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A CHINESE MARRIAGE,
The hearing of the charge preforrel against Oldorico Antony Neares, a Portuguese signa'. man employed on Green Isle, by Tsing Pong, for harbouring a married woman, named Man Li Kwai, contrary to the law of China, was resumed.
Mr. Goldring said it was not disputed that defendant and the woman were living together since June 27th.
Complainant, under oross examination, said the woman's mother and his mother lived opposite. During the time the woman lived with him she co-habited with defendant. She admitted so herself. He denied sending her! out to earnmoney for him or tieing her up and besting her. His wife left him on March 4th without any warning but he did not know where she went. He did not know why she ran away. He had friction with her because of defendant, but be only remonstrated with her in friendly mauper.
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He took steps to find his wife but could not find her. He reported to the Registrar in February that defendant and his wife had been intimate and the Registrar said he would make inquiries, A week later he went with the woman to set Mr. Brewin. At first she denied misconduct. She ran away on March 4th. Complainant denied that there was another woman living in the house with him at that time. His wife was sixteen years old when he married her.
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THE HONGKON › WEEKLY PRESS AND
THE SINKING OF THE “MIKASA.”
(written for THE "DAILY PRESS," BY " WAYING PLUME"]
The reports published up to the present of this terrible disaster to the Japanese Navy Inspector Langley prosecuted and Mr. P. W. leave the cause of the foundering of the Japan- Goldring appeared for the defendant.
ese Flagship a complete mystery to those Discussion took place at the outset as to the accustomed to and intimately acquainted with meaning of "marriage in Chius," which his the construction and working of battleships of Lordship held to include Hongkong.
modern times. The statement is made that the Complainant, recalled, gave evidene of his Mikasa caught fire, that eventually the flames marriage with the woman in question and got the upper hand and that the vessel ultimately deposed to receiving bridal presents. Defondant sank after the magazines had exploded. frequently went to his (witness') mother-in-In the first place it must be remembered that, law's house, where he saw his wife,
to avoid the chance of being set on fire by the explosion of shell during a sea-fight, there is practically no inflammable material on board excepting the ordinary stores of food, etc, men's clothing, fuel in the bunkers and, of course, the ammunition itself. Everything is of steel, even to the furniture, in the latest ships. Wood is entirely left out of the construction. It will be remembered how, the morning after the Japanese first torpedo attack on Port Arthur, the assians emptied all their inflammable materials overboard even to chairs and tables Fire is. the greatest enemy during an engage. ment and coping with outbreaks of fire is the practice most frequently carried out at all drills and evolutiont. The momeni a local outbreak occurs there is the local fire party ready to extinguish it. So far as ammunition and magazines are concerned one may say that their surroundings on board literally bristle with apparatus for extinguishing fire and avoiding explosions. The magazines are below water line, situated in the least likely place for a conflagration; the walls and doors are specially constructed, not only to keep out shot and shell, but to aroid heating the ammunition even. The lights of a magazine are electric and no naked light is ever allowed. Even the men use special clothing and shoes when entering magazines and are searched to prevent their even carrying a lucifer match with them. Aboge all-in the unlikely event of fire--the magazines can be fooded in, speaking comparatively, a few seconds. Even supposing fire to have broken out on board the Mikasa close to the magazines danger of explosion could have been averted in a second by flooding at once. When one re- members that this ship has been under a perfect rain of fire in many actions without becoming ignited, it seems impossible to believe that lying at anchor in Sasebo, she could suddenly catch fire accidentally, lose hundreds of men, blow up and disappear. Of course, had she been in dockyard hands all explosives, projectiles and coal would have been out of her. As it is, it is extraordinary that no mention is made of damage to other shipping through the explosion, which must have been terrific, or by the falling amongst houses and vessels of tons of first class projectiles of the deadliest nature.
Mr. Goldring said his line of defence was that there was another woman in the house to whom complainant was married, and that in these, oircumstances the woman in question could not be his wife.
Complainant denied that this other woman's relatives quarrelled with Man Li Kwai and that that was the causa the trouble. He reported to the Registrar General that she was in a convent but though he knew the convent was paying for her keep he did not know where she was from 18th May to 1st September. He dared not go to the convent to inquire, but he suspected defendant was paying for her. As the time his wife left him defendant was employed by the Sanitary Board and he informed the head officer of defendant's relations with his wife. Complainant left the police force at the time of his marriage in 1898. He was dismissed for sleep'ng when on duty.
An Fung Sun, a Chinese clerk in the Registrar's office, testified that the doonment produced was used in reference to Chinese marriages. The document in question was about ten years old.
Under oro.s-examination witness said that the document was similar to those exchanged among educated people at marriages in the country. Other documents were used but not of the same sse. The document alluded to was such as a constable in Hongkong would use, that was pro- vided he was getting a proper wife. If a wife found another married woman in her husband's household she could throw up the contract.
Mr. Goldring said he had a weird sort of document with all sorts of scribbling on it. This was the correspondence from the woman's Jather.
THE CANTON-HANKOW RAILWAY.
AN.-C. Daily News telegram from Peking, 10th September, says:- -
With regard to the sum of over Tis. 6,400,000 which has to be paid to Mr. Pierpont Morgan. and others, to enable Chins to take back the concession for the Yush-Han railway, it is stated that only the sum of Tls. 3,500,000 has been raised in Kuangtung, Hunsu, and Hupeh provinces. The Chinese Government has there. fore decided to borrow the balance, Tls. 3,00,000, from Great Britain, and the agreement has already been signed.
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Amongst naval men the first impression was that the Mikasa, like other ships of the Japanese pary not accounted for for some time, was really completely destroyed at the Tsushima Battle and her loss concealed until now. This theory, however, is untenable, owing to the repetition of the telegram that the vessel was lost-and in full view of all-at Sasebo. Besides the reasons a'ready given against the theory of an ordinary accidental fire is the fact that a battleship being divided up into numerous water and airlight compartments, whose doors can be instantly closed, any outbreak of fire-l ke inrush of water-can be isolated immediately, localised and coped with without much serious difficulty. The presence of some 700 men on board would further facilitate the working of all the fire apparatus in every part of the ship.
HEAT PLUS ALCOHOL.
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The report of the Shanghai M.O.H. for August opened with the following significant omment:-The Public Health during August has been exceptionally good despite the great heat; the only infectious disesse notified among the resident foreign community being three cases of typhoid fever. The great heat resulted in five deaths among foreigners; the cause of such deaths being usually heat plas alcohol.
[September 23, 1905.
V.R.C. AQUATIC SPORTS.
OP.NING DÀI
On the 21st September the annual Aquatic Sports of the Victoria Recreation Club opened at the Club's enclosure, Kowloon. The typhoon having passed, the weather was all that could be desired, and the various events were kept strictly up to time. The handicapping could not have been better, and when they saw the close finishes of most of the events, Mesers. T. Meck and J. H. R. Hance, the handicappers, must have been well pleased with their foresight. Mr. J. Witchell proved his right to claim the half-mile swimming championship of the Colony, beating Alves by about ten lengths nd covering the distance in 14 min. 50-4/5 secs. Trumpeter Grant won the two lengths race open to the Army, Navy and Police, covering the distance in 50 seconds. In the longest stay under water" competition, D. E. Carvalho was the winner, remaining below for the remarkable time of 2 min. 26-3/5 secs., while the honour of winning the Veteran's racy fell to Mr. H. W.
K-nnett.
Results of events are as follows:- Half mile championship of the Colony, open to all comers.
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J. Witchell N. H. Alves Other starlers were, J. M. Pereira, Gr. Brotherton and A. V. Barros,
The swimmers kept level for the first length, but in the second Witcholl drew ahead of the others by about a length. Pereira gave up at the conclusion of this length, and on going up for the second time, when near the brickworks, Witchell increased his lead to ten lengths and maintained it till the finish. Time, 14 min. 50 4-5 secs.
Two lengths, open to Army, Navy and Police.
Trumpeter, Grant
Gr. Brotherton Time-50 seconds. Longest stay under water!
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Time calculated
from the word "go" until the water is broken by any part of the body.
D. E. Carvalho, 2 min. 26 3/5 sec., 1. E. Humphreys, 1 min.
38 sec.. Other competitors w.re J. H. K. Hance and H. 8. Holmes,
Two lengths handicap. First and second in each heat to swim in final.
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First heat F. M. Pereira, 1; J.H. K. Hance, Time, 52 3/5 secs.-Second heat-H. A Lammert, 1 A. H. Carroll, 2. Time, 46 secs.. Third heat-J. A. S. Alves, 1, H. 8. Holmes,
The final of this race: 2... Time, 49 1/5 secs.
will take place on Saturday.
Veterans' race. Two lengths handicap, open competitors over 30 years of ago.
to
H.W. Kennett
M. A. Razack
F. W. White Time 54 1/5 seconds,
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Team race-There were three entries for this, K. C. Witchell's team being the winners, with J. Witchell's team second. R. C. Wit- chell's team comprised H. A Lammert, E. Humphreys, J. H. R. Hance, C. M. Alves, R. Henderson, M. A. Figueiredo and M. A. Razack, while H. C. Sayer, P. M. Remedios, J. M. Pereira, H. S. Holmes, J. W. Bains, M. A. Souza and J. Ellis composed J. Witchell's team.
THE “LIENSHING" IN COLLISION,
the north of a collision which occurred in the News has been received in Shanghai from Peiho ziver, above Tangku on September 7th between the I.-C. S. Lienshing and the Chinese steamer Teho No. 2, the property of Messrs. Ching Kee and Co. The Telo, a small steamer of 350 tons, and about thirty years old, was bound for Tientsin and Newchwang. It appears that on the evening of the 7th instant the Lienshing was crossing the Taku Bar on her voyage from Tientsin to Chefoo, and at the same time the Chinese str. Teho. No 2 was entering the river on a voyage from Chefoo to Tientsin. The Teho was pro- ceeding at a bigh speed, and as the vessels approached each other it soon became evident that a collision would be inevitable. In order to ease the esllision as much as possible, Capt. Wright of the Lienshing altered his course
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