84
we decided to postpone any reference to it. We have now before us a copy of the North China Daily News for August 1st, containing a letter from the Director of the Sicawei Observatory. The asseverations of the Hongkong officials at the enquiry, that their relations with their confrères at Manila most cordial," seemed and Shanghai were to us to be decidedly disingenuous, and we still think so. That there should be some disingenuity in the opening terms of Mr. FROC's letter indicates that the cordiality is about equal on both sides. Our contention has all along been that the most cordial relations are essential in the public interest. We have never suggested that any persons should be held responsible or blameworthy for the sad results of the September typhoon; but we do suggest that the Government should take any and all steps possible to secure whole hearted co-operation between all the weather observatories in the Far East. No one believes that such co- operation exists. Part of the letter about to be quoted confirms our opinion that Hongkong has been pursuing a dangerous policy of independence, which opinion, as we pointed out at the time, was proved correct by the evidence at the enquiry. If we are wrong in believing such whole hearted co-operation to be desirable, we are wrong in all points, and have no more to say, The letter is dated July 29th, and begins:--
Sir, I have read in your number of to-day the opinion of the director of the Astronomical Observatory at Greenwich (London) on the Hongkong typhoon of September 18, 19.6. I am glad to see that the Observatory of the British Colony is there discharged from blame. There is no profit in casting doubt on the value of institutions giving warnings to sailors; everyone can make a mistake, every man may be taken by surprise, but we want the confidence of captains in order to give them assistance, I feel therefore greatly satisfied at the conclu- sion of the Astronomer Royal, as it will stop further inquiries on the question. You may have noticed, Mr. Editor, that from the begin. ning we bave strictly limited ourselves to the scientific description of that storm; we shall not depart from that behaviour, but there are three points in the first 1aragraph of Sir W. H. M. Christie's letter, in which Sicawei is concerned, and it seems impossible to let them pass without a short explanation.
|
|
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[August 10, 1907.
They did not want deduction, but figures only; the wires were already overburdened, and so on. Mr. FROC's letter conludes:
3rd.The contention that the warning was given and ignored falls to the ground.”
We believe that some people could misunder- stand these concluding words and think that in fact this peculiar warning had been sent to Hongkong and actually refused or ignored there. Probably the sitation is not plainly known in London. We are glad totally to exonerate here the Hongkong Observatory of the imp icit accusation that could result thence in some minds; we never thought of sending that warning to Hongkong. The Telegraph meteorological telegram, which they kindly Companies are already overburdened with
transmit free of charge, and we do not venture to put upon their oables useless messages. It is well known that Hongkong refuses to receive any warning, and that they even obtained from
tion to the Director of the Philippine Weather Bureau of sending any typhoon warnings to the cast of China (an order soon cancelled
island Sto. Domingo de Basco (Long. 121 deg. 59', Lat. 20 deg 28',) the same day at 5 p.m.. at a longer distance, north of Aparri (Long. 121 deg. 34', Lat. 18 deg. 22"), on the 16th Caesar 82 miles W. of the Batan islands (Long. about 1 a.m. it joins the U.8. N. transport 120 deg 28', Lat 20 deg. 30'), the same day at 4 p.m. it is found at a distance estimated "240 miles N.N.E. of the 8.8. Zafiro viz., approxima. tely by Long. 118 dag. Lat. 22 deg.; during the night of the 17th the 'rench mail steamer Océanien meets with the storm, which passes at a distance in the South (South of Breaker St.). viz., about Long. 116 deg. 30', Lat. 22 deg. 10" between 0 and 1a.m. of the 18th ; on the 18th, 3.45 a.m., the British steamer Kweichow, E.8.E. of Pedro-Blanco (Long. 115 deg. 30'. Lat. 22 deg. 10), reports having experienced a furi us typhoon, as did the Océanien, rs did the Caesar. At Hongkong the minimum took place at 1am. of the very same day. positions of this very violent storm during the American Government an official probibi- these three days; every man having any ex- perience of things in the Far East will be driven to the following alternative: either the Hongkong typhoon was the one signalled by Sicawei on the 15th, which passed, and was with & speed quite normal at this latitude, or well observed successively over seven stations we are invited to give birth and death in turn to seven successive violent typhoons within three days, on the same line and track; for the reasons to disconnect the Hongkong typhoon from the centre signalled on the 15th would apply to the Kweich w typhoon, at the doors of the olony to the Océanien typhoou, the Zafiro typhoon, the Caesar typhoon, etc., which con clusion it was hard to admit.
Now let us mark on a chart the different
2nd." Hid it (the typhoon) provel identical, the Sicawei forecast gave no indication that Hongkong was threatened.
It seems quite clear that the eminent astrono. mer has not received information of all the warnings cabled from here; from these, and
these only, deductions can be arrived at and not from opinions expressed in the pipers. On September 15,11.30 a.m. a first signal was sent to the effect that "a typhoon was 8 E. of the Meiaco Sima group, direc ion unknown;" this did not threaten any particular spot. But at 5.30 p.m. new information was cabled to all the semaphores that the typhoon previously reported was "travelling W.N.W."
There is no question her) of our subjective opinion then, nor of what we could think at Shanghai or priat in the papers; in fact we did not know for sure at the time that Hongkong was more in danger than Swatow or Amoy. But we are We have commented on the transparent prudent officer having the responsibility of a of opinion that objectively a disingenuity-almost amounting to irony-ship at the receipt of this signal, taking his of the passage which ends by expres-iug ohart and marking the centre on a line to the satisfaction at the prospect of further in. S. . f Ishigakijima at a distance still un quiries being stopped. It strikes us as a known, but perhaps great, and from thence bit of gentlemanly humbug. We hope that drawing a track towards the W. N. W. would
bave thought the information interesting for
owning to the universal protest of public opinion). We totally re rain from discussing that question now; we have only to say that on that date of the 18th (or 15th) no warning was ignored, because none was aent; and none was
sent because we knew that it would not have been received.
xcuse me for having trespassed so much upon you valuable columos. I thought the explanation was necessary for the navigators, the welfare of whom is one of the chief sims of this institution, of which I have nare. I am, ato., (signed) L. Fruo, 8.J., Director, tioswei Observatory.
It was stated at the enquiry, by the Hongkong Observatory officials, that re- lations with all professional neighbours were most cordial. The only further
plain question put to the Observatory inquiry we would care to see would be a
Shanghai,
directors of Manila and "Can your relations with the Hongkong Observatory be truthfully described as most cordial ?" The twoanswers to that question might then show us just whers we are in the matter. At present, the feeling is that are still in danger, notwithstanding the findings of the local commission an I of the Greenwich natronomer.
we
FOREIGN MERCHANTS IN JAPAN.
(Daily Press, 9th August). If the bistory of foreign merchants in Japan is ever to be written, commend we Capt. BRINKLEY, for it is a subjet t› ba treated with tact, and the famous Tokyo
Sir FREDERICK LUGARD will inquire about | himself, and eveu important for the harbour of soldier-journalist is full of thit. At the
1
sa me time, the student anxious for
the The proof the truth,
whole truth, will be in a difficulty. The Japanese historian will be of 00 use to him, for his account is tinged with a bitter resentment; and historians like Capt. BRINKLEY, where the foreign merchant is concerned, are to his faults a little blind. Of one side of the story of the relations of Japanese and foreiga merchants
Hongkong, without concluding as yet tha' the centre would strike the anchorage is that a Captain arriving at Hongkong shortly after the disaster, and having seen our signal before leaving Newolwang, afirmed that he bad come to the conclusion that the southern parts were menaced; Hongkong not excluded. The
admit completely the consequently cannot decision of the Astronomer Royal, that the gave no indication that Hongkong was threatened."
on which
the alleged cordiality, and do something to make it more real. Whether the typhoon notified by Shanghai was identical with the one that hit Hongkong is a que-tion for experts to argue over. We do not presume to have an opinion. The letter goes on: 1st. The Astronomer Royal writes: typhoon of which warning was given by the Director of Sicawei Observatory on September 15, 1906, was apparently uot the struck Hongkong on the 18th." Although the assertion is not absolute, I believe I must state once more that these typhoons are one and the same storm. A splitting of the cyclone in two may have taken place near the South end of For moss, as we all know it often happens; but the narrow whirl of the 18th existed certainly in the perturbation signaled on the 15th S.E. of the great island and of the Group Meiaco Sima. This fact, already stated in the excellent pamphlet of the Director of the Philippine Weather Bureau will receive elsewhere due consideration. For the present be it enough to recall in mind the following facts:
A signal announces a typhoon on the 15th at 11.30 a.m. and again at 5 p.m., on the Pacific, Bome where to the 8.E. of Ishigakijima. A centre, in every o se reported as violent, narrow, with identical characteristics, passes on the same day at 2.30 p.m. at a short distance north of the
Sioawei forecast <<
We
"
the public has been fed to Our readers may digest the prece ling surfeit. The Japanese "lack of commercial argument for themselves. As we have said, integrity is a string that has been frayed it is not for us to dwell on such a point. with too much harping, and it has been a The next section of the letter, however, very rare satisfaction to encounter such fair- brings us back to the extraordinary mis-minded deponents as Mr. R. D. ROBISON, understandings that have been possible in whose testimony we 'published a week or connection with the incident, even the
two ago. It is obvious that the Japanese Astronomer-Royal having been grotesquely merchant was for a good while in a state of Indeed, misled. There is a plain implication that pupilage to the foreign merchant. the Hongkong Observatory_deliberately much has been made of his “ ingratitude ' ignored a specific warning. This was, of in learning all he could from the foreigner, course, never suggested locally What we and then seaking to oust his teacher. For say is that their policy is to refuse all the lessons he learned, the teacher is bound warnings from other observatories, and it to accept a certain amount of responsibility, was so said in evidence at the enquiry, and the implication is not obscure, if the evidence that cannot be overlooked, as it bid character given to the pupil be was the evidence of the officials themselves. established. If he had to pay as dearly for
;