1
October 29, 1904.]
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
will be for ever lost to us. Our lives will be shortened by so many minutes, and we have not even the consolation of a thought that an action for damages against the Government could be The clergy sustained in the Supreme Court. may find solace in the reflection that those who omit on Saturday night to "put on the clock" will doubtless turn up at church in time for the collection.
My sympathies are not with the agitation in England against the introduction of Chinese labour into South Africa. Everyone who has lived a little while in the Far East can see the those who oppose the immigration of the Yellow absurdity of the contentions put forward by
man. I was rather astonished though to Ree a contribution to the discussion in
London paper by a Hongkong gentleman who cited this Colony as an example of what Chinese labour is capable of doing in a British Colony. That is right enough as far for London, but that is not to say we ought to as it goes. Chinese labour would do the same start shipping coolies to the metropolis of the British Empire. The service required of Chinese coolies in South Africa is work in the mines, and the only sound argument against their introduction has to be found in evidence that the supply of local labour is adequate to
filment of this scheme, like his new Clock Tower, seems fated to be relegated to some distant future for the enjoyment of another generation of colouists. We are not aware whether, and to what extent, Sir MATTHEW NATHAN is influenced by love of the beautiful, but we sincerely hope that His Excellency will recognise that there is really no necessity why the centre of the city should remain indefinitely disfigured for the benefit of contractors. The Prava Reclamation work is practically finished and the office devoted to it might now be removed, and the ground opposite to the Bauk Gardens in front of Queen's Build- ings might be cleared, laid out and fenced in, ready to receive the statue of the Prince. of WALES which is being presented to the Colony by Mr. J. J. BELL IRVING. That of His Majesty King EDWABD VII.. to be presented by Sir PAUL CHATER, which will arrive here simultaneously with it, will find a site, we believe, in the Bank Gardens facing Queen's Victoria's statue. While this portion of the square is being laid out there ought to be no great difficulty in similarly treating the ground in front of the new Law Courts. The contractor has been accorded facilities for dong the work which are never allowed to contractors em-
Several months ago I mentioned in this column the existence of a scheme formed by ployed by private individuals, and it is European speculators to secure the gambling absurd to suppose that he will need so much monopoly of Macao, shut down the fan-tan space. The ground should be laid out and shops, and open a casino on Monte Carlo lines. the statue of the Duke of CONNAUGHT It seems that a sufficiently tempting offer has rescued from its present squalid surround-been made to induce the Portuguese Colonial ings. As we have remarked above, the authorities to look favourably on the subject, square has for many years been given up to the matter has to be referred to Lisbon. A bat as the syndicate is of foreign nationality rubbish heaps, and it is more than time that contemporary gives the name of the leading spirit in the enterprise as Mr. John Barnes, a distinctly English name, but I understand that the enterprise is French-unless two bids are being made for the monopoly--and that this French syndicate has a capital of two milliop francs at its back.
an effort should be made to redeem it from its shabby desolation. The Public Works Department will, as a matter of course, say this is impossible, but Sir MATTHEW NATHAN is not Sir HENRY BLAKE, and will know how to surmount that difficulty.
HONGKONG JOTTINGS.
24th October.
H.E. the Governor is evidently not yet satisfied with the response to his call for the formation of a Volunteer Reserve Association, and this week a copy of the speech which His Excellency delivered at the City Hall meeting recently has been circulated to heads of firms with a covering letter asking them to be good enough to bring the objects of the Association to the notice of employees and others. I have heard this described as mild form of conscription." If we get no nearer compulsory military service than this we shall not have much to complain about. Those who have followed the parliamentary debates on Army reform must recognise that if conscrip- tion is to be avoided in England the only way in which it is to be done is by such appeals to patriotism and the sense of duty as those which
are being circulated in this Colony by the
Colonial Secretary.
Saturday night I believe was the first occasion on which His Excellency the Governor has attended the Theatre Royal. As His Excellency's promise to attend had been pro- minently advertised. I expected to see some effort made to give the approach to the rice- regal enclosure a more presentable appearance than usual. But nothing had been done to
cover the dust and dirt of the sinuous staircase which leads to the dress circle. Surely in the interest especially of the ladies something can be done to make the way to the dress circle at all times a little cleaner?
meet the needs.
The Hon. Robert Shewan had better skip this jotting. I was about to remark that we have a practice in Hongkong of honouring our Governors by adopting their names in the way in Ceylon of showing their feeling towards nomenclature of our streets. They have another the reigning Governor. I notice that a Calcutta hat manufacturer has obtained from Sir Henry Blake permission to introduce into the island of Ceylon a new hat to be known as the "Blake hat, which a Colombo paper remarks is quite a stylish shape and is bound to meet with popularity." Because it is stylish,
་་
I wonder, o because it will be unto the Governor an outward and visible sign of
.
what the man of plain speech would tersely call sycophancy The fickleness of fashion is so proverbial that if I were a Governor I should the hat or collar manufacturer. put my foot down on the advertising dodges of Has it not in- deed been said of the sycophant that he wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat, ever
changing with the newest block." Give me our own way of showing respect to Governors: there is more solidity about it. Mr. Shewan mildly objects to changing the name of Pedder's Wharf to Blake Pier, but I am sure he would be much more emphatic if Fashion with a capital F dictated that members of the Legislative Council of this Coleny should Wear ** Blake' hats.
I thought by introducing the subject as I have done that I might spare Mr. Shewan the pain of suggesting the bare possibility of such a thing.
BANYAN.
A Consular return of the number of cases of plague in Formosa, where the pestilence has been prevalent since May last, shows a great The change to the Zone time system does not decrease in both cases and deaths. From the admit of much discussion by the man in the outbreak of the disease to the 30th ultimo the street. To most men and women--the mean- number of cases reported was 4167, and the ing of it is that nest Sunday morning we must deaths 3,073, but 99 per cent. of these were rise 23m, 18860. earlier than usual. I was reported previous to August 31st last. Since about to fall into the error of saying "Maskee, that date only 14 cases have been reported, we shall all make up this lost time on Sunday! and of these 13 proved fatal. By far the night." But alas! we won't. That 23m. 18sec, greatest mortality occurred in Tainan-ken.
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317
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE
COUNCIL:
A meeting of the Hongkong Legislative Council was held on the 27th inst. in the Council
Chamber.
PRESENT :- HIS EXCELLENCY THE Governor, Sir MATTHEW NATHAN, K.C.M.G.
HON. MAJOR-GENERAL VILLIERS HATTON C.B. (Commanding the Troops).
Hon. F. H. MAY, C.M.G. (Colonial Secretary).
Hon. É. H. SHARP, K.C. (Attorney-General) Hon L. A. M. JOHNSTON (Colonia) Treasurer).
Hon. A. W. BREWIN (Registrar-General), Hon. Captain L. A. W. BARNES-Lawrence, R.N. (Harbour Master),
Hon. P. N. H. JONES (Director of Public Works).
Hon. Six C. P. CHATER, C.M.G. Hon. Dr. Ho KAI, C.M.G. Hon. WEI A YUK. Hon. R. SHEWAN.
Hon. GERSHOм STEWART. Hon. W. J. GRESSON.
Mr. S. B. C. Ross (Clerk of Councils).
..
FINANCE REPORT.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY brought up the report of the Finance Committee, No. 12, and moved its adoption.
The COLONIAL TREASURER seconded. The
report was adopted.
QUESTIONS. Hon R. G. SHEWAN gave notice of the following questions:
How has the contract for felling trees and carrying away the wood been let? Is it for a lump sum or per picul?
:
If by the picul, is the weight being supervised and checked, and if so, by whom?
Why were not public tenders invited for it?
Will the Government not take steps to prevent the coolies carrying on this work, from desecrating the cemeteries, and working there on Sundays?
BOUNTY-Fed sugar.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL proposed the to give effect to Article VIII of the Brussels second reading of a Bill entitled An Ordinancs
Sugar Convention, 1902.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded
H.E. THE GOVERNOR said that in the year 1902 a convention was made by the representa- tives of most of the European Powers of which the object was the restriction of the bounty feed- ing of sugar. The Colony was not i self a party of the convention, and could not become one without placing the refineries in bond under the supervision, night and day, of revenue officers, and without incurring other inconven iences. But the advantage of having its sugar admitted into the countries that adhered to the
convention at the lowest rate of import duty was secured to the Colony provided, in the first instance, that no bounty was given by the colony
to
sugar exported, and provided secondly that the Colony took the necessary steps to prevent sugar that came from countries that gave bounties passing through it to countries that were parties to the convention without it being clearly shown that the sugar which was imported had not originally been bounty fod. Of course, Hongkong did not give any bounties on sugar, and as regarded the second proviso, the Imperial Government had undertaken that it should be fulfilled. That undertaking might be given effect in two ways. First of all, sugar might be refined in bond, so that sugar refined from bounty fed material could be kept separate from sugar refined from non-bounty fed material, and every package exported to a convention country could have been certified to be from the latter class. This method would be very inconvenient, and also, there would stil be a chance of sugar refined in the Colony being excluded from countries adhering to the convention. The other method was to ex- clude any bounty fed sugar from enter- ing the Colony. That Was the method embodied in the Bill before the Council. It was not considered that any inconvenience would be caused by the prohibition, in view of the fact that practically no bounty fed sugar at present reached the Colony. Further, the Bill would assist the object of the Convention; an