March 19, 1906.]
MACAO.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT),
March 15th.
THE HARBOUR POLICE.
Much indignation is expressed here at the alleged ill-treatment of the coolies and boat women by the harbour police on the arrival of steamers from Hongkong and Canton. No doubt our worthy harbour master, Senhor Alves Branco, is not aware of this reported bad con- duct on the part of the men under him, and that he will enquire into it. It is said that his men have been seen striking these poor people with sticks.
BERI-BERI IN THE GAOL
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
The Yokohama Specie Bank was to hold its semi-annual general meeting on March 10th and subsequently an extraordinary general meet. ing, at which the establishment of branches at Osaka, Tairon and Mukden is to be discussed. The net profits for the past half-year amount to Y3,318,115 (including Y609,720 brought for- ward from last account).
A San Francisco telegram to Manila, dated March 9, reads: "In future England will depend upon the navy to defend Weihaiwei, and the military forces are to be withdrawn."
Viceroy Chang Chih-tung is sending & number of the best mechanics from the Han- yang Iron Works to Essen to go through a course of practical training at the Krupp Works.
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This dreaded disease has broken out among the prisoners in the gaol. The patients were removed to the plague hospital at "Bellanations in China by earliest opportunity. Vists. I suspect the sanitary condition of the gaol It is worth investigation.
RECLAMATION SCHEME.
I understand that some people are willing to form a private syndicate to reclaim the fore- shore in the inner harbour from the river steamer wharves to the north point of Green Islands, but are afraid at present to present their petition to the Government. They are awaiting the arrival of Senhor Abreu Nunes, who is expected here soon. The syndicate will have an easy task before them, seeing that the foreshore of the inner harbour is now fairly silted up.
THE CHINESE MILITARY SCHOOLS.
The boys of these institutions in this city are getting notorious; some of them have already been to the Court twice. The authorities should arrange for stricter supervision.
NEW STEAM ROLLER. The Public Works Department have now received the new steam roller.
FIRE.
A fire took place last week at the Cheong Kee tobacco factory. The loss was heavy and wAS not covered by insurance. This is the only Macao factory that supplies out tobacco to Australia Wnd America.
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The report for 1905 of the Shanghai Cotton Spinning Co., Ltd., whose paid up capital is Tls. 303,660, shows a divisible balance of Tls. 159,420, or over 50 per cent. of the capital. It is proposed to write Tls. 52,637 off various accounts, place Tis. 25,000 to the reserve fund, raising it to Tls. 50,000, pay a dividend of 20 per cent., and carry forward the balance, Tls. 21,051.
The new regulations regarding North Borneo and Brunei, in connection with the naval base at Singapore, are much commented upon amongst Colonials in Holland. Some are of opinion that a long British line connecting Labuan and Singapore offers a splendid safeguard to the Dutch Indies against attacks from the north, while others fear the measure may lead to further British expansion in Borneo.
Twenty-two Chinese undesirables arrived in the Colony by the 8.8. Derwent from Saigon yesterday, also 18 persons deported from Singa- that machinery for manufacturing opium re- A Peking dispatch to a Japanese paper states pore. They will be forwarded to various desti-cently ordered from England by Viceroy Yuan Shi-kai, cost Y1,400,000, and has a capacity of 30,000 pounds of opium daily. It is proposed to establish au opium monopoly upon the arrival of the machinery, and the Viceroy is confident that, an annual revenue of ten million yen can be easily obtained from this one source.
The British demands in connection with the murders at Nanchang are stated by a Chinese paper to be the punishment of the murderers, an indemnity, and the privilege of stationing British gunboats on Poyang Lake for the protection of missionary properties in the interior.
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Hongkong's financial statement for 1905 shows the receipts to have been 86,918,403.85. of which $500,000 was for land sales, and the expenditure to have been $6.951.275.26. The revenue was only $280,198 below the amount estimated, while the actual payments were also short of those anticipated by $223,926. The liabilities at the close of the year amounted to 815,119,399.32 and the assets to $15,560,894.98, leaving a balance of 3441,493,66.
From Hankow the N.-C. Daily News hears that considerable sensation was caused there on the 6th inst. when it became known that the lessee and manager of the Astor House, Mr. Schröder, had been sentenced at the German Consulate to thirteen months' imprisonment. He apparently made arrangements with the bar boy to pay him on commission, and then cooked the accounts to cheat the boy of $200. Mr. Schröder was only married about eight months ago, and there is much sympathy with his wife. Mr. Geo J. Melhuish, manager of the Kobe house of Messrs Dodwell & Co., had an exciting time recently with a burglar. Mr. Melhuish's residence was broken into before daybreak by a man who appeared to be armed. Mr. Melhuish Mr. H. Geary Gardner has been appointed who was awakened, grappled with the man, manager of the Peking branch of the Hong-whom he found in his room. In the struggle | kong and Shanghai Bank during the absence Mr. Melhuish was struck in the face by some on leave of Mr. E. Guy Hillier.
weapon, whereupon he seized his revolver.
He followed the thief downstairs and used his revolver, but the latter managed to escape? although it is thought he was hit.
MISCELLANEOUS.
One of the Lamas in Tibet recently sent to the Throne Tls. 120,000, but only Tls 20,000 reached Peking. He has now communicated with the Government asking for the matter to be investigated.
A belated Shanghai dispatch states that the Governor-General of Kiangai requested the French war-ship to stop at Krukiang. The Captain of the vessel ignored the application, and advanced to Nanchang The Governor
General also requested that the French Caufain
should refrain from landing sailors or firing gana, and should not demonstrate against the inhabitants of the city. Full satisfaction was promised.
An important step has recently been taken by the Russian authorities towards the colonisation of the Far Fast. A circular has been distributed among the soldiers of the Manchurian Army asking for the names of those men who are willing to become enrolled in the Cossack settlements in the Ussuri region under a promise of a free grant of land in that region, fogether with the free conveyance thither of their families who are now in European Russia. The men do not seem to be very eager to embrace this
opportunity of becoming settlers.
Among the many railway projects which are engaging the attention of the Chinese Govern- ment is one for a line from Ili to Lung Tschoh. The Governor-General of the province is in favour of obtaining the capital from Belgian financiers, believing that a country like Belgium would not seek to obtain any political advantages. The Russian Minister, however, fearing that the great interests of Russia in Ili would be detrimentally affected by the arrangement has addressed a letter to the Wai- wupu on the subject.
The Times of Ceylon had this protest:- Another Holiday-To-day being Ash Wednesday all the public offices in Colombo were closed. We have often protested against the unconscionable waste of time in public departments by these absurd survivals of the past, but there seems very little chance of common-sense prevailing, we are sorry to say. We wonder what would become of the real interests of the island if everybody followed the lead of Government and struck work on
every conceivable opportunity. The story after all is not so very much exaggerated which tells of a Government servant calling each morning for the almanac to see whether he had to go to
work or not.
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Counsel are often allowed amazing latitude in American Courts of law. The following is extracted from a report of a Manila trial: "As to the testimony of witnesses regarding the good reputation of the accused, Prosecuting Attorney George said that Captain Dawson could never go forth from this courtroom and say that he is an efficient officer And as regards to the matter of 'reputation' Mr. George said: Judas Iscariot had a good reputation until he went out into the darkness of the night and betrayed his Saviour. Judas had been disbursing officer for three years and had never touched a cent, and had he not gone out and hung himself when put on trial, he could have gotten all the apostles testifying as to his good character, and I say, with all respect for the witnesses who testified here for Dawson, that they are no better men than those who would have testified for Judas Iscariot.”
The half-yearly general meeting of the Bank of Formosa was held recently. The net proft was placed at Y265,477, and disposed of as follows:--Y50,000 to the reserve for losses ; Y10,000 to the reserve for the equalisation of dividend; Y10,000 to the special reserve; Y15,000 for bonuses; and Y125,000 for dividend at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum, carrying forward a surplus of Y55,477,
The British India steamer Futtala arrived at Singapore from Caloutta on March 7th with a number of Indian coolies on board who are bound for Fiji. During the voyage from Calcutta five deaths occurred among the coolies from small-poz. It is understood that eight more cases of small-pox have þroken out among the coolies. The Fultala was quarantipod.
In the persons of Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Play- fair, who left Hongkong by the Princess Alice, the Colony loses two of its oldest and most respected residents. Mr. Playfair was a Justice of the Peace, had been a member of the Legis lative Council, and had occupied the presidenoy of the China Association and of the St. Andrew's Society, while Mrs. Playfair identified herself with benevolent work.
Nanchang, the scene of the recent masaore of missionaries enjoys (according to Mr. Clen- nell) a situation of remarkable beauty, but is for the capital city of a prefecture a curiously poor place. It was desolated by the Taipings in 1856, never recovered from the disaster, and now barely contains more than five thousand people. It has many monuments of its former importance, principally in the form of ornamental archways over the streets. At this time of the year a small gunboat ought to have no difficulty in reaching the head of Poyang Lake.
We call special attention to a paragraph in our Canton letter, referring to infectious dia. eases there. It seems obvious that all the efforts
and precautions of the authorities of this Colony to suppress smallpox and plague are by way of ploughing the sands, or sweeping back the tide, so long as the present easy communication with Canton continues. The idea of a person with smallpox ferrying luggage to and from steamers in the river an incident merely typical of the callous way in which pestilence stalks abroad at the neighbouring portis shocking in the extreme. The difficulty is to find a remedy.
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According to a report the Government of Samoa bas sent numerous inquiries to the planters of the Navigator Islands as to the success which has attended the importation of Chinese labourers. The replies showed that the Chinese were generally regarded, both in respect of their work and their mode of life, as quite satisfactory. They, however, also made it clear that the Chinaman requires a strict master. The relations between the natives and the coolies were favourable, thanks to the strict measures taken by the Government, but the natives were inclined to be unfriendly. The fears that the ocolies would introduce disease have not been realised. The Government is now investigating the question of withdrawing their trad ng licences from the small Chinese shopkeepers, owing to representations made by the German commercial interests, which fear Chinese com. petition in shopkeeping.
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