October 8, 1904.]
the owner replies that entries are only made in the log-book on occasions required by the Board of Trade, such as logging a deserter and the like. Most extraordinary of all is the farther reason given by the Court for its finding, viz., "that the vessel had carried contraband On her outward voyage.”
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. contempt of Russia for the British flag. A 'plain business man writes to the Times saying: "I make no pretence to a know- ledge of the refinements of diplomacy. I only know that like thousands of other business men in Great Britain just now, I am being robbed and plundered, and tha The British Foreign | if the refinements of diplomacy, backed up Office was supplied by the owner of the by the strongest Fleet in the world, cannot ship with conclusive evidence that the put a stop to that, then the time has come destination of the ship and her cargo was for plain speaking and prompt action." Singapore. A copy of the bill of lading | There has been plenty of plain speaking by and charter-party were amongst the ship's shipowners and business men in the columns papers examined by the Prize Court, and of the Times, and other organs of public despite this testimony the ship within a opinion, and we have no doubt that the fortnight of her seizure was condemned. Russian Commission on contraband ques- We are face to face therefore with the fact tions of which we have recently heard some- 1 bat, ignoring the indefensible excuse that thing by telegraph is one of the results; the ship was taking the western rather than but the decisions of this commission would the seldom-used eastern route, the Prize appea. only to have increased the difficulties, Court, notwithstanding the British protest and British shipowners have still to wait against coal being declared under all for the guarantees and protection they seek. circumstances contraband of war, confiscates ship and cargo, and moreover advanced the unprecedented claim that the ship having previously carried coal to the enemy's country justifies her con emnation.
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Holding such views as it has repeatedly declared on the subject of contraband, one would naturally think this a case in which the Government would have been quick to take action. It is almost incredible to find that down to the 16th of August the British Foreign Office had not become " officially aware that the fact of the vessel having carried coal on the outward voyage was considered by the Prize Court (ou June 27th) to constitute one of the grounds for her condemnation. The owner of the ship had long before made the newspaper read ing public aware of the fact, and he seems to have kept the Foreign Office well posted with all information relating to the case Moreover, on July 27th the British Ministeral St. Petersburg communicated to the Foreign Office the fact that he had received "a note from the Russian Government stating that the Allanton was condemned for carrying a full cargo of contraband to the enemy and for the undoubted active participation of the owner of the vessel in the conveyance by steamer of contraband." This statement, it will be seen, is based solely on the facts that before the outbreak of war the steamer left England with a cargo of coal which was delivered in Japan after the war had commenced, and that when captured she was carrying a cargo of coal to a British firm at Singapore. The Foreign Office with the whole of the facts in its possession had done nothing in the matter down to the end of August, not even so much as telegraphed for that official knowledge which it lacked of a decision rendered on June 27th involving a grievous loss to one British shipowner and disturbance and loss of a less direct character to the whole shipping industry of Great Britain. It must therefore be allowed that there is ample excuse for the indignation of British shipowners when they see such indifference to vital interests as the Government has shown in this case of the Allanton, to say nothing of the case of the Knight Commander and that of the Calchas. The result of the supineness of the Government is seen in the fact that underwriters have in some cases been charging four times more for war risks on goods to Japan under the British flag than if under the French or German flag, and consequently British shippers have been diverting all the goods they can from British steamers to French and German. British trade to Singapore, Hongkong, and Shanghai, and not only to Japan, is being harassed, penalised and disorganised, so the merchants at Home declare, by the obvious
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FLIPPANCY.
(Daily Press, 4th October.)
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correspondent still going to maintain that the method of presenting a case is immaterial ? We imagine that he would be somewhat grateful to any newspaper commenting that his case had not received proper treatment. At all events, he would be unlikely to re- peat his present blunder of regarding a flippant speech as a preventative" of evil | humours already collected.
POKER.
(Daily Press, 4th October.) The game of poker has been acquiring extraordinary popularity at Hongkong, and we have repeatedly heard of high play among young men who cannot be said to claim similar intimacy with high pay. The other day, at a sitting of the Supreme Court (our report of it being unwarrantably withheld by the reporter) there was heard a case directly arising from that seductive and mind-ob-essing game of cards. We would like to think that the statement of the mess into which it apparently put the defendant would give pause to the numbers The gentleman whose letter appears in a of young men who are even now being led neighbouring column, over the pen name of into a ruinous pastime for the pursuit of Scotland for Ever," has demonstrated, so which are needed more money and more far as we are concerned, that if it does strength of mind than many of them pos. require a sledgehammer to get a joke into sess. Owing to visits paid by both young a Caledonian skull, it certainly does not need men in the case, auxious to persuade us to a can opener to get one out. Our corres- withhold their names from the public, we pondent, so far from joking "wi' doeficulty,' have acquired a fairly reliable idea of the betrays a subtlety of humour, and a by circumst inces of this particular case. The ordinar' "finesse of jocularity, when he has defendant was admittedly a tyro at the to chuckle in parenthesis as he pens the game. The plaintiff based his application word "opinions" as a sort of makeshift for suppressal on the generous plea that title for the remarks that appear in this publication would serious'y damage the particular column of the paper. The deli- professional career of his late opponent. cate soupçon of sarcasm (bracketted) seems The sincerity of this representation we do to have set in motion some internal cachin-not specifically impugn; but we would like natory mechanism, like merry bells jang-him to conquer his egoisin loug enough to ling out of tune, so that we picture him try to see himself as others must es him in laying down his peu to laugh uninter- this unhappy incident. We have ner ruptedly at this bon mot which had, as it previously heard of a gentleman suing for were, slipped our and surprised its author such a debt; nor, for this matter, permitting into a fit of self-gratulatory giggling. On no himself to be sued. We took the liberty of other supposition can we explain how he asking the defendant why he allowed such caine to disagree with our opinion of the an ignominious suit to go to Court, and Hou. R. SHEWAN's speech " on these gathered that he was persuaded thereto by grounds," ie, that our comments are
friends. The advice of friends is, ud- usually interesting, powerful, facile, palat- fortunately not always the advice we. able, and easily digested! [To retrieve our
should take. The defendant would reputation for modesty, we must point out have doue better to pay what was asked, that those are the qualities defined in the and afterwards to have cut the plain- letter, and cited as grounds for disagreeing tiff. Also (as we hope he will now) he with us.] However, on the question raised should have made up his mind to eschew by our correspondent, we do think the man- poker in favour of some game less exigent. ner of presenting the facts does matter. He We do not think we are far misled in our pleads for flippancy, but what he means to conclusion that in this case the successful defend is satire, sarcasm, and the like. In litigant makes a poorer showing than the a case like his own (attacking a perhaps too one who lost. It was deposed that he pouderous criticism) ridicule, satire, even flippaucy, are often the most effective weapons. In striving for grave matters, like the welfare of a city, and the removal of serious impediments to its progress, such methods are either edged tools (in the sense that they cut only the user) or very blunt oues (in the sense that they cut nothing.)
Let us suppose that "Scotland for Ever" is arraigned before the Supreme Court on a capital charge. (As he would say- "be careful, we are only supposing.") Suppose, moreover, that he has retained the Hon. Mr. SHEWAN as advocate to plead for his life, Then suppose that the prisoner's counsel begins to cause “roa в of laughter in Court," by citing Bardell v. Pickwic, by suggesting that His Lordship the Judge should det on thistles in order to enter into the feelings of "Scotlaud for Ever," and interpolating the "meaningless word' Rats!"" when the black cap comes to be donned. Is our
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generally won," and he himself stated that he stood creditor to other victims for considerable amounts. It is also on record that His Honour Mr. SERCOMBE SMITH had to request him to behave as a gentleman in the Court. The amounts mentioned in the course of the case show that the stakes played for were much too high for young men of their financial means. Although the JUDGE was obliged to give a verdict on the evidence, there being an acknowledg- ment that there was "value received," the debt would obviously not have been con- tracted except at the card table. When such documents become necessary, poker is no longer an exciting past ma¦ it becomes a business, and a shady one at that. The young min about to "learn" poker should therefore cast out his mental view of poten tal winnings, and set himself to realise what be "stands to lose." It appears that, eveu iu Hongkong, it is possible to lose more than money.
Verb, sap.