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December 16, 1905.]
重
loss through the smiles of passers by. Chickens are mysteriously deprived of their wings. A man living near the small north gate is the latest victim. He had about $100 în his pillow, case, which was securely locked up in a box. Yesterday he found that the money had been spirited away, as he found in its stead an image on which were the words, "Fang Ming Tsai Po," which means "Treasure removed by order of God." These spirits are without doubt not gaseous invertebrates" but dishonest. bipeds who have hit upon the idea of covering their tracks by stirring up clouds of supersti. tion. Many people do believe that it is ghost- pidjin, and refrain from telling the police.
12th December.
PROVINCIAL BANK.
Some months ago Cheng Yn Luk, the ex- provincial judge of Canton, memorialized Viceroy Shum on the subject of the establish- ment of a Provincial Bank in Canton with a capital of one million taels. He stated that the bank could collect the provincial revenue (Tls. 5,000,000) and remit same to Peking periodically: It is said that Viceroy Shum has sanctioned the opening of this Bank.
MYSTERIOUS
AFFAIR.
The doings of the evil spirits believed to be haunting the city at present still occupy the public mind. Every evening news comes of the removal of queues in a mysterions manner. The police are keeping a vigilant watch and in the course of time one of these ghostly barbers may be caught. Then the scare will be ended.
CHAU-TUNG-SANG'S AFFAIRS.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE RÉPORT.
THE WEATHER.
The weather, here of late has been very bad, cloudy and damp; but so far no cold has yet
been felt.
HOTELS.
I understand that by the end of the year, wo shall have one hotel short here. There is no
doubt that there are too many hotels in a small place like Macao, where there are really very few attractions except gambling.
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EDUCATION IN HONGKONG.
Progress in scholastic education, particularly the Anglo Chinese education given in Queen's College, is the most notable feature in the print- ed report by the examiners lai before the Legislative Council on Dec. 7th, and that that advance is most creditable will be admitted when one remembers the difficulties under which the work is conducted With experience, however, these should disappear and greater
A CHINESE SMUGGLING STORY. improvement should follow. [The report, which
ARMS IN COFFINS: AN OFFICIAL DILEMMA,
[FROM OUR CANTON CORRESPONDENT.
A native of Hunan recently shipped two coffins from Canton to his native province. They were declared to contain the bodies of two of his relativ.s. On arrival at Ying-Tak, the coffins were taken ashore, as the river is not deep enough for navigation beyond that place. coffins overland; the unusual number of men About 60 people were engaged to carry the employed attracted the attention of the likin officials, who suspected fraud and caused the 20 piculs. This confirmed their suspicions, and coffins to be weighed. Each coffin weighed over they caused the coffins to le detained. Sui Fan Shan, the owner, was arrestel and sent to Canton under escort. A petition has been sent to Viceroy Shum, stating the circumstances, and instructions are awaited before proceeding further in the matter. The coffins are sus-
The Nam-Hoi has been very busy within the pected to be filled with arms and ammunition. past few days, preparing, with the collaboration of
Chinese law prohibits the opening of coffins. even by officials searching for contrabind. several contractors, a valuation report of Chau- Any persons opening a coffin are liable to Tung-sang's family residence in the Po-Wah-capital punishment. Under the circumstances, Ching, Cheung-Yuk. The report will be the likin officials have simply detained the ready in a few days and tenders will be invited coffins pending the result of the investigation for the purchase of this magnificent property. which will The land, together with the buildings thereon,
no doubt be ordered by Viceroy is said to be valued at T1.100,000 at least.
QUAINT CHINESE SARCASM.
The Ying-Tak Magistrate, whose term of office has just expired, left his prefecture on the 6th inst. He is said to have been very unpopular among the inhabitants of that prefecture. They gave expression to their the way in which he administered the prefecture's affairs by placing a hundred straw dummies near the wharf from which he was to embark. No real people
dissatisfaction at
were present to see him off.
MACAO.
(FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.)
11th December.
THE SUN PIU LOTTERY.
This lottery has made its start in the city Man Sun Kung-sze is the name of the firm and its office is at the Largo do Senado. The first drawing takes place next week. As I anticipated, this lottery is already affecting the sale of the Macao lottery, a great many tickets for which remained unsold.
BANCO NACIONAL'S NOTES.
As reported by me last week, the decision of this Bank to circulate in this city their $5 and $1 notes will be a boon to the people of Macao I hope that they will gradually do away with Chinese twenty and ten cent pieces, which are a nuisance here.
MONET Orders.
I also hear that arrangements have beeu made between the Hongkong and Macao Post Offices for issuing money orders between the two colonies. If
this rumour turns out to be correct, it will be a good thing, as the means of remitting small sums of money be tween Macao and Hongkong have long been wanted.
"O BOLETIM ECCLESIASTICO." The Bishop requested Mr. F. X. dos Remedios o resume the publication of this paper, and Mr. Remedios has agreed.
C
THE TRANSPORT AFRICA.
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This transport left Macao on Thursday night with many time-expired officers and s oldiers and prisoners.
Shum.
PROPOSED CIVIL SERVICE CO. OPERATIVE STORE.
in the Civil Service of the Colony was held at A large attended meeting of those engaged the Club Pavilion, Happy Valley, on the 11th December for the purpose of considering the operative Store. Dr. Clark presided and in his advisability of establishing a Civil Service Co- opening remarks stated that H. E. the Governor approved of the proposed scheme provided that all in the service of the Government, such as the military and the naval, were included in its purview. Several members explained how such organisations were conducted elsewhere and, after discussion, a committee was appointed to make inquiries as to whether the scheme would be practicable in Hongkong and whether it was likely to receive adequate support. The constituted as follows: Dr. Clark (chairman), committee which was given full powers Mr. Lewington, naval yard; Chief Inspector Baker;
Mr. Barrington, P.W.D.; Chief In- spector Hanson; Mr. Woodcock, secretary of Sanitary Board: Messrs. D. J. McKenzie, Conley and Lyous, sanitary inspectors; and Mr. Lawrence, inspector naval yard police.
was
is signed by Messrs. Edward A. Irving, G. N. Orme, aud II. R. Wells, sets out very fully the conclusions at which the examiners arrived on considering the system and subject matter of the teaching throughout the school. They speak of the discipline as being very good but indicate scholars because no suitable records are kept, the difficulty of noting the progress by the while the disadvantage of using the big hall as a schoolroom where four divisions, doing different work, are taught at once is pointed out.
The writer of the report is not without a sense of humour. In referring to the torching of English, he says that Class VIII., composed. of boys who have been at the school about three months are already beginning to talk and show no false shame in the matter." While of Class VII. he states that the boys all showed themselves ready to talk up to the extreme limit of their vocabularies," More oritical is the report on Division A of Class V, where
"it was a very hard matter to get the boys to reply exe-pt in monosyllables. Apparently the master is too apt to cast his questions in a form which can only be answered in one or two words." "Division B. was weak." In Division C.
the boys, except a few at the top, were unable to make themselves heard,' while
"
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Division D. was also not very efficient.” Traces of the old difficulty in getting boys to talk re-appeared in Class IV. Division A, but in Division B. the boys selected for conversa- tion did much better and talked glibly enough about the proposed boycott of American goods." Even in the lowest class in the
Upper School the ability and willingness of the boys to talk English with a stranger has very greatly increased during the last two years.
Apparently geography is beginning to interest the boyish mind here, but according to the examiners history does not
possess the
same attractions.
School, and then he is initiated into the The study of history is rightly left until a boy enters the Upper mysteries of English History, and introduced to Wat Tyler and Jack Straw, the Duke of Buckingham and Guy Fawkes. This study he pursues throughout the rest of his school of the figures and doings thereof as an English career; and he forms, perhaps, as lucid an idea boy would form of a Chinese account of Con fucius and the Duke of Chan. There was only standing a history so alien to Chinese ideas. one class that showed any capacity for under-
following comments:-"This
On the subject of hygiene we extract the new subject, which is studied in Classes I. V., does not seem to be popular. Only a few boys have found their bearings in it. The examiners found it necessary to insist continually upon the reference which it has to the daily life, However the boys at the top of the Lower Classes and nearly all the boys in the Upper. School seem to have acquired some idea of the advantages of ventilation, pure water and the preparation of food. At present only a few elementary facts have been taught, and those only for a short time, so that any conclusions 88 to their permanent effect on the boys' minds would be premature. Still we cannot doubt but that the elements of hygiene must form a useful addition to the somewhat limited Anglo-Chinese School; further, they possess the advantage that when once learned they are not likely to be forgotten. The chief difficulty of the boys has been in separating the general from the particular. (2) Decree commanding that afteen largeThe proper ventilation of a room consists in sticks of Tibetan incense be sout to Lin Ching- yung, Commander-in-Chief of the Kiangpeh the Sanitary Board,' and so forth. It is gratify- having an open space at the rear as ordered by region, to be offered in the name of the Emperoring, to observe the respect in which that Body before the altars of the Dragon river gods, as a token of Imperial gratitude for the peaceful state of the lakes and rivers in that region since the fall of frost.
TWO TYPICAL DECREES.
The N.-C. Daily News thus translates two typical Chinese Imperial Decrees, dated Dec. 5:-
(1) Decree refusing request of the Board of Punishments to lighten the sentence of a female prisoner condemned to be strangled for murder, and handing the officials of that Board, cou-curriculum of cerned in preferring the request, over to the Board of Civil Appointments for the deter- mination of adequate penalties for breach of etiquette.
an
is held, yet from an educational point of view a breach of its bye-laws must not be confused with defiance of a natural law. The value of a safe in keeping food clean is usually appreciated,
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