised to dispose these certificates for the Insular favourable An inte. Government at rest, or premium as may be, and the proceeds are to be deposited to the credit of the govern- ment with the Guaranty Trust Company, the hocredited and authorised depository of the government.
of
-¿
In order to anticipate the purpose of this proposed loan, the commission has set aside $3,000,000 of the money now in the Insalar Treasury and not before appropriated to other purposes, to be used at once in the purchase of silver buillion for minting.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
¦
This action on the part of the Commission was provided for in the currency bill which was enacted by Congress on the 2nd of March last.
A telegram to the N.-C. Daily News, dated March 27th, states that the Secretary of the United States Treasury, Mr. L. M. Shaw, has purchased 250,000 ounces of silver at 491 cents per ounce in connection with the Philippines Coirage Act,
HONGKONG COLONIAL
COUNCIL.
{(April 6, 1903.
MISSIONS IN CHINA
The 14th annual report of the Society for the- Diffasion of Christian and General Kaowledge among the Chinese deals with events up, to September 30, 1992 It contains portraits of various prominent reformers, such as Prinos Su, Superintendent of Police in Peking; Yuen Shih-kai Viceroy of (hibli, and Chang Chih-tang, "author of China's only hope *** education." The year ander review sys the raport, will be marked as the “period when China made the first practicni stride in reform CHURCH establishing colleges for western learning in 11. out of the 18 provinces. The society's object i to force the missionary 'bodies to consider how An important meeting was held at St. Paul's; many men they can set apart for literary work in College on the 31st ult., at the invitation order to counteract the ignorance out of which of the Bishop of Victoris, to consider the the Boxer troubles arose, and one good result of promotion and extension of the work of the the recent persecutions has been that the Anglican Church in the Colony. The Bishop Protestant missionaries in the north ✨ have presided, and there were present also the Ven resolved to unite in a single Christian Univer- Archdeacon Banister, Revs. E. J. Hardy, C.F.,tity in Peking, whose staff will probably F. T. Johnson, F. Iceley. R.N., T. Wright, surpass that of the Government institalion. W. J. Southam, W. F. Knox, E. J. Barnett What is wanted is to extend the policy and and G. A. Bunbury, the Hous. F. H. May have one first-class college for pomoting C.M.G., and R. Murray Ramsey, R.N., Com Christian civilisation in each provincial capital. modore Robinson, Colonel Birdwood, Major Already the number of Japanese engaged by Benson, A.P.D., and Messrs Armstrong, Berk, the Chinese to serve in the army, navy, and Boyer, Craig, Lindsay Grant, Li Wai Ching, police, and in educational and industrial de- Nicholls, Pieroy, Stringer, Tarrant and Wong partments is comparatively large. Hence, by acquiring Japanese, which they can easily do, Maan Lam. Dr Atkinson sent a note of apology the Chinese are getting hold of the Western literature which Japan has assimilated, omitting Christianity. The appendix contains several matters of interest. There is a specimen Not to Boxer placard, dated September, 1902.
let us take speak of other matters," it says, up the subject of the plucking ont of eyes and internals, the disembowelling of people, and the disseminating of poison in wells, which occurred this year in the various provinces. All culprits caught confessed that they had one and all Furthermore, come from the churches.
for absence.
After prayer and the election of a Secretary, the Bishop expressed his thanks to those present for their attendance there and proceeded to explain the object of the meeting. There were in the Colony several congregations and catres of Charch work-the Cathedral, the Navy, the Army, the Seamen's Mission (St. Peter's) and and the Chinese Branch of the Anglican Church. These were independent in their executive and to some extent overlapped each other. Owing to the long distances and the variety of languages spoken in the Diocese it was at present impossible to hold a Diocesan Colonial Church Council, Synod, but a with powers of deliberation rather then executive, would he felt be of considerable value as unifying the work of the Churoh and generally. Such a council would not could not, affect the executive authorities of the various units; each as before would preserve its independence, but they would become united rather than remain as isolated nuits. The Bishop then gave instances where by means of a common body, the various nuits would be brought into touch and mutual assis- tance be obtained.
After considerable discussion, which showed a general unanimity as regards the principle of the scheme, and some divergence as regards details, the following resolutions were put to the meeting and carried unanimously,
4
1. That with a view to the promotion and extension of Church work in Hongkong, it is desirable that a Colonial Church Council should be formed which shall be representative of all sections of the Anglican Communion in the Colony, Naval, Military and Civil, European and Chinese.'
2. That the said Colonial Church Council shall consist of—
...
(a) the Bishop of Victori, who shall be
ex-officio Chairman.
(b) the Archdeacon of Hongkong, who
shall be ex-officio Vice-Chairman. (c) All clergymen who are working under
due authority in the Colony, (d) A number of elected lay representatives | of various sections and congregations, elected for the present as follow:-the Cathedral, six; and the Navy, Army, St. Peter's and the Chines Native Church, three each.
3. That each clergyman arrange with his own congregation or congregations the method of election.'
4.
Chinese who embrace the foreign religions are all deeply-dyed villains imbued with inherent wickedness." On the other hand, there is an Imperial edict, dated July 3, in regard to Dr. We know Dr. Richard,” it says, " to be a man Richard, the secretary of the Diffusion Society. of great learning, high attainments, and strict sense of justice, qualities we deeply admire and commend." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is, therefore, to consult with Dr. Richard, “with the sincere hopa that, with the voluable assistance of that gentleman, the object in view may be arrived at and the masses be able to live at peace with their neighbours the Christians."
CANTON.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.]
Canton, 29th March;
THE REBEDLION IN KWANGSI, A military official from Kwangsi states that the greater part of that province is occupied by the rebels, most of whom are disbanded soldiers and local banditti amedating to more than a hundred thousand, well armed and well trained, Whenever the Imperialist soldiers fought them they were sure to lose. Only these three pre- features Wuchow, Ping Lok, and Kwai Lum are one at peace, while all the rest are in rebellion. There are sevéral rebel chiefs one of whom was Chanchow an army captain formerly under So Yün-chon, the general in chief of Kwangsi.
THE TRIAD SOCIETY,
Sometime at the beginning of this Chinese year, report was sent by the local authority-that in the prefecture of Waichow a large number of Triad Society men had held a meeting to renew their pledge of brotherhood before a deity with a view to raising rebellion. Thereupon the Viceroy and the Provincial Governor ordered soldiers to be sent to suppress the movement. Upon the arrival of the soldiers the Triads are said to have dispersed, and now the prefect of Waichow has petitioned the Viceros, Fasking His Excellency to send four magistrates to arrest thieves an i-local banditti in the village.
-GENERAL-JUNG CHI CHOI,ALS Fung Chi Choi, the commander in chief native of of the province of Yunnan is a
the stim The meeting concluded with a warm expres-Yain-Chow sin Kwang-tung/ zion of thanks, from the Bishop to those who of the French war at Loun
tinguished himself and his i were presant.
?
4.That the Council shall hereafter have power to develop and modify its own constitu- Lion/
5. The congregations be asked to send in the names of their representatives not later than June 1st.
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