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CANTON.
[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]
Canton, 11th November,
RUMOURAD BIG BATTLE. There are rumours of a great battle in the Waishow district, but these must be taken as having grown in the telling. However, a brigand chief seems to have been captured, though whether he ja a person ΟΙ any importance may be doubted. The story, which I give below, bears signs of touching up in the usual picturesque Chinese manner,
BRUSH WITH ROBBERS,
The villagers of Cheung Tow Tong, not far from Waichow itself, Had suffered considerably from the robbers in the neighbourhood under one Ma Wong Hai. With the arrival of the energetic General Ng in Waiohow the people seem, however, to be plucking up courage to resist their oppressors and so it was in this case. The Cheung Tow people attacked Ma and his men, and held him at bay until the general arrived with his usual thousand men. The robbers were then put to dight, but not until they had killed one hundred villagers and an offlor and several tens of men among the troops. Against this loss the government people have only to boast of two captures, though that of the chief, who is now in Canton, may cause the break-up of the band. A good deal of stolen property was recovered, but it may be doubted whether the original owners will see the colour of their coin again. It would probably be highly inadvisable to put in a claim at the local lost property office.
IN THE CITY.
From Canton there are only the barest items of news. The ex-Namhoi is not yet at liberty as the Provincial Treasurer insists on the fullest investigation into his case-the fine of $500,000 was not large enough, apparently; On the obituary list I notice the name of Wong, late magistrate of Kwaiping. It is to be noted that it was from his charge that Chan King Wa, the man of blood, escaped.
Canton, 17th November.
AN EARTHQUAKE SHOCK.
A slight shock of earthquake was felt by several residents in Shameen this morning at 8.45; the tremor lasted for about eleven seconds. It is many years since an earth- quake has been recorded in Canton.
FIRES.
There have been several fires in Canton during the past week On the 12th two flower boats were burnt near the Ying Chü Kai, in Kuk Fau, and on the evening of the 15th two or three houses were gutted near Wong Sha while last night a shop was burnt down in Honam. The Chinese Fire Brigade does very useful work on these occasions. The citizens seem to recognise the danger of fires spread- ing throughout a whole quarter, and do their best to put them down. Visitors may have noticed the great number of hydrants in the city, which the authorities keep in good order. These were introduced some ten years ago, and their usefulness has often been proved. The wonder is, not that there are many small fires, but that the city is not burnt to the water's edge when a high wind is blowing.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
hands of the villagers. A vacancy was caused in the ranks of the brigands by the execu- tion of three of their chiefs at Canton last week, but such vacancies are easily filled. The universal practice of gambling undoubt edly is a great evil, as a ruined gambler is always welcome in a robber band, or at the worst can start in the business alone.
[FROM ANOTHER CORRESPONDENT.]
Canton, 16th November. !
THE NEW GOVERNOR,
The new Provincial Governor Cheung has arrived at Canton, taking up the governorship on the 12th ult, ex-Governor Li Hing Yai left on the 14th for Foochow to take up the post of Acting Viceroy there.
SUICIDE OF AN OFFICIAL.
and principal director of the lekin bureau, has Chuen Chew, late sub-prefect of Kwangsi, been arrested and brought back to Canton, tried, and punished. He was tried before the prefect Shum, of Kwongchow. for murder and embezzlement of the lekin taxes to the amount of thirty thousand taels. After the trial he was handed over to the Dew Namhoi magistrate to be detained in prison. There by means of opium he committed suicide It is said that in consequence the new Namhoi magistrate will have some difficulty too. Probably be will be sent away and another put in his place.
FALSE NOTES.
There are a lot of false $10 notes of the Hong. kong and Shanghai Bank found in Canton Captain Yeung of Shameen discovered a few of them and has arrested three men. The notes were selling for $3.60, an i were very ingeniously
made.
FIRE INSURANCE.
In consequ noe of the frequent occurrence of fire in Canton thi shopkeepers have formed a call the mutual fire insurance company. company, one branch in each street, which they Each shop in every street pays so much to the fund. In case of fire in any one of the shops in the stree the people of the rest of the shops
have to help to put out the fire, and the company has to pay the damage out of its funds.
SQUEEZING.
A weiyuin has been sent round to all the gam bling houses by order of the anthorities to find out by their books what amount of squeezes has been paid to officials daily and what are their names. The Wai Sing lottery company besides paying for the monopoly annually has been ordered to pay ten per cent, on its takings.
CHINESE METHODS.
Four men working on the railway at Ying Tak have been injured by explosives and were taken into a school kept by Lai She to be attended to. The latter for fear of trouble bad them removed to a public convenience to be medically and comfortably attended to!
[FROM THE “CHÚNG NGOI BAN PO.”]
A VILLAIN'S END.
Ma Wong-hoi, a notorious robber and a follower of Li Ka-cheuk, was captured on the 6th instant. Ma was also a robber before he was under the protection of Li Ka-cheuk, who promised his protection and afterwards made him & military officer. He was Li's right-hand man, and the two put their. heads together to commit crimes of every description, and make their squeezes. After Li Ka-cheuk had been locked up in the Pan- A very destructive fire is reported from Sanyu magistrate's prison, Ma gathered a large Tong in Shek Lung district. This outbreak number of followers and took possession of a originated in a matched, in which some gay village named Shok-po in Taugkun district companions of the lower class had congregat They were also joined by the notorious robber ed. They were indulging in a game of cards, leaders, Tai Mai-heung and Ten-Tai-Wong-Chi, and in the small hours of the morning betook each of whom had about one thousand followers. themselves to their supper, which consisted They committed robberies in broad daylight, of a cat which had fallen into their hands. seised the rich people for ransom, and forced It is apparently necessary to singe the hair the junks and big shops to pay blackmail off, this delicate dish before eating it, and monthly or quarterly. Twenty per cent. of some of the sparks from the hair ignited the their spoils were used to buy weapons matshed, causing a conflagration in which 437 and firearms. They had about two thousand houses-practically the whole village were new rifles of the latest pattern, and built burnt. It may be assumed that the gay two stone forts at the entrance command party of players has formed the robber bandsing the village. They intended to march which haunt this neighbourhood; their lives through the districts of Pun ya, Tungkun, and would not be worth much if they fell into the Namhoi, to Canton and to seize the city for
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[November 21, 1903,
the purpose of saving: Li Ka-cheuk." After Tai Mui-heung was captured and decapitated some two weeks ago, the followers of Ma became frightened, and a good number of them left him for places of safety. The number was then reduced to only about six hundred. Ma still believed that he was quite strong enough to cope with the troops, for he quite understood that the number of soldiers sont to effect the arrest of robbers was usually about two or three hundred. Unexpectedly, on the morning of the 6th inst., Viceroy Shum sent the commander-in-chief of the land forces and Admiral Ho, together with some two thousand soildiers and some guns, to cap- ture him. Lieutenant Shi and a military officer, named Liu, were sent there first with six hundred soldiers. When Lieutenant Shi arrived with the troops, à battle commenced at once and many were killed and wounded on both sides. At last Admiral Ho and the commander- in-chief arrived on the spot, when the robber village was completely hemmed in. The battle lasted about two hours, but shell after shell was poured into the village, so that the robbers could stand it no longer. A good number were captured and beheaded at once. Ma tried to make his escape with about sixty followers, and they all put on the uniforms of soldiers, which Ma had when he was military officer under Li Ka-cbeuk. No one recognised him at first, but when he passed a certain place some villagers who knew him shouted out his name. He and bis band at once drew out revolvers and fatally shot some villagers, after which they throw a good number of banknotes on the ground to The soldiers, however, bay off the pursuers. dared not stop to pick up the notes, and Ma was captured alive, while all his followers were encounter about one hundred and fifty robbers sither taken prisoners or killed. During the
either committed suicide by drowning them. selves in the ponds or welle, or were killed, and about one hundred were taken alive. A good number of unfortunate villagers, who were unable to afford the passage to the village, were also killed. On the official side places of safety, wheu Ma took possession of
a military officer named Liu and seven soldiers were killed, and about thirty wounded. Ma Wong-hoi, Tau-Tai-Wong-obi and Lam Kan, the three leaders, have been sent to Canton for trial.
THE NAMHOI BROUGHT TO BOOK. That notorious squeezer, Poi Kan-fook, late Namhoi magistrate, who was dismissed by the Viceroy, was brought before the Pro- vincial Judge on the 2nd inst., charged with accepting heavy bribes from the oreditors of the well-known pill-shop, Chau Li Tasi, the the shop in question to the creditors, who were owners of which were forced by him to sell
anxious to take possession of the shop at any cost. Poi pleaded that the case was mistaken- ly tried by him. The Judge replied that as there was evidence against him of accepting a bribe of over one hundred thousand dollars, he was unable to do anything in his favour. Poi was at first perfectly composed, but when he heard the words of the Judge, tears were rolling down his cheeks from his eyes,
OFFICIAL MOVEMENTS. H.E. Chang Yun-chun, the new Governor of Canton, arrived on the 11th inst. and took over the seal on the 12th inst. H.E. Li Hing Yui, the old governor and viceroy-designate at Foochow, left for that port on the 14th inst. His Excellency has appointed the 20th or 22nd in t. as the day for taking over the Viceregal seal at Fooohow.
Now that measures have been taken to remove Tibetan obstructiveness, says the Straits Times, it is interesting to note that about the middle of last month, Captain Rawlins and Lieutenant Hargreaves had returned to Kashmir from an expedition in Tibet. After crossing Lanak Pass the party went due cast to continue Captain Deasy's survey. Many new lakes were dis- covered. At Thok Jalung the expedition was stopped by armed Tibetans who, though friendly, insisted on the return of the expedi tion. Lieut. Hargreaves lost many baggage ponies in a blizzard raging for eight days, but the party discovered some grain buried by Captain Dessy. The triangulation extended, 'to longituds 85 degrees exist.