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November 18, 1903. SHOOTING ACCIDENT IN NEW TERRITORY.
P.W D. OVERSEES SHOT DEAD
We regret to have to record a most distressing fatal accident which occurred in the New Territory on the 8th inst. A party of Europeans set out on a shooting expedition on the other side, and on Sunday it appears were in the neighbourhood of Shateen stalking some deer that were making themselves heard. The party consisted of Sergeant J. Lee and Sergeant Hill of the Hongkong olice; Mr. W. McGregor of the Public Works Department, who is in charge of the new waterworks in Kowloon; and a fourth European.
In the course of their pursuit of the deer Sergeant Lee was manipulating the chamber of his rifle when the weapon went off and the builet struck Mr. McGregor in the back, on the spine, killing him instantaneously. On Monday afternoon the body of the unfortunate mau was brought to Hongkong by the police launch and placed in the mortuary chamber to await the inquest.
Mr. McGregor had not had leave for & considerable period, and he had looked for ward to the King's birthday to get an outing ini the New Territory. Mach sympathy is felt for Sergeant Lee in the painiul position in which he finds himself through inadvertence. He was a great friend of Mr. McGregor, and when on leave lost no oppor- tunity of visiting him at the waterworks,
At the Happy Valley on the 10th inst. the funeral took place of Mr. W. McGregor. oferseer in the Public Works Department, whose sad death as the result of a shooting accident in the New Territory has been already reported. A large number of friends of the de- ceased followed his remains to the grave and the coffic was carried from the hearse into the cemetery by six of bis colleagues on the F. W.D. staff, namely Messrs. J. Coyle, F. Dougherty, I. A. Wheal, G. W. Kynoch, J. H. Barrington, and Cole. There were pressul the Hon. W. Chatham, Director of Public Works, Mr. P. H. Jones, Assistant D.P.W.; Chief Inspector H G. Baker, Inspector W. L. Ford and W G. Warnock, Sergeant Lee, Sergeant Hill. Sergeant Clark and many other members of the Police Force; Inspector A. Larrence of the Naval Yard Police; W. M. Deas of the Kowloon Docks and many Mas uic brethren. Rev. C. H. ickling of the Union Church conducted the funeral service. and delivered a most impressive address. the last honours had been paid to the dead, Rev. Mr. Hickling shook hands with Sergeant Leo and expressed every sympathy with him in his sorrow for unwittingly being the cause of his friend's death. The grave was covered with wreaths.
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HONGKONG LETTERS VIA THE
SIBERIAN ROUTE.
On'enquiry yesterday morning at the Post Office, we were courteously furnished with the following intormation regarding the sending of Hongkong letters via the Siberian route.
The Hongkong Post Office, after hearing that the British Postal authorities had agreed to the Siberian Railway's terms for sending mails to and from the East by the overland route, wired to ask if letters could be sent with penny ( cents) postage and received an affirmative reply Evidently, therefore, letters can be seut froin England to Hongkong via Siberia with a penny stamp, and a 24d stamp, as as been report d, is not necessary.
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The terms of the Siberian Railway are 15 francs per kilogram. The British Postal authorities wou d not agree to this rate at first but in the end gave in, accepting the offer provisionally till after the International Postal Cnference at Rome next year when some more satisfactory arrangement may be arrived åt.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
13 francs per kilo, or, roughly, at a loss of 3 francs. Italy charges 1.70 francs, France 2 france, and the shipping companies the remainder.
About five days are saved by sending letters via Siberia, or in other letters take only 23 days in transit as against words
28 days when sent by sea. Thirteen days of this are occupied by the railway part of the journey in Kussia alone. On the mail arriving at Moscow, the bags are forwarded by the German-Paris nail-train. When saying that it takes 28 days to send a letter by the sea route, it is meant that 28 days is the usual time-the last P. & O. mail took roughly 28 days, but as a matter of fact it is claimed that it can be done in 26 days. No doubt it can, but it never is; often, indeed, the mail takes 29 days. A gentleman in the Russo Chinese Bank has received a letter from Paris via Siberia in 23 days. The Russian railway authorities are taking measures to accelerate the service.
On account of the great expense of sa ding: mail bags via Siberia, the ost Office has decided uot to accept anything for that route except fully paid letters. Newspapers and samples will only be sen by sea, and letters requiring to be taxed on account of their being unsufficiently stamped will also be sent only by the sea route.
Mail bags via Siberia will be close sealed and in no way tampered witu by the Russian authorities.
As it will take about three days less for letters posted at Shanghai to reach England than those poste at Hongkong, that port recently three days more distant from England than Hongkeng i now the reverse.
Referring to the above, a correspondent sends us the following interesting remarks on this subject. He says when the Freuch Post Office made the agre-meut with the Siberian Railway for the carriage of mails his head offi e tested the new route, with the result that b. received here the French and German Mails from Paris in 29 days, and the English Mail in 33 days. Mail matter posted at the same tim in Eugland reached him on Saturday last vid the Canal, and yesterday moruing rid the German mail steamer Preussen from Shanghai. Our correspondent therefore concludes that unless they start a direct steamer from Diny to Hongkong the canal route is the best for
mail service with this colony.
THE POVERTY OF HONGKONG'S
MUSEUM.
A Daily Press representative on the 7th inst. interviewed Mr. H. Wilfrid Walker, a naturalist of many years' experience, now on a short visit to Hongkong. In the course of his remarks Mr. Walker mentioned having visited the Hongkong museum, and expressed his surprise at the poor collection therein displayed. To begin with, the birds and lepidoptera are in a very dilapidated condition; and many of the birds ave been shocking y stuffed. But the worst fault of all is tue misnaming of the birds. For instance, a bird of Paradise, Paradisea Papuana, is labeled Paradisea Rubra, the red bird of Paradise; and another still more glaring mistake is a bee- eater, Merops Ornatus, label.cd "the blue-tailed humming bird," Trochilus Cyanurus, and its habitat said to be Hongkong, when almost everyone knows that the humming birds are peculiar to North and South America, and the West Indies. The residents of Hongkong would be very surprised if they heard that humming birds were found on the Island.
When asked whether these were the only mistakes, Mr. Walker relied:
"No; there are plenty of others, but these two are the most ridiculous.
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What do you think of the animals?' "They are most unnatural, being stuffed altogether out of proportion, and their attitades are m s. ludicrous." When 1 was looking In a silogram, roughly,' there are 100 letters around the museum, 8 Dutch gentleman af 4 cents per letter; therefore the Post Office
came up to me and commented on the receives $4 per kilo., and $4, roughly, is the equi-way the animals were stuffed, saying they were valent of 10 francs. As it costs the Post Office 19 francs per kilogram (15 to Siberian Railway, 2 francs to Germany, and 2 francs to France), they are at a dead loss of roughly 9 francs per kilogram. Letters are sent via Brindisi for
perfectly outrageous. He also expressed sur- prise at the smallness of the museum for a place like Hongkong."
“On the whole, what do you think of the Museum "
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"Wretched! It reminds me of a secon -band taxidermist's shop. Considering how favourably Hongkong is situated with regard to gathering curios and natural-history specimens from Japan, China and the East Indies I expected a beiter especially, would present valuable curios to the display. I should think that the rico Chinese, Museum if it were set on a bet er footing and if larger and more suitable premises were secured. As it is now, it is an eyesore and a disgrace to the Colony."
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Did you visit the library ?"
Yes; and when I asked for the London Weekly Times they had only two out of date copies, one for a week in May and the other
for a week in June."
I suppose you have visited the Botanical Gardens ?"
"I have, and was very pleased with them, but I could not help noticing that some of the plants were also misnamed, especially the palms.. To cite one case, a sabal was named Pritchardia Pacifica. was particularly taken with some of the walks above the Botanical Gardens, the mixture of palms, cycads. dracenas, tree-ferus, marantas, and trees covered with climbing pothos and philodendrons made me almost imagine that I was in a forest again, and yet I am told that tourists tropical aud globe-trotters hardly ever see this beautiful spot.
Mr. Walker has collected in many countries. He has just finished five months in Japan, and s on his way to the Philippines and Borneo.
WANCHAI INDUSTRIES.
Vary little about Wanchii, exipt pichi san account of the periodical shareholders' meeting of Messrs. Geo, Fenwick & Co., ever sees print, though the area lying bo:ween, that establish- ment and the Bowrington Caual is one of the busiest spots in Hongkong. True, certainly, the employers in that vicinity are mostly Chinese who wax rich in their own Way and little is known about them. There is be- sides, the poorer cluss who set a wonderful example of thrift and industry. Passing Messis. Fenwick's shear-legs on the Praya, one comes to Tong Tai Tseung Kee Co.'s works doing a good business in iron founding, and shipbuilding also, in a small way; alongside the P'raya, opposite are two small steamboats in course of construction. Further on, around about the Public Works earthenware yard, are quantities o
scrap iron' all being worked upon and turned to good account. On the beach at the back, a China, man may be seen cutting through a huge log -be has been at it all day and there are yet a fen feet to finish. Below him, where sampans. painters are fast ned to hig stones or pi-ces of wood pegged into the sand, are a quantity of sticks out to dry. Mixed with lumps sifted from ash heaps they make very good fuel. Her and there is an old scow, bottom up for caulking purposes, and near by is Ah King's slipway, Ah King started life as a boatman being employed to look after a few boats at the Vio- toria Recreation Club. Some time after, having found his line of business profitable, he came over to Wanchai and started on his own. Now Ah King Looks after some 15 boats belonging to the Royal Hongkong Yacht Club, to say nothing of two score or so others of every description. Smail launches are also entiuste i to him, and one of his three slipways can accommodate an 8 feet launch. The other two are for smail ou ters. He can unfold some very interesting stories about the difficulty hxperie ces in getting the numerous boats to Quarry Bay_for shelter before typhoons. Along Praya East are a large number of godowns. Coolies with baskets of coal attached to their bamboo poles are incessantly walking in procession to and from the cargo junks alongside ; an appearance of activity prevails everywhere. Included in the list of coal godowns in this not too extensive area are those of Chan Hing Ting, Chow Dart Tong, Tsang Foò & Co., Yuen Kes, the East Asiatic Trading o.. Midzushima & Co., the Mitsui Bussan Kalaba, N. Mody & Co., and Wing Kee. The United Asbestos Oriental Agency, Messrs. Butterfield and Swire, and Mr. Tang Lap Ting (the Wanchai Godowns – covering a large area) have also warehouses
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