September 14, 1908.)
had been effectively opened for three years, whichever may be the later. When this Convention was ratified, however, Great Britain appended to the ratification a declaration to the effect that the occupation of the Chumbi Valley by British forces should cease after the payment of three annual instalments of the indemnity, provid- ed that the trade marts specified in the Convention has been opened for three years, and that in the meantime the Thibetan authorities had complied in all respects with the terms of the Convention. Only in the event of the evacuation of the Chumbi Valley not being complete in the time anticipated in the Declaration was
any arrangement made with Russia for "a friendly exchange of views.” The possibility of failure or evasion on the part
of
the Thibetans to make the payments regularly was foreseen, and it would have been lamentable diplo. matic weakness indeed had Great Britain, in entering into the arrangement she did with Russia concerning Thibet, allowed to that Power any right of interference in the matter of the fulfilment of the engagements made by Thibet, and ratified by China, as suzerain.
The next instalment of the indemnity is not payable until January 1st, and, if there exist any grounds for fearing that the Thibetans will not have the requisite sum ready for delivery, as in the years which have passed since the Convention was signed, we have very little doubt that a word to the Chinese Government would speedily dispel any misgivings on the subject.
RANDOM HEFLECTIONS.
Pity the plight of the poor Chief Justice. The time is at hand when the Supreme Court should rise for the annual vacation, but legal gentlemen continue to introduce fresh litigation with a thoughtlessness that is the despair of his Lordship. On Tuesday he gave vent to his feelings in another of the complaints which are not uncommon to the Bench, and when a case whiob was expected to occupy two days ran through the week and did not finish then, his Honour felt quite disgusted. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. Japan, however, is not a great way off, and there even a Chief Justice may forget bis woes.
Are we likely to arrive at a solution of the subsidiary coinage problem ? The question has been so often discussed before that people, realising in the multitude of words a darken. ing of wisdom, were fain to leave it alone and regard the evils for which it was responsible as inevitable. Whether such an attitude will be maintained is difficult to say. Whether it does or does not, the Government mean to clear themselves from all blame in the matter. His Excellency, I understand, has issued a set of questions to leading business men of the com. munity asking plainly what they want, prohibi- tion or not, and if the Government set on the opinions expressed, as seems not unlikely, they cannot be blamed for the results. They have thrown the responsibility on the commercial interests of the community, and they osnuol refuse to accept it. This thoroughness and directness is a characteristic of His Excellency, who deserves to be congratulated on his policy.
Many people possess the idea that the Sanitary Board is composed of a body of men whose work may be necessary but whose sayings and doings are not of very great interest. But it is not so. I have heard of meetings where the dramatic element was conspicuous. I have heard there were occasions when jokes were perpetrated and when the proceedings were decidedly lively. Take last Tuesday's meeting for example. How dull it would have been had it not been for Mr. Hooper, who, like the pugnacious Trishman, never misses an opportunity of whacking at an official head when it is exposed. Not literally, of course. Were it otherwise, the standing orders would have to include the Queensbury rules.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
The Volunteer Emergency Corps, suggested few weeks ago, in the Daily Press, is an accomplished fact, and a capable body of young men, willing to render assistance to those in
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peril on the deep, will assemble on the Prays when typhoons threaten and show that Britons The gallantry of the are as ready to brave danger as ever they were. Astrea bluejacksta during the last typhoon is an example which will be before the Corps and there is little doubt that not a few members will reek to emulate it, should the opportunity be given.
The natatory achievements of the young Dock swimmers are still exciting comment. No one has undertaken to beat the exellent record which they established. They may have been favoured to some extent by the tide, but, not be easily surpassed even under similar that notwithstanding, their performance will conditions. I hear that the same young men contemplate swimming from Laichikok to Stonecutters, which represents A greater distance than any they have yet covered.
with ideas to express.
The results which have attended my efforts in ventilating grievances and suggesting new schemes have brought a number of people to me I have received refers to a shelter for passengers The latest suggestion at the Causeway Bay tram junction. People proceeding Shauki wan way or returning have to slight there and perhaps wait some little time for a car. In disagreeable weather, rainy for instance, it is no joke to stand in that rather exposed place, and a shed of some des shield from the biting blasts of winter, or a oription would afford a shelter from the rain, a protection from the fierce rays of the summer Baa. There is ample space for such an erection. Perhaps the General Managers will take note,
Since the days of infancy I have heard of the geese that lay golden eggs, and I was delighted the other day to read in a Canadian paper that they breed 'em in China. If you will grant me tion for the information of breeders that I bave a free advt., Mr. Editor, I would like to men- a consuming desire to procure for my farmyard don't know exactly where in a few good-laying specimens of these birds. I breed 'em; but here is the paragraph :-
China they
The Chinese have a queer way of collect. ing gold. A certain number of, geese are kept in the gold fields, and once in so often they are weighed. Those which weigh so much are killed and their crops examined for gold. It is said that their owners get 8350,00) worth of gold a year in this way. There are no gold-fields in Hongkong which are used as poultry yards I believe, so that if to insist on a proper guarantee that the birds any dealer is attracted by my offer, I shall have have been well fattened in a Chinese gold-field.
From geese to puppy dogs is not a long jump. One belongs to one branch of Natural History and the other to another. The para- graph in the D. P. the other day about dog fleeh being regarded
great delicacy by the native population of Nanoing set me wondering on many subjects-as for instance, how many of the lost, stolen, or strayed pet dogs of Hongkong have gone up the West River consigned to the dog bu cheries of Nanning? Again, who has not heard the allegation strenuously denied that the Chinese are as fond of roast dog as of roast pie? Evidently one of the old race of poets who flourished in the early days at Cantoa knew what he was writing about when he described in verse a Chinese dinner and mentioned this incident:-
Covers changed, he brightened up,
And thought himself in luck When close before him, what he saw
Looked something like a duck. Still, cautious grown, but, to be sure,
His brain he set to rack, At length he turned to one behind
And, pointing, cried: “Quack, Quack” The Chinese gravely shook his head,
Next made a reverend bow; And then expressed what dish it was
By uttering Bow-wow-wow.
RODERICK Random:
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THE FRENCH CONVEN T
IN HONGKONG.
DIAMOND JUBILEE.
"12 SEPTEMBRE, 1848." This simple in- oription above the entrance in the main corridor of the French Convent is elcquent of the event gious observances the diamond jubilee of this which is celebrated to-day. To-day with reli-
useful institution will be honoured, The historical event was not proclaimed as might have been expected, and it was only by sccident that the news leaked out that the historical coon- sion would be marked in a befitting manner. No ostentation, no self-advertisement is found here. The individual is sunk in the cause. The with a little knowledge of Hongkong knows how work is everything, is all important, and any one
the work proclaims itself.
Sixty years in Hongkong! Think of it ! A life-time spent in the service of others! Think of the sacrifics, the devotion, and the toil which the sisters have brought to the discharge of their self-imposed task. Think of the failures which must have disheartened them, the misunderstandings which must have filled their hearts with grief, and the ingratitude which must have made them almost despair Yet they persisted, With prayers and sacrifices they continued, and as a devout sister explained "God has blessed our work.”
"12 September, 1848." It takes us back almost to the time of the British occupation, Hongkong was then a barren rock, feverish and unhealthy. Not the place for weak women, Yet the French Sisters found their way here. Their arrival in the Colony was not contemplated at that early period. The three Frenchwanen who were the founders of the movement “in Hongkong accompanied the French Bishop to foreigners they had to seek some other field Forcade to Japan, but that country being closed in which to labour. Hongkong was chosen. One can well imagine there was ample scope for their noble influence in the Colony at that time. The soldiers who were quartered here in large oumbers would be rough in speech and manner. The merchants who were established here would do little more than attend to their own business. And the Chinese residents would have less regard for human life than at present. How much to be done in education, in caring for the sick and needy, and in life saving? Aye, life saving! How many hundreds of girls who would otherwise have been left to die have been rescued, nurtured, and brought up to be useful members of the community. Bravely the three sisters set themselves to the work which they found at their hand. In a short time they had won their way to the hearts of those hands was indeed blessed. to whom they ministered. The labour of their
was given to them by the community and by the Government and prosperity attended their efforts until now they represent a factor which is of considerable importance in the life of the Colony.
Encouragement
The French Convent has grown up with the Colony itself. The first to be established it in still the first in importance. The sisters would not say so They are too modest. They take no credit for the success which they have achieved, but, nonetheless, the community recog、 · nise lives of self saorifice and hard work. From small beginning the movement grew little by little, and to-day we see the commodious Adile de la Sainte Enfance, with hospics attached for old women, on the Prays East, and the fine new home for foundlings and cripples, opened this year at Wong-nei-o heong. It is interest- ing to note that no fewer than 50,000 children have been received into the homes during the past sixty years, giving" an of 300 per annum. QI, course, many thede children were taken in only to but wherever the babes had a chanos for
it was not neglected. In the early these missionaries rescued many a little from death or life-long misery,➡many, a time they even bought children, always giris-from their parents. Boys were held in greater re- gard. Yes," said one sister, we bought bables, poor little girls: we could get threa girls for sixty cents.' Surely the record of the Orphanage is one to be proud of? We have pointed to the number of children received. It
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