has diminished considerably last year. No doubt that many bodies are dumped in order to save the cost of burial,
KENNEDY TOWN INFECTIOUS HOSPITALS.
During the year 87 patients were admitted. 77 being cases of plague, 5 of cholera and 5 under observation. Of the plague cases 63 died giving a mortality of 81.8 per cent.-it must be noted, however, that 41 of these died within 24 hours, so that they were practically in a hopeless condition on admission.
Tang Wah Branch Hospital.-Owing to the mild epidemi« it was not necessary to occupy this building.
Hospital Ship Hygeia.-This is reseved for the treatment of small-pox cases, during the year 40 were admitted with 5 deaths. Five of these cases were imported by ships.
HONGKONG'S NEW PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
The Director of Public Works in his report for 1904 makes the following remarks about new public buildings :-
con.
NEW HARBOUR OFFICE, Progress with this work was unsatisfactory, due to the supply of granite again being insuffi. cient. The walls were built to an average height of 21 feet above ground floor level except the North wall which was delayed until the colonnade piers were at the required height for arches to be turned neoting same to the wall of building. Eight of these piers were at the necessary height at the close of the year. The concrete to flat roof of Boarding Officers' room and concrete to floors of record-room, lavatory, Chinese and Indian kitchens on first floor was laid, and
various other
fired. The joists to columns and steel framing to Yard Verandahs were also fixed. The late Mr. Chan A Tong was the Contractor for this work, the contract
rooms
for completion being transferred to Mr. Chan A Tong, Junior.
NEW LAW COURTS.
Fair progress
was made with this work
considering the unsatisfactory supply of granite, the demand being far greater than the delivery from the quarries. The intended walls generally were built to an average of 19 feet above ground floor level, this being the required height for the steel joists to first floor. The external walls generally were built to an average of 11 feet 6 inches above ground floor line, this being the necessary height for the springing of arches to colonnade, &c. Twenty granite arches over window openings were constructed at the close of the year. Seventy-one granite balusters to first floor colonnade were dressed ready for fixing. All the plain square bases to main columns, pilasters, &c., forming the
colonnade were fixed with the exception of one; and 40 moulded bases out of a total of 46 were bedded, a number of stones to the columns, pilasters, &c., were also bedded. An average number of 107 masons were daily employed on
the site dressing granite. The steel girders and joists to first floor were delivered on the ❤ site during December and the main girders to Library floor were placed in position. The new Clerk of Works arrived in the Colony and -It commenced duty on the 12th February. is regrettable to have to record the death of Mr. Chan A Tong, the contractor for this work, which took place on the 8th November. A new contract with somewhat more stringent terms as to the provision of granite for the carrying on of the work was entered into with Mr. Chang A Tong, Junior, in December.
NEW POST OFFICE.
|
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
being introduced into the concrete base to tie the shorter piles in with those which have gone down to the full depth. The necessary plans and specifications, &o., were prepared by Messrs. Denison, Ram & Gibbs, and tenders for the superstructure will probably be called for in | April, 1905.
HALL & HOLTZ.
Mr. J. D. Clark, chairman of directors, addressing the shareholders of Hall & Holtz on Apl. 14th, said: The gross profit, though necessarily below that of former years, owing to the loss of stock and premises just about the close of last year, is, I consider, fairly good, and shows about the same percentage upon the
The
business done.; the loss of business during the first few months while the new stocks were being replenished accounting for the diminished volume of business. The expenses are rather higher in proportion to the gross earnings than they should be, it being found impracticable to reduce them at once owing to most of the staff being under agreements, and the large increase in the rent, while insufficient room to show goods is found a great obstacle to trade. amount at credit of Profit and Loss account enables you to return 12 per cent to share holders which, I think, can be considered a fairly good investment. In looking over the Balance Sheet you will no doubt notice the disparity in the value of the factory property as against the newly acquired land in Tientsin. I should mention that these figures represent the book value, and that the real value of the Shanghai property would be something over three times the amount it is put down at; the Hankow premises are also now worth considerable more Stud and vans do not than the book value. show in the accounts at all, having been written off in past years. As you are aware, we have already paid an interim dividend of one dollar per share, and there being still a balance of $38,452 at your disposal, your directors recom- mend paying a final dividend of one dollar and a half per share, making, as I said before, 12 per cent for the year. There is one more subject I will touch upon. In February last the Company had occasion to make a test case of
our
under which all the agreement assistants are brought out to China, which prohibits them, for ten years, from starting in opposition to the Company only in such places as the Company are established. The case went against the Company, as you are aware, on the ground that the wording of the restraint was worldwide and for all the time; it is needless to say that such construction was neither the in- tention of the lawyer who drew up the agree- ment, nor of the Company, nor has it been understood in that way by any of the assistants
who have signed it during the many years that it has been in use. Our lawyers are making the necessary alteration to prevent any such misconstruction in future. Owing to the con- ditions required by the Court in the event of an appeal, your Directors did not consider it advisable to proceed farther in the matter. I may also mention that the case in question was not taken up in any vindictive spirit, but simply to test the legality of the agreement.
THE GARRISON.
season
The trooping
has commenced. On April 24th the Royal Indian Marine 8.8. Dufferin arrived here from India, on her way to Taku with reliefs for 30th Panjabi
Regiment.
Reliefs for the 110th Mahratias and for a
Work on the Foundations contract was com- menced at the end of 1903, and at the end of wing of the 93rd Burmas atved by the Royal 1904 all the excavation had been done and 1,385 Indian Marine s.s. Hardinge, now lying along. piles driven out of a total of 1,722 to be put side the wharf at Kowloon. They consist of down. Some delay was caused by a ship with 90) men of the Baluchis Regiment. Great a load of piles being wrecked. Great difficulty activity has been witnessed amongst the native A8 bas been met over these foundations owing to troops at Kowloon during the transfer. the freedom with which the sea water finds there was insufficient accommodation for both aco9ss to the excavations through the loose incoming and outgoing troops a number of the the Kowloon parade rubble foundation to the Prays Wall and Baluchia camped on Calvert on the East side of the works. Diff-ground, which, with its numerous tents, culty was also experienced in getting the piles matsheds, to say nothing about the hockey in the East trench down to a reasonable depth matches, drilling, etc., yesterday presented a owing to the presence of the loose rubble under more animated appearance than for some time the culvert. This has necessitated some } past. The homeward bound men leave for modification in the foundation plan, iron joints' Rangoon to-morrow,
[MAY 11905.
TRADE IN WAR TIME.
#t
32
The following is extracted from a long article describing Mukden under both, belligerenta. It appears in the Tientsin Times:-One's first duty on arrival at Mukden was to report oneself to the Commissary of Police, where a list of one's merchandise with prices and samples of same had to be deposited. ~ If one's antecedents were satisfactory a permit would be issued for free and safe circulation within the confines of the city, and name and address registered for possible future reference. Then came the tug- of-war with the Chief of the Gendarmerie, Col, Cherchoff, who dispensed the permits for sojourning in or leaving Mukden. Once in one could roam about at his own sweet will, without let possession of this "open sesame," or hindrance, and as soon as these formalities had been complied with, my companion and self started out to test the market, with our respective goods. We soon found out that the golden days of yore had departed, never to return, and that the fabulous prices for the "fis and cognac paid during Liaoyang days were only remembered like a tale that is told. Certainly, sudden fluctuations in milk or sugar would sometimes send a thrill of joy through the heart of an honest (P)trader, and visions of wealth beyond the dreams of avarice might temporarily disturb the even tenour of the day's smoke on the arrival of the first consignment existence, only to be suddenly dissolved in of the commodity in question. And the at the endless strings of carts rolling into the quantities that did arrive! One stood aghast thous- city, and charged with thousands upon ands of cases of wines and spirits, and the cry was still they come'. Not that one actually lost on his goods, except in the sense of the Chinaman's expression me lose money," when he sells one au article at 100 per cent, instead of 150 per cent. profit. Roederer sold from 65 to 70 roubles per case, condensed milk at 16.50 to 20 rbls per case, Martell's brandy 40 to 50 rbls, beer from 20 to 35 rbis wholesale, while liqueurs suit- able to the Russian palate fetched fancy prices, but the Russian market is a curious one, and while they would pay any price for their favourite brands of eatables or drinkables, one could not dispose of even the best article if the brand was
unknown.
Some brands, of beer for instance, which no European would look at if another decent beer were to be had, were considered by the Russians as the non plus ultra of malt liquor. Honnesey brandy which certainly might be considered equal to Martell was unsaleable, at the same time that the most extraordinary concoctions put up by amateur Chinese chemists found a ready sale. It was a market which certainly required studying, but if its intricacies had once been grasped, it was well worth cater- ing for. The bulk of the traders were living in a street near the railway station, familiarly dubbed Rue de Caire,' by reason of the Oriental character of its inhabitanta, who vied with the ramshackle habitations as to which From the end of the Chinese new year holidays should have the most tatterdemallion appearance. trade commenced to decline perceptibly, and an indefinable something in the air, foreboding the approaching debacle, paralysed trade.
THE "TIN HAU" FESTIVAL AT HONGKONG.
~
The Tin Hau Chinese Festival (the birthday of the Goddess of Water) falls on Thursday the 27th instant, and is observed between the 23rd (Sunday last) and 27th instant. During
these days women and girls go to Causeway Bay, East Point and Shekwan, which is situated in Chinese territory, some distance up the Canton river, to burn joss sticks or candles, to explode crackers, and to take part in various ceremonies.
One rather attractive procession towards Causeway Bay consisting of a number of little girls, wearing robes of red and gold, and mounted on Chins ponies, passed along Queen's Road yesterday.
Excursion steamers leave Hongkong for..... Shekwan daily, a number of European sight- seers being included amongst the passengers. During the trip, while outside of British waters, gambling tables are kept in full swing. «