76
not less than 1,000. The foundering of the river steamer Ying King which is reported to have had upwards of 300 Chinese passengers on board represents the biggest and the saddest feature in the story. Only a dozen out of that large total apparently have survived to tell the tale of the disaster. Within the harbour, though the destruction of small craft is relatively small compared with the list in 1906, it is desirable that official inquiry should be made 18 to whether any part of this loss was due to
inadequate shelter accommodation, It cannot be said on this occasion that the warning given by the Observatory did not allow time enough for cralt at one end of the harbour to run to the other end for shelter. After the bombs were fired, giving the final warning, boats were noticed coming from the direc- tion of Causeway Bay and making for Yaumati. In view of the opinions expressed with regard to the Causeway Bay shelter in the recent letter of the Shipping Firms to the Government, Do doubt the proper inquiries will be made as to what extent the boat shelter at Causeway Bay answered the need of the occasion. It is inferred that
many boats were unable to find shelter at Causeway Bay, but it may be that these boats disregarded the warning until it was too late, and it is not unlikely they found it impossible then to reach the shelter in the teeth of so fierce a gale. On the whole the Colony may be considered to have escaped with less damage than might have been expected considering the strength of the typhoon, and it is a pleasure to be able to congratulate the Observatory on the notices it was able to give of the rapid approach of the storm.
"THE COMING STRUGGLE.”
|
"L
C4
[August 3, 1900.
HONGKONG AND OPIUM.
OF
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND Minister of Railways the justification lies in "the exceptionally serious importance of this railway." Congruously with the
(Daily Press, 31st July.) representations made by the War Depart-
It does not seem from the REUTER's ment, the line must be able, without having
telegram published in our yesterday's issue recourse to sidings between the principal that the Home Government has abandoned halting places, to run nine pairs of trains
its decision to close the so-called opium daily for permanent needs, but as soon as
dens" in Hongkong before the Opium the sidings and branch lines are opened
Farmer's present contract expires, Accord- twenty pairs of trains must ply, among them one pair for 'passenger traffic,' and nineteening to a statement made in the House of Secretary of military trains." The Reporter of the Commons by the Under Committee of National Defences, who having State for the Colonies, the EARL heard the secret explanations of the War CREWE, has under his consideration the Minister, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, whole question of the opium traffic in possessed data inaccessible to outsiders, Hongkong, including that of compensation, significantly declared :- -"We came to the if any, to those interested. It is an obvious unanimous decision that this line must be inference that when it decided early in May that "steps must be taken to close the built at once, without delay, and that we
We must opium dens iu Hongkong," the Home must complete it by or in 1912. also lay down the second track within the Government had not troubled itself to For we note that inquire how the decision would affect same time.
There the Colony.
can be no valid the strategic and political situation in the
excuse for the failure to make this Far East has changed somewhat after the war-that our
neighbours are sparing inquiry, for the archives of the Colonia neither efforts nor means to increase their Office doubtless contain complete informa- tion on the subject, and among the armed strength. Against whom those forces are aimed we do not of course know. But, permanent officials of the Colonial Office at all events, we perceive that China is there must be some one who possesses the arming.
Japan is arming, and, necessary local knowlelge. If not there are we gather, the programme of Japan's many old residents of the Colony now in consulted London who might have been military preparations will have been carried
with advantage on this, as we believe they In 1912, there- out precisely in 1912."
occasionally are on other questions affecting fore, the tag of war is expected-only seren
the policy of the Government in the Far years after the Portsmouth Treaty !
East. But evidently the Government had not the slightest desire to consider the Colony in the matter. They simply
as
14
recognised that it is essential in dealing with the Opium question in Hongkong that we [i.e. the Imperial Government] must act up to the standard set by the Chinese Government."
The Government would seem to have
their taken
instructions-or received
C
But Japan's military expansion scheme is not likely to be completed by 1912. It seems the SALONJI Government, that before resigned a programme of retrenchment was decided upon owing to the unfavourable conditions of the money market both at home aud abroad. The Army estimates for the coming year were reduced by 15,000,000 yen, the Navy Estimates (Daily Press, 30th July.)
by 10,000.000 yen, and those of other
from The Christian Union for the Military developments in Japan during Government departments, by 13,000,000 their impressions in the matter solely
of the the next few years will be watched with yen. Possibly Japan perceives that there
connection of the severance For the defence attention in Europe and America. Vague is no need for haste.
British Empire with the Opium Traffic," the provinces, the Amur Railway prophecies of a coming conflict with the of
or some similar organisation. The body we KUROPATKIN recently United States may safely be disregarded, | alone," General
have named tell the world in their publi- but the signs in Russia which point to a war declared, "is inadequate. Not one route,
cations with all the presuasive force which of revenge cannot be so lightly ignored, but three, are indispensable: the Amur
red ink can give to the words that “what The decision to construct the Amur Rail- Railway, the East Chinese Railway, and the
River Amur.
And these three routes must the Opium Policy of Great Britain has done way, a line 1,530 miles in length, in the
to cause the physical and moral ruin of the short epace of four years, at a time when be connected by the Trans-Siberian line, to
Chinese and other peoples of the Far East second track must be made." Russia's financial position is anything but which a
is inconceivable." In the April issue of satisfactory, is rightly described as a politico-Count WITTE has affirmed that the cost of strategic move of the highest international
their publication named "National Right- eousness," there appeared a table of figures importance. Count WITTE, who has proved himself one of the most far-eeing of Russia's
showing "the rapid increase in recent years in the revenue derived from the local con- statesmen has condemned this vast project
sumption of opium in Hongkong." The as being fraught with untold disaster. In vain
figures-which were stated to have been
has the Government endeavoured to show that its main object is economic and cultural. Experience has proved that colonisation of the Amur country by Russians is is an impracticable ideal. "Agriculture, the staple occupation of the Russian settler," says a recent writer on the subject, "bristles with deterrents in the Far East. Hence the Cossacks live, not by tilling the soil, but by hunting, fishing, bewing an carting wood Wherever to landing places on the rivers. the soil is cultivated and trade kept up, it is exclusively by Chinese and Japanese with whom Russians cannot hope to com- pete." Therefore it is declared that the infiltration of the country by the two Mongol races is, so to say, written in thə Book of Fate as an unavoidable necessity. There are doubtless among the advocates of the scheme many who sincerely anticipate great agricultural developments by the Russian farmer class, but if that were only or even the main reason for this vast under taking there would be no necessity for such panic-born haste. According to the Russian
the Amur Railway and its indispensable accesories will amount to one thousand five hundred million roubles. The official esti- mate is four hundred million roubles. The Russian War Minister has a scheme of army
66
The
reorganisation which is estimated to cost one thousand million roubles, and various other under consideration. costly projects are Where is the money to come from? The Russian Premier does not seem to have any uneasy thoughts in that connection. decisiou to construct the line would, he feels open the sluice-gates certaiu, imme liately of wealth ani a golden flod would be let in from abroad." Vous verrons. Many thought- ful Russians and unbiassel critics in other countries regard the decision as spelling We may be bankruptcy, war and ruiu.
the present permitted to doubt whether
will witness the generation of men plation of the project.
com-
Mr. Alexander Melville, late chief engineer of the s.8. "Powbattan", died at the Government Civil Hospitaron July 26th. Deceased had been death will come as a surprise to his many friends in hospital only three days, and his sudden in the East, also to his people in Dundee, his native place, where he was expected to arrive shortly.
taken from the official annual Blue Books of the Colony, and we do not doubt that they were,—are as follows: —
YEAR.
1857
1897
1898
189 J
1900
1901
1902
1903
190+
1915
1906
"
DOLLARS.
14,776
286,000
357,666
372,00
372, 00
687,000
752,000
75,000
-1,945,000
2,010,000
2,04 1000
It is doubtless intended to establish by this table the belief that opium smoking in the last ten years has enormously increased in Hongkong, but not the most rabid objector to opium smok ng will venture to affirm that."
We have Lot at hand any record of the import of opium in 1857, but the Harbour Master, in his capacity as Superin-
tendent of the Imports aud Exports Offices, included in his last report a table showing the opium imported into the Colony in