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葡菜
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
YOKOHAMA MUNICIPAL LOAN.
THE PROVISIONAL CONTRACT,
-
2.-Issue value, £96 10s. per every £100. 3.-Rate of interest, 5 per cent. per annum on the face value.
4.-Period of Redemption.-To stand unre- deemed for a period of ten years, after which is to be redeemable within thirty years.
5.-Commission on the issue, and the redemp. tion of principal and payment of interest:-O receipt of the proceeds, 0.15 per cent. of the principal; on the redemption of principal, 0.1 per cent.; on the paynient of interest, 0.15 per
season and out of season, issued proclamations utterly forbiding_the_cultivation and produc- tion of opium. Penalties of the most blood- curdling kind have been fulminated broadcast against any Chinaman who would dare to infringe these drastic decrees. In theory in
After repasted negotiations, the Yokohama obedience to all this universal prohibition Municipality has now concluded a provisional there is no opium produced in Cnina and the contract for a loan with Messrs. Samuel Samuel poppy never dares to rear its ruddy head in& Co. The terms of the loan are given in the the fields. Yet all the world knows that the Japan Herald as follows:- whole of the opium supply of the middle and
1-Amount, £317,00). lower classes in China, being cheap and plentiful, is produced in inland China. And the locil and provincial authorities make an ancommonly good thing out of connivance at the widespread industry they are supposed to interdict. And whatever orders' are issued from Peking, it is quite well known that the Viceroys will do exactly as they like; and there are hundreds of thousands of official and yamen hangers-on who know perfectly well that these are orders of the "look-ses" variety, and not in the least intended to result in any practical effect. Technically, therefore none is produced. But so completely are the Chinere aware that the production of native-grown opium far exceeds the amount of imported opium, that they actually undertake to issue orders to regulate a diminish ed production of what they have previously utterly prohibited, and therefore should not exist at all, if "orders"
really orders. That there is some diplomatic dodge underlying this comedy of taradiddle the ordinary intelligent person will certainly suspect. What form the particular bluff is going to take we cannot yet guess. But when the sharper marks his cards, some pigeon is bound to be rooked. And this time it is Britain, via the Indian Government. The Simple Simon who would believe in the novel sincerity of assurances on a subject on which
were
there has been scores of years of insincerity
would believe anything.
MANCHU SLIMNESS.
The Canton Daily News says:----- It is interesting to trace the tortuous course of scheming and subterfuge by which the Manchu incubus has cheated Viceroy Shum. It
will be remembered that he ordered 700 of them
to be sent to the new Chinese Regiments for instruction and that they appealed to Peking to be relieved from the degrading necessity of mizing with Chinamen, offering instead to furnish a Manchu battalion 1,500 strong, trained by qualified Manchu instructors. Now it appears that 1,100 out of the promised 1,500 are to be Chinese. The Manchus only farnishing 400. Thus 300 of the men detailed by the Viceroy have escaped scot free; while the others, instead of the rigorous training and strict discipline that the Japanese system is forcing on the New Chinese regiments, will emulate the fountains in Trafalfar Square and play daily from 11 till 4,
ALLEGED DUPLICITY OF CHINA.
A Tribune despatch from Washington, July 16th, said:-The advance sheets of the State Department's Red-book for 1905 contain & remarkable exposure of China's appareut double dealing regarding the anti-American boycoti,
Official reports state that after the Chinese Government professed to have taken steps for the suppression of the boycott, the Chinese Foreign Office issued a secret proclamation, which stated that China had never prohibited the boycott, but had really encouraged it. This proclamation at length reached President Roosevelt, who directed the American Minis- ter at Peking to notify the Chinese Govern- ment that, under the treaty of 1858, it would be held responsible for any loss to American trade as a result of China's" failure to stop the boyoolt.
The American Minister bombarded the Chinese Foreign Office with a series of vigorous notes, which first angered Prince Ching, and then compelled the latter to issue an odiot prohibiting the boycott.
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cent.
6.-The receipt of the proceeds aul the redemption or payment of the principal and interest to be effected at Yokohama in Japanese currency computed according to the current rate of telegr phis transfer.
Yokohama Municipality in the middle
7.-Samuel Samuel and Co. shall pay to the of September this year, even prior to the issue of the bonds, the sum of £66,000 sterling as payment of the first installment of subscriptions. 8.-Samuel Samuel and Co. shall be bold responsible for the performance of the contract, regardless of the disposition of foreign capitalists.
9. The provisional contract shall be null and void if it has not been sanotioned by the Municipal Council and approved by the Government.
to the Municipal Council for sanction at an
The provisional contract is to be submitted
early date.
COTTON YARN TRADE.
JAPANESE OPTIMISM,
were as follows:-
The total production of cotton yarn for the first six months of the year amounted to 474,000 bales, showing an increase of 22,000 bales as compared with the corresponding period of last year. By months the output and export Production. Exported. Bales. Bales. 72,592 15.738 73,258 12,600 81,393 23,323 82,262 22,805 81,783 26,983 79,700 23,371
January February March April ... May June
474,989
124 820
The output for the same period of 1905 was 452,362 and 138,746 bales respectively, which shows an increase for 1906 of 22,627 bales in
output and a decrease of 13,926 bales in export. The following figures give the amount imported and the domestic consumption :----
Imported. Consumption.
Bales. Bales. 58,561 66,930
59,057 60,772
January
1,707
February
1,272
March
1,987
April
1,315
May
2,458
June
2,723
57,256 59,052
11,462
Same period 1905
1,339
361,628 314,955
Increase
46.673
10,123 The production of cotton yarn during the first half of this year reached, as expected, an unprecedentedly large figure, though it was showing a decline towards the end of the period under review. The amount of yarn imported showed an increment as against last year, Although the amount of domestic prodution and imported yarn increased, the export showed a diminution of 14,000 bales as compared with last year. This may be accounted for by the increase of the domestic demand, which this year was larger by 40,000 bales than last year. Bupposing the outturn of yarn to continue
[August 25, 1906.
during the second half of this year at the same rate as in the first the total will reach something like 950,000 bales. of which about 720,010 will be absorbed for domestic consumption. Although the export tra le may suffer a more or less falling- off in the future there is likely to be no fear of over-production.
as
Mr. Hibiya, a well-knowa cotton merchant. gees a promising future for the yarn industry. He says that though some cotton spinners, taught by bitter experience after the Japsu China war, appear to apprehend the arrival of a reaction to the present prosperity their fears are unfounded. The remarkable advance that has taken place in recent years in the manufacture of various articles in which cotton yarn is used as material is the principal reason for the large increase in domestic consumption of yarn. And 80 long farn of good quality continues to be supplied cheap this tendency will grow. For this reason the spinners will not suffer from over-production in the future, even though their present producing capacity is enlarged. Moreover, there is every reason to believe that the demand for Japanese yarn in Kores and fact, it is quite within the bounds of possibility China will materially increase in future. In that the present export may be augmented ten- fold if the trade is judiciously fostered. Now is the best opportunity to try to increase the production of yarn by means of amalgamation amongst the spinners. At the same time the improvement of spinning machinery is advisable for 60 per cent. of what is now in use is obsolete.
COMING CHINESE MANŒUVRES.
The Nanfangpao of Aug. 16th contained the following:-
Viceroys Yuan Shib-kai and Chang Chib tung have jointly memorialised the Throne with reference to the forthcoming grand military manoeuvres at Changtêhfa, Ho. The memorial- ists report the appointment of Lt.-General Tuan Chi-jai and Chang Piso as commander- in-chief of the Pei Chun and Nan Caun, or Northern and Southern Armies, which will be composed of the Lu Chun from Chibli, Hapeh and Honan respectively The total strength of and file, who must reach the proximity of the con.bined forces will be about 40,000” rank
Changteh on or about October 20 next” and the manoeuvres will commence on the 22nd Bud terminate on the 25th of that month, During these four days, the memorialiste will be present as Imperial commissioners.
In order to let the world know the real condition of the La Chan, or new army of China, at the present time forsign officers, and officials and foreiga and native newspaper correspondents will bɔ permitted to witness the manoeuvres in the same way as the autumn manoeuvres at Hokienfa, Chihli, in 1905.
Foreigners who wish to witness the manœuvres Reorganisation Council in Peking through their must get passes from the Lienpingohu or Army respective Ministers, while natives on obtain the same by applying to the Talien Kungsoo or Local Military Office at Tientsin and Wuhang before October 1, so that reception houses may be prepared for them at Chaugtebla for their temporary residence by the Chinese Authorities, who will provide food to foreign and nativə guests, but not to their servants and followers, who must get meals themselves during the manœuvre days. The cost is pre-estimated to be about Tis. 1,200,000, to be proportionally de- frayed by the three Provinces.
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While dining on the 21st August at her residence, No. 6 Carnarvon Road, Kowloon Madame Flint, of the City of Paris Ladies outfitters, heard an unusual noise in the room above the dining room. On going up to investigate she was just in time to s08 native disappearing over the verandah. She hastened down stairs to call the police, but none were in sight, and her visitor had disappeared. An inspection showed that she had been robbed of two" watches (one gold, ons silver), a half hoop pearl ring and a diamond ring, a gold brooch, and a jade and gold brooch.
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