16
11
ahead of the vessel, and two half-drowned men were hauled on board over the bow. Still further shouts of "Save life were audible, and it was discovered that the fore part of the junk-the junk had been cut in two-was floating, a mast being still standing thereon. The mate again pat out in a boat and picked up a
man from this, at the same time making a lamp fast to the mast on the derelict to warn other vessels. The shipwrecked men were restored with con- siderable difficulty, artificial respiration being carried out, and a liberal use of stimulants Three of the men were very old, one having been at sea for fifty years.
It is rumoured that the s.8. Hoi Ching ran the vessel down.
CENSUS RETURN OF JAPAN,
According to the Census taken on the 31st day of December, 1903, the population of The men in Japan stood at 48,321,195. actual service of the army and navy, and the population of Formosa are not included in these figures.
The cities containing a popula- tion of over 50,000 are as follows:--
1,803,584 Okayama
•
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
HONGKONG'S REVENUE.
An account of Hongkong's revenue and expenditure from the 1st January to the 31st October, 1904, has been published. The year was started with a balance in hand of $215,732.25, against which stood payments totalling $37,901.42. On the 31st October there was a deficit balance overdrawn of $663,531.13. The figures are as follows :—
RECEIPTS.
Balance 1st January 1904 .......... $ Light dues
Licences and Internal Revenue not
otherwise specified... Fees of Court or Office, payments for specific purposes, and Reim.
215,732.25 60,454 52
3,710,539,22
339.209.95 348,391.05
7,811.67 55,583.18 45,140.47 -313,108,59 400,000.00
Deposits available subsidiary coin 1,860,080.00
513,932.37
3,910,000.00
bursements in Aid
Post Office
Ront of Government property, Land
and Houses
499,602.29
Interest
Miscellane us receipts
Water account
Land sales..
Deposits available
Deposits not available
Crown agents' account
Tokyo
*
80,140
Crown agents' advance.
Advance account
Osaka
988,200
Otaru.
79,361
Family remittances..
Kyoto
379,409
Fukuoka
70.107
Subsidiary coins
Yokohama
324,775
Wakayama
67,909
Money order account
Nagoya
284,8.9
Takushima
62,998
Suspense house service
Kobe.
283,839
Niigata
58,821
Exchange
Nagasaki
151,727
Kagoshima
58,384
Total..
$15,657,782.26
Hiroshima
113,545
Tayama
56,275
Balance overdrawn, 31st October,
Kanazawa
97,548 Sapporo
55,304
1904
Sendai
93,773
Kumamoto 55,277
Total...
663,531.23
16,321,313.49
Hakodate
84,746
SILK.
The figures of the settlements of silk at Canton from June show the results of the failure of the third crop when compared with previous years.
1903-4.
1902-3.
1904-5.
13,860 bales 19,725 bales 21,500 bales The falling off since last year is about one- third. The proposal of the French Government to impose a heavy duty on all Asiatic silk after January, 1905, will threaten the prosperity of the silk industry of China.
LA report just made by the Customs Duties Committee of the Chamber of Deputies recom- mends the inposition of a duty of 7f. 50c. (68.) per kilogramme on pure silk stuffs of European origin, as well as Japanese pongees, and a duty of 9f. (78. 2d.) on all silk stuffs from the Far East.]
HONGKONG VOLUNTEER
RESERVES.
The rules of the Hongkong Volunteer Re- serve Association have been published. The primary object of the Association, which is to consist of any number of British subjects, is the promotion of rifle shooting. The minimum age limit for members shall be 35 (except special permission be obtained from His Excellency the Governor in exceptional cases), The annual subscription shall be $5, but members joining the association after 1st September in any year shall pay only half subscription. The members undertake not to quit the association without leave within one year of joining it, and in the event of a proclamation being issued under section 12 (i) of the Volunteer Ordinance, 1893, to enrol themselves under such ordinance as the Hongkong Volunteer Reserve Company. Upon enrolment officers of the company will be selected and commissioned by the Governor from among the members. Every member of the association shall if possible attend at a range at least once in every month for the purpose of shooting. The association shall hold an "annual meeting for prize shooting.
The general management of the association shall be en- trusted to a committee, elected by the members, consisting of a chairman, secretary, and eight
other members.
Mr. W. H. Trenchard Davis is the Hon. Secretary,
1,262,062.12 230,323.61 18,569.10 1,700.080.00 136, 773.90 25,108.38 4,279.59
37,901.42 172,071.91 179,491.53 59,715.58
PAYMENTS.
Balance 1st January, 1904 Charge on acc. Public Dbt. Pensions Governor
.$
Colonial Secretary's Department
and Legislature
Audit Department.
Treasury
10,215.78 40,028.43
Post Office
252,341.27
Registrar-General's Department
26.055.52
90,056.88
26,806.79
Harbour Master's Department..... Lighthouses.
Observatory
Botanical and Afforestation Dept. Judicial and Legal Departments Land Court, New Territory Ecclesiastical......
Education
Medical Departments Magistracy
Police Sanitary Department Charitable allowances
Transport
Miscellanous services Military expenditure...... Public Works Department Public Works, recarrent.. Public Works, extraordinary.... Deposits available
Dej osits available, sabsidiary coin Deposits not available. Crown agents' account Crown agents' advance Advance account Family remittances Subsidiary coina Money order account Suspense ac ount Suspense house service
¿
53,319.24
17,890.81 42.582.79 115,570.47 17,455 68 2,700.00 133,503.80
178,269.76 30,379.14 550 824.57 319,028 62 4,027.66 12,918.12 127,286 69 1,096,545.46 178,371.99
392.400.90 1,091,229.44 400,000,00 1,700,080.00
372,0: 5.41 3,740,000.00 1,090,782.61 312,4 1.71 30,617.53 3,253,548.49 138 579.5)
[Jannary 9, 1905.
TRADE IN THE SOUTH.
Wang Ching-mu, secretary of the Board of Commerce
was recently seat on a special mission to inquire into trade in the South. He had his farewell audience on the 20th and left His Peking on the 24th of the 3rd Moon. visit extended from Shanghai to all the Yang- tze ports, and he has now submitted a report on the commercial conditions. In his opinion Shanghai and Hankow are the principal ports for Yangtze trade. The prosperity of a market is displayed at Shanghai, the centre of naviga- tion, where the merchants of all nations are gathered. There are nine Chinese cotton yarn factories, twenty-nine silk spinning factories, and many other factories for the production of paper, towels, candles, soaps, matches, foreign embroidery, etc. A general commercial guild and literary society have been opened there with the sanction of the Board of Commerce.
•
Hankow is situated on the upper part of the Yangtze river and is a centre for all the native goods poured in from Shansi, Honan, Szechuan and Hunan. The principal exports are tea and grain, next to which are wood, oil, medicines, cowhides, bristles and hemp. The value of the exports last year was upwards of forty millions of taels, ten million taels in excess of the value of the imports. There are only two factories, one for matches and the other for glass. Being a railway junction and a central market for native goods, the official predicts that the trade of Hankow will outstrip that of Shanghai in the future. In his report he mentions the principal products and manufactures of all the ports he visited. He speaks well of the viceroys and governors for the advances they have made in introducing these enterprises, and in giving advice to merchants од the improvement of native products, he emphasises the value of imitation of foreign goods and the establishment of companies with Chinese capital. He proposes that the tea and silk merchants should combine and send their goods for sale to foreign countries themselves. The rapid extension of commercial guilds is regarded as a preliminary means to this end. Owing to lack of commercial knowledge the Chinese are always beaten by foreign merchants. He concluded his report with a request to the Throne to order the provincial authorities to establish commercial schools. The commissioner is to go to Foochow and Canton when he has finished his examina- tion of the railway and mining accounts at Shanghai in conjunction with Sheng Hsuan- huai and Yang Shih-chi-Official Gazette.
A LEADER OF CHINESE BRIGAND3.
رد
APPLICATION FOR EXTRADITION. At the Police Court on December 31, before Mr. F. A. Hazeland, Chief Detective Inspector Hanson applied, on behalf of the Chinese Government, for the extradition of Ko Ah Ying, who is alleged to have committed the crime of armed robbery within the jurisdiction of China. Mr. Hanson stated that on the 28th November the prisoner was given in charge by Indian constable No. 523. The people who gave him into custody were from Kwong Ning. Witnesses from this city have arrived here since the arrest and will give evidence to the effect that on the 28th Septem-.. ber last a large number of armed men invested the district city of Kwong Ning. Three of The statement of assets and liabilities on 31st these witnesses belong to a pawnshop outside October was as follows:-
Advances, &c.
iotal
24,123.99
$16.321,313.49
..$ 130,180.01
.$
ASSETS.
Total assets. Balance.
Total
.... $1,433,062.17
LIABILITIES.
130.180 01 1,302,882.16
..$ 581,863.31 170,000.00
Deposits not availaole. Crown agents' drafts Money order remittances.............................. Balance overdrawn, Bank Balance overdrawn, ('rown agents
14,667.90
616,365.41
47,165.82
Total .............. $1,433,062.47
Subsidiary coius in transit......
Nil. Estimate of silver at mint
$1,690,259.00
Total
ANDUVA CELOSO
$1,690,259.00
The
the city gates, which was broken into. robbers stole a considerable amount of money and goods. As some of the witnesses know the prisoner, he was not identified', in the orthodox way in the gaol. The pawnshop was set fire to when there were about 50 robbers inside, who When were armed with knives, muskets, etc, the alarm was given they all ran out, und the shop was burnt down.“
Leung Sun Tong, the first witness, said:—I am master of the Young Ching pawnshop at Kwong Kwang Ning City, in the province of Tung. On the 28th September an attack was made upon the city by a band of robbers. I heard the report of firearms, and in consequence closed the doors of the shop. Five of my fokis took fright and ran away. My partner, myself and a watchman remained in the shop. At 12 noon that day the pawnshop was attacked, A
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