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KOWLOON CRICKET CLUB.
A meeting of those interested in forming a cricket club at Kowloon was held at the Seamen's Institute, Kowloon, on the night of the 5th instant. Dr. J. H. Swan presided. A letter to Dr. Swan, from Mr. E. Osborne, was referred to. Mr. Osborne ad- vised that those interested in the matter should first decide what they wanted. If they applied for a ground for er.cket alone they might have trouble, whereas an application for a general recreation ground would, perhaps, be favourably received.
Mr. SCOTT CRANSTON suggestel that it was hardly likely that King's Park would be set aside for one club alone. He belived that the best course would be to apply for a general recreation ground, similar to that at Happy Valley.
Mr. GoYNE STEVENS asked what was the position.
Dr. SWAN replied that the object of the meet- ing was not in connection with a general recrea- tion ground, but to start a cricket club.
Quite so," said Mr. STEVENS. They did not want a big piece of ground-not all King's Park-but, for the present, just enough to make a pitch.
The CHAIRMAN: And for cricket alone.
Mr. PARKS agreed with the Chairman; if they set the movement on foot it would roll on. Let them establish a club to be called the Kow- loon Cricket Club. They had nine or ten young players, he knew of himself, fit to go in on the morrow. They could put a team as soon as Saturday to beat all the minor teams at Hong- kong.
Mr. McGowan seconded that such a club be formed, and the motion was carried by a show of hands,
The following committee for the Club were selected and agreed to by those present: Dr. J. H. Swan, Messrs. Colland, McGowan, Cowan, Goyne Stevens, Scott Cranston and Parkes, Mr. Harold Austen was made secretary pro tem.
The CHAIRMAN recommended that a com. mittee be selected to approach the Governor on the subject of getting a small piece of ground at King's Park.
Mr. P. W. GOLDRING thought that the best mode of procedure would be to send in a notification to the Colonial Secretary saying that they were willing to take up any site allotted to them at King's Park. He did not think petitions or deputations were any good.
Mr. STEVENS thought that they had better apply to the Governor.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
Mr. COWAN agreed. There was nothing like going to the fountainhead, and he was mistaken if Sir Matthew Nathan did not receive the deputation favourably. He would per. haps write minute and instruct the P.W.D. They ought to mark out five or ten acres on a plan to bring forward in case they were asked what they wanted.
Mr. GOLDBING said that if they did not go to the P.W.D. they would probably put every obstacle in their way. Mr. CoWAN did not think so.
His advice was adopted and a com- mittee, consisting of the following gentlemen, was selected to approach the Governor: Mr. W. B. Dixon, Mr. E. Osborne, Dr. J. H. Swan and Mr. W. Cowan.
The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the Chairman,
REVIEWS.
Japan by the Japanese. A survey by its highest authorities. Edited by ALFEED STEAD. London: William Heinemann. 1904. Twenty shillings.
DEDICATED by permission to the Japanese Emperor, this collection of essays on the Imperial Family (by Baron Sannomiya), the Constitution (by Marquis Ito), the national policy (by Marquis Yamagata), the Diet (by the Minister of Justice), the Army, the Navy Diplomacy (an excellent chapter by Professor Nagao Ariga), Education, Finance, Religions, Taxation, Banking, Commerce, Agriculture, &c., &a, forms an altogether unique volume Nothing just like it has been done before. It ought to disabuse the world of many errors of
which
[October 8, 1904.
publication to be hailed with the acclamation means a "popular" work, we should expect its
deserved by a real magnum opus.
HONGKONG.
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still ad pted at Manila, Indo-China, Burms, Sanitary measures against Hongkong are Shanghai, Madras, Bengal, British North Borneo, Labuan, Newchwang and Siam.
The annual rifle e mpetition between Hong- kong. Shanghai, Singapore, and Penang is now the 15th inst. Each team, consisting of ten due to take place, and is to be completed before.
men, is to shoot off on its own rauge, using British Service pattern rifles f .303 calibre. Each Umpires, as representing the Straits, Hong. man has seven shots at 200,500, and 600 yards. kong and Shanghai, will be present during the shooting.
the general public will still follow after the opinion with regard to Japan, but we fear that false and oh aper scribblers who have, through ignorance and lack of skill, conspired to create those errors. As it is impossible to properly treat all the various articles in the space at our immediate disposal, we shall have to return to the book as occasion serves. Indeed, this will no doubt be do e as a matter of curse by most journals, as the book must now be regarded as the work of reference on things Jap1nese. We are glad to note that in the preface the Editor has not considered it unimportant to remind us that before the so-called “civilisation" of Japan there was already in existence a wonderful national civilization." It is, indeed, open to question if the Japanese as a nation are any happier for the change that has come over the spirit of their dream. Incidentally, we may stop to admire the customary modesty with Mr. Stead premises young
"I may have some little knowledge and some little under-editorial chair of the Hongkong Da ly Press Mr. P. W. Sergeant, who after filling the standing of the Japanese people, but I certainly for four years returned home in June last, has could not write authoritatively of Japan." It is just as well to remember that, in view of some
been playing in the Chess tournament for the amateur championship at Hastings. things that have been written. inducing the Japanese to supply such material in his section, but lack of match practice told For his idea of Sergeant started well and was second favourite he deserves the fullest credit but then, he has in the end and he finished fourth. already taken it, in the preface. The inclusion Sergeant's many friends in Hongkong will be of a lot of matter that is not new is explained interested to hear that he is writing a book on in this way, that some of the contributors had the life of a Russian Empress, to be published already expressed their views so thoroughly in 1905.
that to write on them again would only entail repetition." Therefore, the book repeats what they had already published. Notwithstanding these things. Mr. Stead has every right to claim that it is "A unique work of great interest." Mr. Stead personally thanks the Emperor for so graciously accepting what I have thus tried to do for their country,' and records his admiration of that Ruler's qualities.
•
The Cyclones of the Far East. By Rev. Jose ALGUE, S.J., Director of the Philippine Weather Bureau. Manila Observatory, Manila: Bureau of Public Printing. 1904. Turs is the second and revised edition of Father Algue's great work on typhoons and their characteristics and data, which work occupies foremost rank among the numerous authorities on the subject generally, and stands absolutely alone as a careful and methodical treatment of extraordinarily minute observa tions and discoveries made in the course of forty years' enthusiastic study. In the first section the painstaking and erudite author has explained the nature of the typhoon, its origin, its structure, its laws, and its movements, elucidating the text with a great many diagrams and charts prepared with the neatness and accuracy always to be expected from such a patient worker. The second part exhaustively describes the phenomena which generally precede typhoons, and provides the student with some practical rules for making proper use of the early warnings which thus enable him to gather a good idea of what is likely to ensue. Here, in these precursory signs, we have an introduction to the study of cloud phenomena which is likely to be as inte- resting to the casual student as it must undoubtedly be useful to the mariner or other interested observer. The most up-to-date methods and apparatus are also described. The author in the third section advances & voluminous mass of evidence confirmatory of all that has gone before, including instances of the different types and classes of typhoons, and preparing the student for some exceptions and anomalies that he will probably encounter when making observations for himself. The practical parts of the work have been presented with an especial view to helping mariners to a set of rules for navigation in cases where they encounter abnormal atmospheric conditions, and numerous ports of refuge are named and their characters from the ship-master's point of view adequately set forth. This is the first genuine English edition of the work. A volume in English purporting to be a similar book was first translated from the Spanish into German, and thence into English, and is full of inaccuracies and even nonsense. No one reading this edition right through is likely to seek elsewhere for information relating to the topics treated It is manifestly exhaus- tive, manifestly able, and save that it is by no
Mr.
Mr.
couple" from America who are on a walking Mr. and Mrs. O'Malley, the "honeymoon tour round the world, called at our office on the 4th inst. We had not the time to do more than glance at one of the wonderful series of albums the enterprising pair have filled with souvenirs of the journey. We noticed, however, from earlier photographs, that Mrs O'Malley, whilst wonderfully fit," has acquired some traces of the hardships of so great a tour. Mr. O'Malley informed us that he intends to lecture in Hongkong. In the meantime they have a lot
f good picture postcards for sale.
Owing to the large size of Northern Pacific and Pacific Mail steamers the old moorings have got to be shifted farther west, so as to allow sufficient fairway in the northern channel. The moorings of the very large s.8. Manchuria are being moved now. The fairway itself is supposed to be about 1,000 feet, but as these great steamers have been allowed to swing right across it at times, only 500 feet, and in the case of the Manchuria 400 feet, have been left--so the fairway has been more than half closed to in-coming and out-going vessels. The old mooring positions will very probably not be done away with altogether, but reserved for smaller vessels. A few years ago vessels did not moor westward of the China Merchants' wharf. Now, owing to the great ex- pansion of trade and shipping, West Point is quite a centre. This, of course, is partly due to so many godowns being now on the western waterfront.
Vessels arriving from India, Straits Settle- ments, and elsewhere, are besieged by Chinese boarding-house runners long before they anchor. The sampans, in fact, go right out to the entrance of the harbour and hook on to the steam rs while they are, steaming through the harbour at a very fair speed. The police are wholly unable to cope successfully with the offenders. As soon as the sampans have got a hold, with considerable agility the boats' painters are hooked into a scupper hole, and the steamer tows them along. Bamboos are then hooked on to the ship's rail, and the runners swarm on board in great numbers. Once on deck, they prac- tically fight like a pack of wolves for the passen- gers' baggage, the poor emigrants being obliged to follow into whichever sampan their effects
or are thrown, or lowered. When the captain
one of the officers of a steamer shouts out ordering them to let go their boats, they take no notice whatever; and there are not sufficient Europeans on board-in fact all are busy otherwise to prevent the climbing on board-especially taking into con- men from
sideration that there are boats forward and aft. As Calcutta, was steaming into the harbour the Indo-Chins ss. Nam Sung, from
curred. She was going so swiftly through the on recently the customary nuisance water when the foremost boats hooked on that way, capsized. The occupants were suved. one of them, having her rudder over the wrong
re-