March 26, 1904.]
there are evidences of thinking in English | too. The Chinese girls at the Belilios Public School he also found to have made remark- able progress with their English, though not speaking so well as the hoys at the District Schools who had been learning as long. Of the Anglo-Chinese Grant schools there are three in the Colony, the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the Ellis Kadoorie, and the S. Stephen's Anglo-Chinese Schools, and all have given evidence of a desire to attach due importance to the study of spoken English. The S. Stephen's School, though under Chinese masters only, has greatly improved in the last two years. Generally speaking, we may derive considerable encouragement from Mr. IRVING's report and may venture to hope that the lapse of a few more yeara will see English much better spoken by the Chinese in this Colony than hitherto has been the case.
HONGKONG AND LEPROSY,
(Da ly Press, 23rd March.) The Hon. H. E. POLLOCK, at the meeting of the Legislative Council on Monday, raised a question of more interest to the Colony than might have been gathered from the attitude taken up toward it by seven our of the eight Official Members of the Council. Mr. POLLOCK asked whether, in view of Mr. JONATHAN HUTCHINSON's letter to the Times on the connection between leprosy and the eating of tainted fish (to which we have alluded in these columns several times recently), the Hongkong Government should not cause some enquiry to be made into the matter by its medical officers. Mr. POLLOCK Supported his motion in an ex- cellent speech, but failed to carry conviction to the mind of the Official majority, for only one of them voted with him and the other Unofficial Members, and by the use of his casting vote H.F, the Officer Administering the Government was able to defeat the motion. The unfavourable auswer of the Government to Mr. POLLOCK, as read by the Hon, A. M. THOMSON ou Mnday, was based on the length of time which would be required for bacteriological examination, i being considered that the Government Bacteriologist would he better employed in investigating diseases affecting the public health of the Colony more than does leprosy. H.E. Mr. MAY himself expressed his conviction that, the Bacterio- logist being the only medical official who could conduct the required examination, more of his time would be given to than could be spared by the Colony; and the Attorney-General did not think that the question was one that could be settled by any such enquiry in this Colouy. In spite of the almost unanimous weight of Official opinion against Mr. POLLOCK's proposal, we can but consider that the Government has made a mistake. After all, the motion only asked the Government to cause some enquiry to be made. As this motion has been rejected, apparently no enquiry of any kind will be made in Government nelical circles, and the subject of the cause of leprosy will not interest Hongkong officials. Yet the question is one which affects the Colony. There are, it is true, diseases which affect Hongkong more readily. But there are, as Mr. POLLOCK pointed out, some 300,000 Chinese in the Colony and some two or three millions a year travelling to and from it. In the diet of these people cured fish figures largely; our noses tell us thisevery day as we move through the streets of the Colony. Moreover, though lepers rarely penetrate to the City of Victoria and are not allowed to stay here if they contract the disease, sull in the New Territory there
more
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT- is a considerable number of these afflicted wretches, and there is at Au-tau a leper settlement. Surely we should do wisely in paying some slight attention to the subject of leprosy and its causes, rather thau in neglecting it altogether? The ques- tion may not be one which can be settled by an enquiry in this Colony. But at least additional evidence, however slight, may be collected here which will help to fix the cause of a scourge which has been one of the worst ever known to the world and still claims countless victims in some lands. There is much leprosy in South China, and the eating of improperly cured fish, Mr. HUTCHINSON's claimed cause, is universal. Hongkong is therefore not unfavourably placed for aiding in the examination of the disease We cannot believe that the sub. ject is one of no importance to the Colouy, as the solid voting of the Official Members of the Legislative Council on Monday would lead one to infer.
CHINESE LABOUR FOR SOUTH
AFRICA..
(Daily Press 25th March.)
It may
At first it was
The Bill providing for the introduction of Chinese labour into the Transvaal hes now become law, the House of Lords having rejected a motion to defer the introduction of Chinese until the Transvaal is granted representative government, and the Govern- ment having escaped a vote of censure in the Commons by 299 votes to 242. be taken, therefore, that there is no further obstacle, as far as Britain is concerned, in the way of Chinese immigration to the Rand. There is, of course, still the Chinese Government to be satisfied. stated that Peking was entirely against the scheme. It appears now, however, that this is not the case. The Chinese authorities are not opposed in toto to the proposed im migration of their countrymen into South Africa; but they require to be assured on certain points. What these are may be gathered from published in London last month, containing a Parliamentary paper among other documents the reply of CHANG Ta-jen, Chinese Minister in London, after receipt of a draft of the Labour Ordinance sent to him, with an enquiry whether the Ordinance was one upon which regulations acceptable to Ching could be framed. CHANG, after the caustic remark that, if a similar course had been taken by some of the self-governing Colonies which have passed laws offensive to the Chinese Government, much acrimonious correspondence might have been avoided, wrote to the effect that he found nothing in the draft Ordinance likely to conflict with anything he would have to propose when negotiating with regard to the protection of Chinese immigrants under Article V. of the Treaty of Peking.
He suggested, however, that the Chinese Consul or Consular agent should bave power to visit the mines and places of accommodation for the immigrants, and to make representations to the authori- ties concerning them; that no corporal punishment of the immigrants should be allowed; that the "importer" of the immig rants should be a bona fide employer of labour, and that transfer of an immigrant should ouly be allowed with his consent and his Consul's approval; that repatriation should take place to the port of embarkation, not merely to country of origin, as provided in be made only in British or Chinese ships the Ordinance; and the immigration should and under British Board of Trade regula- tions for immigrant-ships. The Chinese Minister concludes his letter thus:-"The 'adoption of these suggestions by the
235
"authorities of the Transvaal would much 'contribute to render the Ordinance more acceptable to the Imperial Government of China, and to the gaining of the con- fidence of intending emigrants; more especially in provinces whose inhabi- tants have not hitherto been in the "habit of emigrating to foreign coun- "tries."
44
|
ers,
"
મ
reasonableness of the Chinese Minister's It is hard to dispute the
suggestions. The third, it should be noted, that with regard to the transfer of labour- is stated by CHANG Ta-jen to be grant from being made a mere chattel or necessary in order to prevent the immi-
article of commerce." It remains to be
up toward China's proposals. The owners seen what attitude the Transvaal will take
will be wise in accepting them. we think, if the introduction of Chinese labour is to become an accomplished fact. They will in acceding to China's, requests do much to weaken the cry of the Opposition in the British House of Commons and in some of the constituencies about slavery. On the other hand, if they hold out for the most barrassing restrictions on the immigrants, Chinese Government's approval, but they not only do they imperil the chance of the give point to outbursts like Sir WILLIAM HARCOURT's remarks about "the greatest scheme of human dumping since the Middle Passage was abolished," and furnish one politics-a result which is not to the advan- more electioneering cry to distract home
tage of imperial politics, we need hardly
say.
THE WAR.
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.]
LONDON, 21st March. It is reported from S. Petersburg that forty thousand Russian troops have come into contact with forty thousand Japanese troops North of Anju, and that a decisive action is expected.
LONDON, 22nd March.
town of Anju has been occupied by the Russian official despatches admit that the
Japanese troops.
LONDON, 23rd March.
burg stating that six Japanese battleships, Viceroy Alexieff telegraphs to S. Peters-
twelve
cruisers, and eight destroyers bombarded Port Arthur for the space of two hours on Tuesday morning, the 22nd inst.
[It will be noted that this telegram absolutely disposes of the story of Port Arthur's capture
ED. D.P.] on the 19th inst.; and also that it shows that the Japanese battleship squadron is intact-
TEL:GRAMS.
Tokyo, 14th March. It is learnt that the shots fired on the 10th of March numbered 129 twelve-inch. The six battl: ships slowly made five rounds each from each of their four twelve-inch guns, maintaining the range splendidly.
Tokyo, 15th March,
A steamer with uine Japanese killed and ten Aounded has arrived at Saseho. It has trans-
pired that while the Russian and Japanese destroyers were at close quarters on the 10th, gustchi, and found the Russian captain just one Japanese blusjao et jumped into the Stere- getting out of his cabin. He cat the ciptain's head off with his cutlass when the explain
troyer, when surroundel by four Japanese des- attempted to rise up, and kicked it board. The Steregustchi and another des- troyers, fought gallantly, and endeavoured vainly to open a way of escape. The remains of over twenty Russians were then recognised, the enemy's rassels being like beehives.
£
over-