Page
May 30, 1904.]
THE DALLAS CO. AT THE THEATRE.
Those in the audience at the Theatre on the 21st inst, who had not seen a Chinese
success.
.
be a
་་
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
man of a most villaous asp ct. The raid was made on the night of the 20th.
CROPS.
The crops are flourishing and everything is looking verdant; the farmers anticipate a good
season.
AGRICULTURE.
28th May.
Cattle and pigs are exceptionally free from disease this year so far. There is excellent grass for the cattle on the hills which were burned in winter.
CROWN RENT.
Hmeymoon at the Strand Theatre in London, where it ran for something like seven hundred nights, must have wondered what the London play-going public saw in the piece to become so enraptured with it. The music, though pretty, has not attained the same vogue
Rain is wanted very badly. Incessant labour as the music of The Geisha or The Belle of New
is required with the hand rotary pumps to keep York or several other musical comedies of recent
the fields flooded. Many fields have not been years, and we conclude that primarily the chief planted with rice for want of water. The sweet attraction for the play-going public of London potato-crop when raised exceeded expectations. was the Oriental setting of the piece. That The crop results were splendid. It was feared feature of the play does not, of course, possess
the long dry winter had spoiled the growth of the same attraction for a Hon kong audience.
the potatoes, but the first rains came early in With a strong cast, however, the play does not
the spring and worked wonders. The Wo depend entirely on its Oriental setting for its
Sak (a kind of bird-seed), which is grown There is fine scope for good acting in plentifully around Shamchun and elsewhere, is it, and those who saw the inimitable Louie
now being cut. Peanuts are growing splendid- Freear in the part of Fi Fi will concede thisy, and promise a good yield. The fruit on the feature to have been the second cause of the lichee, peach, and pear trees is now about half- play's astonishing success. This part was very
grown and fruit promises to be abundant, but well taken in the performance on Saturday by rain must come soon. Miss Alice Wale. Mr. Percival Knight, the principal comedian of the ompany, took the part of Pineapple, the Benedict on a honeymoon tour in China. His song Happy Land, with its intoned patter after each verse, was vastly appreciated, and although he repeated the last
The Government, after long suffering at the verse, the house demanded more, but had
hands of reluctant rent-payers, has now assumed reluctantly to be satisfied with the bowing
a firmer attitude. The farmers have found of the artist in acknowledgment. Miss
themselves suddenly threatened with distress Wade's song "I want to
warrants. Lydy
The quick departure from the old was almost equally well received. The
lenient methods practised by the Government sentimental duet by Miss Ernestine Walker and of late years proved an unelome surprise Mr. Frank ochrane was well sung and cordial.
to many, and the farmers are now paying in ly applauded. The part of the Emperor in the
their rent-dues in coin mouldy with long keep. piece was taken by Mr. Rees, and that of Lording. Had the Government adopted a firm High Admiral by Mr. Riley. In the second act Miss Carrie Roberts introduced a fantastique which was very well done and elicited general applause.
On Monday night the Dallas Company intro- duced a novelty in their
abandonin r programme, musical comedy for once in favour of drama or melodrama-whichever we should call Wilson Barrett's The Sign of the Cross. The experi- ment might seem odd to those who have hitherto only seen the Dallas Co. in musical piece, but we must say at once that it was a successful experiment. The cast was very well filled, and, whatever we may think of the merits of the play, great London success as it was, the Dallas Co. introduced it to Hongkong in creditable fashion. Mr. Percival Knight's Marcus Super- bus was an excellent bit of acting, though very different from his ordinary style. We should like to see him in other pieces of a different character from musical comedy, good as he always is in the latter. Messrs. Cochrane, ees, and Munro backed their leader up well in the parts of Nero, Tigellinus, and Glabrio, and the ladies' characters were safe in the hands of Misses Alice Wade, Frampton, Hunter, and Desmond, while Miss Carrie Roberts effective as Stephanus. An excellent house witnessed the performance, considering the heat of the evening.
duns
was
On Tuesday Three Little Maids was staged again, the occasion being the last appearance here this season of the Company, and also Mr. Percival Knight's benefit.
NEW TERRITORY NOTES.
[FROM A CORRESPONDENT.]
24th May. SEIZURE OF ARMS AND OPIUM.
Sergt. Gerrard in executing on opium warrant in a Chinaman's house in a small village outside of Sheungshui found in his possession in addition to the opiuim a six-chambered revolver with ammumtion and a musket. Ho was brought before Mr. E. D. C. Wolfe, the Maristrate at Taipo on the 21st who fined him $23 for possession of the opium and $250 or three months and 6 hours exposure in the stocks on the road leading from Sheungshui to Sanchun at the Gap where the tea-house is. It appears that he has been suspected of being a bad character for a long time and they have been waiting to catch him at something. I saw him yesterday in the stocks and he is a
attitude at the start much trouble might have been averted.
POLICE.
Following the excelent example set by Mr. Sercombe Smith in Hongkong. Mr. Wolfe, the Taipo Magistrate, has introduced the stocks in the New Territory. Criminals have already been exposed in the stocks at Unlong. Sautin, Sheungshui, and Taipo. Taken as a whole the countryis very quiet. Fights in some districts are frequent about the use of irrigating streams. A serious one took place the other day at Santin; as a result one man is now in hospital. Pro. secutions for possession of illicit opium are frequent.
CHINESE TERRITORY.
The Chinese over the border are all of the idea that at some near date the British will take over the remainder of San On. This rumour (too good to be true) is raising the hopes of respectable traders over the border, but is ill received by the keepers of gambling and opium-dens. Robberies are still frequent around Shamchun. A short while ago the military officer at Lin Tong went with an escort to Sa Wan Village, on the north shores of Deep Bay, to arrest some robbers. The vil lagers refused to deliver up the robbers, whom they themselves had arrested, and, in front of the officer's eyes, took the robbers from the vil- lage gaol, tied them to trees, and shot them. Rumour has it that the villagers suspected the officer of endeavouring to receive squeeze from the prisoners' relatives, and so frustrated his designs.
CANTON NOTES.
[FROM THE “CHUNG NGOI SAN PO.”]
IMPERIAL EDICTS.
*
An Imperial Edict was issued on the 17th inst. in response to the memorial presented by Viceroy Shum, who asked the Throne to punish the officers connected with the murder of the false Hung Chuen-Fook in Hongkong. The Edict states that the military officers, named_Ho Wai-Chung, Lam Shan, Fong Hing-Kwok, Su Ying-Chun, Lau Kam-Yat, and Chu Cheong (deceased), who had no right to induce persons to proceed to foreign soil to commit the said crime for the purpose of gaining rewards, are to be deprived of their titles and ranks, and dismissed from office, and that Admiral Ho Cheung-Ching is also to be dismissed from office for failing to control the officers from committing such a crime.
401
Another Imperial edict was issued on the same day appointing Ip Chap-kwai Comman- dant of the Wan-t'how garrisons in Chekiang province, to take the place of Admiral Ho Cheung-Ching
[FROM
PAKHOI.
OUR CORRESPONDENT.]
Pakhoi, 19th May.
H. B. M. CONSUL Mr. M. Hughes, British Vice- onsul at Hi- how, accompanied by Mrs. Hughes, arrived here on the 9th instant, Mr. Hughes will pro- bat ly remain here until the arrival of Mr. G W. Pearson, who, I understan, has been appointed Acting Consul at this port.
FRENCH MEN-OF-WAR.
The new French cruiser Gueydon and the gunboat Aspic arrived here on the 8th instant from Tonkin. The former, owing to her size and draught, did not come into the harbour, but remained outside in the roads. M. Casanare was on board one of the vessels on a visit of inspection of the various French Goveriment institutions in the Far East. The ves els left on the 9th to visit Waioh w island, when/ several members of the French community, including Consul and Mada ue Flayelte, joined the party, returning on the 10th. The two reggels finally departed for Hoihow on the 11th instant.
محمد
A NEW OU TOMS ASSISTANT. Mr. E. K. Bull arrived here on the 3rd instant to fill the post of Assistant-in-Charga of General Office in the Customs-left yacaut by the departure of Dr. J. H. Lowry, who de- parted for England at the beginning of April last. In the absence of the usual Medical Officer attached to the Customs, Dr Sager, of the Church Missionary Society's Hospital, has consented to act as Medical Officer to the Cus toms staff.
AN OLD RESIDENT.
Mr. L. Judell, a partner in Messra. A. Schomburg & Co., who, together with Mrs. Judell, left for a sojourn in Germany last year,
returned on the 9th instant. Mrs. Judell will not come back until the autumo.
THE GERMAN CONSUL.
The 8.8. Carl Diederichsen arrived on the 17th instant for the sole purpose of landing Mr. H. von Varchmin, who left for Hongkong a few weeks ago on business.
GERMAN MAN-OF-WAR.
The H.I.G.M. gunboat Tiger arrived here yesterday from Hongay and Haiphong.
THE BE BERY CASE.
The enquiry in connection with this now famous cise is not yet concluded. Cheong Kwok fong was again summoned to Linchow to give evidence, but as he had left the port. a telegram was sent to him to appear; in the meantime a responsible assistant in his shop being retained. Cheong came back on the 9 h instant, when he was ordered to procsed to Linchow, taking with him his old account-books, The late magistrate of this place, who is con- cerned in the case, is still detained at Linchow pending the order of the Canton Viceroy, it is said.
AN ARMED ATTACK,
A native clerk in foreign employ, living in an isolated house in a village not far from the foreigu residences, was the victim of an armed attack on the night of the 9th instant. During the affray an inmate of the house rec-ived a wound on the head which necessitated his re- moval to the Church Missionary Hospital for treatment.
CARBINE PIGMONS.
Nothing further has transpired with regard to the robbery of these valuable birds from the aviary in the French Consulate compoun |; not a single arrest has yet been effected in connec- tion with the burglary.
4
THE WEATHER. We have been experiencing_a_boisterous weather for the last few days. From the 13th to the 16th, the wind was qually to the extreme, but there was no rain until the evening of the 16th, when it began to fall in intermittent showers up to the time of writing, the thermometer ranging from 80 to 85 degrees Fabr. all along. The health of the port is"