L
260
to the Throne requesting that H. R H. Prince Chan Pui Chi be delegated to Canton to investigate the Yuet-Han Railway trouble,; This tends to show that matters are stil in a muddle, and that months will elapse before any progress can be made.
An office called the Kowloon-Canton Rail. Way Bureau" has been opened here. It is next to the ex-Governor's Yamen. All railway matters will now be a tended to by H. E. Wa l'ing Fang. It is reported that Wu Ting Fang will shortly proceed to Hongkong to hold a conference with the Hongkong Authori- ties regarding the construction of that line.
PIRACY.
A few days ago the l'o On passenger junk (towed by a launch) which ruus regularly between Canton and San Wo was pirated near Chan Chuen, only a few miles from Canton. The pirates cleared away with about Tis. 83,000 worth of booty belonging to the passengers. The matter was reported to the local authorities, but so far no arrests have been made.
RICE FOR THE POOR.
Over 10,000 piculs of rice were recently im ported to Canton by the Charitable Institu- tions here. Agents for selling cheap rice to the poor have been established in different parts of the city and will commence operations
to-morrow,
CURRENCY.
Viceroy Chou Fu has given instructions to investigate and report the number of Provincial Bank notes in circulation. H.E. says that during Viceroy hum's regime money was very tight, and in consequence the latter official issued those provincial notes. It is now discovered that the amount of notes placed in the market has reached to an enormous figure, The Viceroy further stated that at present the Ein Hau Kuk has over 600,000 taels of bullion, and the Government Bank has only 600,000 taels. He has directed those two departments to keep them in reserve to meet the exchange of provincial notes and also to increase the ballion reserve.
+
JAPAN.
(FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT).
Tokyo. March 28th.
THE DIET PROKOGUED.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
whatever the theoretical procedure, the actual | procedure of the Japanese Parliament, in this and in other matters, stands condemned,
OTHER INCIDENTS OF THE SESSION.
A
|
A matter which brought into prominenc the liberty taken with public men by a section of the Japanese Press who, unlike foreign newspapers. bare no libel prcomedings to fear-at least they often act as if such were the case was brought under the notice of the Diet, A Tokya newspaper charged certain members with recairing bribs, when one of the indicated members sunounced that he intended to proceed against the news- paper for libel. This is the interesting point, and if the member carries out his threst and is successful the result will be that Japanese newspapers will bec ›ma less personal and more careful in what they say. An incident signi. ficant of the attitude of the Japanese towards their womenfolk these modern days occurred in the proceedings of one of the committees, representation or petition, signed by a hundred more or less prominent ladies in Tokyo, prayed ¦ that the offence of adultery on the part of the man should be punishable by law. The representation provoked the laughter of the committee aud there the matter ended. Another matter which shows that the comparative freedom of women in Japan is far from being realised was an amendment to the police law allowing women to attend political meetings, | This was also defeated, decisively. The foal incident of the session worth notice wis the resolution of want of coufdence in the Foreign Minister, Viscount Hayashi, proposed by a few members. but it was not submitted Lo the verdict of the House. The genial Viscount's offence-his principal offence-was a flat refusal to agree to the establishment of an emigration bureau in the Foreign Offic. Generally, however, the opposition party believes the foreign affurs of the country ไก be ia 80
unsatisfactory condition, especilly in Korea and Manchuria, while Hayashi's conciliatory attitude on the various under-currents of the San Francisco question is not pleasing to the peppery and less-iuformed members, anxious for the national dignity. Moreover, Viscount Hayashi's attitude in the rostrum of the Diet is rather that of an after-dinner speaker. He is good-natured, humorous, and superior, somewhat laok. adaisical, as if a little bored by the energetic speech and desires of some of the provincial members. It can easily be imagined that his very deportment would make enemies among such.
+
THE MARKET.
|
[April 20, 1907. buildings something like a million yes, and would be a credit to any city in the world. Up tia wee : or so agɔ few foreigners had any idea of the extent and scope of this exhibition, ex- cepting those perhaps who are exhibitors in the foreign department. And the opening ceremony came a‹ a surprisɔ to the many thousands who. were present, for it is a fact that very little has ben heard of it in Japan, the Government having not yet adopted the principle of azten- sive advertisement in such cases. Had they done so, making the show well known, especially on the China coast, it is safe to say that Japan would by the richer by the presence of many visitors from Chiss than will be the case this F08100. This country could be made sa groata holiday resort as Switserland with a little effort in the right direction, bat such a movement must b› first started by the Government before the spirit of private enterprise « ill be awakened.
OVERTIME CUATOMS FEES AT
SHANGHAI.
Masrs Gibb, Livingston & Co., agents of the Bn Line and the E. and A. S. S. Co., and Messrs. Butterfeld and Swire, agents of the . S. S. Co, and numerous other lines, wrote the following joint letter to the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce.
Shanghai, January 22, 1907. Dear Sir, The undersigned representatives of Shipping Companies to Shanghai solicit the assistance of the Chamber of Commerce in protesting against the imposition by the Com- missoner of Customs of overtime foss for permits to work cargo after Customs hours, whether the vessel works after those hours or not.
It frequently happens that a steamer is due either at Woosnog or Shanghai after Customa hours, but from causes over which it will be readily understood we have no control, her arrival is delayed, similarly with steamers lear- ing the port it is quite impossible to state the actual hour when the discharge or loading of ergo will be completed; in such cases it has been customary to apply for the permit in anticipation, and up till quite recently such permits, if not used, were not charged for.
The Commissioner of Customs now contends that as a staff of tidewaiters has to be provided they mast, therefore, be paid for, and whilst we feel that there might perhaps be some reason in this argument were the whole of the fees collected utilized in this manner, there can be no justification for changing a fee, only a very small portion of which can possibly be so utilized.
Interrogated by the Chamber, the Commis- sioner of Customs replied, that shipping firms had been obtaining such permits in excess of actual requirements, and that in consequence of the dislocation of staff (Customs officers being detailed for extra duty at points where their services were not required, to the detriment of necessary work elsewhere in the harbour) he could hold out no hope that these charges would be foregone. To the complaining firms Mr. Hobson replied (in part) the proportion of unused permits to the total issue is still thirty-two, per cent, although shipping agents have received repeated warnings that by con- tinuing to apply for more permits than were absolutely required, they would bring about the strict enforcement of the Special Permit Fee
The twenty-third session of the Imperial Diet was ceremoniously brought to ዜር end to-day by the reading of a short Imperial message. Parliament will again assemble in the autumn and uext year we are to have a general election, when it is to be hoped that the opinions of the people will be decisively shown by their selections. The past session has been one of hard work, to judge by the summary given of Bills, representations and petitions considered by the House and Com- mittees but the session has also been dis finguished in other ways. The passing of a Budget of 600 million yen with remarkable celerity and little discussion was commented upon in these notes at the time, but it will bear a further reference. Your Tokyo corres. pondent was taken to task in a friendly way for his alleged ignorance of the procedure of the Japanese Diet. The Japan Mail criticised the note which spoke of an "enor- mously swollen budget" being passed in the house with very little criticism, and the Yoko, hama journal took the opportunity of explaining that the work of the Japanese Diet is really done by the Committees and not by the whole House, which was thus relieved of a great deal of necessary investigation and examination. The note in question was nut written in ignorance of the procedure of the Diet, and really the Japan Man's explanation of the procedure, designed to exonerate the Dist from the charge of hastily passing a most important budget, has only a theor-tical value, for not only did the House pass the Budget with little discussion, but the work in committee of thos; members who were charged with analysing it and refining it, was done with such quickness that the Budget was scarcely more closely scrutio-
A TOKYO **SURPRISE PACKET." ised in committee than it was by the whole Designed some twelve months ago as a small House. The note criticised might have been ¦ local fair with no psrticalar object, the exhibi- | written much more strongly in condemnation of ¦ tion opened on the 20th fast, has blossomed into the attitude of the Diet towards the Budget, for the Tokyo Industrial Exhibition, has cost in
Since writing last on this topic the stock market in Tokyo has suffered a further heavy relapse and many sp-calators have gone to the We venture to hope that you will place this wall The general situation has caused alarm letter before the committee and that we shall to a section of the Press, but while a few of the receive the support of the Chamber in protest- genuine undertakings floated within the pasting against what appears to us to be an injustios few weeks may be injuriously affected by the to the shipping interest of the port.” scare, business on the whole will be rather beae- fitted than otherwise. It may by held to be a necessary fall iu order that the stock quotations resume their proper values, for the prices of leading shares a couple of months ago were quite abnormal and altogether beyond what the ordin- ary investor would be likely to pay. The market has vot yet regained confidence. It requires rery little to put it in a plonicky condition from purely local causes-but the outlook is encouraging. We hear on every hand of the prosperity of the people, while such great undertakings as the Muroran Iron Foundry, which will be conducted with British and Japanese capital ou an extensive scale, tend to strengthen confilence in Japan's future as a commercial and industrial country. British, French, German and Belgian capitalists are becoming more and more interested in Japan, and so in a less degree are the financiers of Sweden, Denmark, and Holland. Japan is oute enough to welcome these foreigners and to secure her good share of the advantages at the sama time.
It is not a case of the Powers exploiting a helpless country, and such being the situation the investor is justified in regard ing the future of Japan in sa optimistic spirit.
}
|
rule.
The figures for 1905 were 12,854 permits taken out, and 5,525 unused; and for the four months ending in August this year 3,029 taken out and 987 anased. I cin see no reason, therefore, for delaying any longer to osrry out the rule notified afresh in March last. Customs Notification No. 64"
From the extract of meteorological obser- vations ma le at the Hongkong Observatory during the month of March we note that the average maximam temperature was 68.4, and the minimum 59.7 d-g. The rainfall was 335 inekes.