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242
SETTLEMENT EXTENSION AT
SHANGHAI,
WAI WU-PU'S REPLY TO BRITISH MINISTER.
The following is a copy of a letter sent from the Wai Wu-pu to H. B. M.'s Minister at Peking:
"Sir,-We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter dated the 24th day of the 12th Moon, 34th year; of Kwang Han, which states that in the early part of the 6th Moon of the then current year the Consular Body in Shanghai addressed a .com- munication to the Viceroy of the Liang Kiang Provinces asking that the Northern Boundary of the International Settlement be extended
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[March 20, 1909.
LOCAL SPORT.
SHIELD.
44
WON BY H.M.8. BEDFORD : PRESENTED BY H. E. THE GOVERNOR.
Municipal Council, without permission from ;| the Chinese Authorities, filled пр
the Chunhong- pang Creek between Shanghai and Paoshan,HONGKONG FOOTBALL CHALLENGE and turned it into a road and removed the boundary stones and posts outside Wah Hing Fang in the Paoshan District and at the Sotuh of the Paoshan Road when it joins the Muni- cipal Road. These acts on the part of the Municipal Council are deliberate trespasses, and we feel bound to request Your Excellency to give instructions to the Municipal Council not to fill up any more creeks in future and to re-erect the removed bundary stones and posts in their original positions forthwith. We beg Your Excellency to take note of what we have said and to act accordingly."
:
In the presence of His Excellency the Governor, Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Erskine (retired), Admiral Lambton, General Broadwood and fully 3,000 spectators, the finalists in the Shield Competition, the Buffs and the Bedford, met on the ground of the Hongkong Football Club on Mar. 13th and after the best game that has been witnessed, or will be witnessed this season, the men of the cruiser carried off the historic shield and the gold medals. Although the Buffs were defeated
a manly game, and played with exceedingly hard luck, the goal which made the Bedford winners being scored from a penalty kick, and through a regrettable, but unavoidable, mistake. The Buffs were defending their goal when a whistle blew, and one of the defenders, thinkina it was the referee's whistle, picked up the balg The referee had no alternative but to grant 1. penalty kick, which was taken by Shirt, the centre forward of the Bedford, and he recorded the winning goal amidst deafening applause.
Final: H.M.S. Bedford, 4; Buffs, 3.
to the Shanghai-Nanking Railway on the SUGAR REFINING IN THE FAR EAST they were by no means disgraced. They played following grounds:-1, that although the area of the proposed extension is under the Chinese Municipal Council yet thery are very lax in police and sanitary matters; and 2, that when the Settlement was extended in the 25th year it was intended to include that piece of land in the extension, but the then Viceroy refused to agree to it because he feared that the Railway Station might thereby be placed with- in the limits of the Settlement and because the dispute arising out of the foreigners purchasing land in the Paoshan District was not settled Now nearly all the land between the existing Settlement boundary and the Railway is owned by foreigners and it is not sought to include the Railway Station in the proposed exten- sion. Your Excellency's letter goes on to say that nevertheless the Viceroy of the Liang-Kiang replied that the reason for the extension of 25th year Was that the Settlement was never again to be extended; that Paoshan was not an open port and therefore it was not desirable that it should be included in the Settlement; and that the Chinese Municipal Council would gradually but certainly perfect its police and sanitary arrangements. And finally Your Excellency says that the matter is one of the utmost im- portance and cannot be allowed to rest there and that the administration of the Chinese Municipal Council is going from bad to worse and it, therefore, is necessary to take steps to protect and safeguard the large English in- terests in Shanghai and requests that the strip of land in qusstion be placed under the control of the International Municipal Council.
"Our board has wired the High Commis- sioner of Commerce for the South to enquire into and report upon the matter and he has reported as follows:- The International Settlement is really extremely extensive. In the 25th year Liu Kun-yi, the then Viceroy decided to extend the Settlement by 2150 odd mow, nearly twice the sizes of the orginal British and American settlements, and the rea- son why this very generous concession was made was that the Settlements, was never again to be extended. The piece of land sought to be in- cluded in the Settlement lies between the existing Settlement boundary and the Railway and is in the Paoshan District which is not by Treaty open to foreign trade.'
Now the leasing of land in the area in question by the foreigners is contrary to established usage; and Our board has requested the High Commissioner of Com- merce for the South to instruct the Shanghai Taotsi to urge the Consuls in Shanghai to order their respective nationals to move back to the Settlement in accordance with the treaties and has also communicated with Your Excellency on the subject. Therefore, how can that be made an excuse for extending the Settlement? The treaty expressly says that Shanghai is to be an open port; but Paoshan is outside it and it follows that it cannot be included in the Settlement. Under the foregoing circumstances, we cannot see our way to comply with your Excellency's request to place the land between the northern boundary of the Settlement and the Railway under the control of the Inter- national Municipal Council, as it is contrary to the Treaties. As to the police and sanitary matters, they are China's domestic affairs and will be gradually put right and perfected by the local authorities in the interests of safety and
peace.
"Last year the High Commissioner of Com- merce for the South reported that the
At-
The call of time was followed by a wild rush across the ground to the Club matshed, where His Excellency the Governor was to present the prizes. The scene on the ground before the stand was one of delirious delight, the bluejackets, who were present in force, and apparently intoxicated with joy, being out of all control. Civilian, naval and military police combined in endeavouring to restore order, but the sailors could not be restrained until they had nearly suffocated the winners with their caresses. length the heroes of the hour, were allowed to line up in a semi-circle before His Excellency the Governor and party, and Rickard, the captain of the winning team, stepped forward to receive the gold medal which accompanies the Shield. As His Excellency handed over the trophy the victorious captain was greeted with roars of applause, and this was maintained as each mem- ber of the team received a medal and congratula- tions from the Governor. Then the coveted Shield was handed over amidst greater cheering When this had subsided three c eers were called for the winning team, which were heartily given, and a "tiger" added.
than ever.
Reviewing the conditions of the sugar refining industry in Hongkong and other places, and after recognizing the inevitable competition from Japan, Chinese Public Opinion ventures the opionion that, given a fair field and no favours, the English companies can hold their own against any competitor. This is un. doubtedly true as regards the Eastern markets outside of Japan. In this country everything points to an early monopolization of the refined sugar business by the Japanese refineries. The trade returns indicate that Japan will con- tinue to increase her imports of raw sugars, and correspondingly diminish the imports of refined grades until her local consumption is fully covered. How far this consumption is capable of extension depends on the education of the Japanese to a preference for the refined article, and the ability of the refiners to keep the price within the With purchasing power of the poorer classes. this big home demand to supply and cater to, under natural conditions, it would be a long time before Japan will figure as a competitor with Hongkong for the supply of China and other markets. Both Japan and Hong- kong receive their supplies of raw sugars from
the producing centers of Java and the Philippines, and are placed on equal footing in this respect. The difference in freights and labour favours Hongkong in determining the cost of refining and their ability to coutrol the market. With the con- ventional tariff on refined sugars in Japan' of about six-tenths of a cent per pound it gives a practical monopoly of the home market to the Japanese refiners, and even with a rebate on exports they cannot hope to overcome the advantages enjoyed by Hongkong, on supplying the China market unless they receive certain concessions in freights from subsidized lines that will make it possible to compete. If the present policy of Japan is an indication of what may happen in the future, this lowering of freights in favour of the Japanese product will be the determining factor on which the trade will swing. In 1902, Japan imported raw sugars to the extent of Yen 11,007,600 and in 1905 to Yen 14,046,778. These figures from the Japanese official reports, show that in the short space of five years the trade formerly enjoyed by the Hong- kong refiners with Japan has been practically wiped out, and is a striking object lesson of what the world must expect in other lines of industry. Up to the present sugar does not figure in the exports from Japan, and by their refiners have covered the home market and are ready to reach out for the China field, another formidable factor will have appeared in the field. The passage of the Philipine Tariff Bill will ever- tually lead to the establishment of one or two large refineries in the Islands, or to the erection of large modern central factories where it will be comparatively easy to manufacture a sugar white enough for the Eastern Market with little or no extra cost. Japan has a supply of about 50,000 tons from Formosa, and is making an effort to develop this industry by government subsidies. In the last four years, including the estimates for the present year, the Government will have expended Yen 644,000 in the encouragement of the sugar industry in Formosa. This field will,
one of which they won and the however, uerer assume any great importance as other lost, two against the Police, both of a producing centre, except under the stimulas which they won, and one against the Kow- of heavy government bounties or a high protec-joon U. C. which they won. They also played tive tariff, as the sugar content of the cane is one tennis match against the Kowloon C. C not high enough to make the venture profitable, which they lost.
was
Then there was a call for the Buffs, and as Dare sprang down from the matshed shortly afterwards the cheering was renewed. It was some time before the others arrived, and some- body said they were not coming. But another great shout heralded their approach, and they were hustled and lifted into the open space before the Governor. Cheering was renewed as Bartlett, the captain, received the Cup presented for the runners up, from His Excellency, and there was more cheering as each man presented with a silver medal. The skipper of the winning team then called for three cheers for the Buffs, the call being heartily complied with and a tiger added, The compliment was. returned on the call of Bartlett and most of the spectators departed somewhat hoarse, but thoroughly satisfied with the spirit shown by both teams, and with the excellent match which had been added to the annals of Hongkong football.
KOWLOON BOWLING GREEN CLUB. The annual report and statement of accounts will be presented to the members of this Club at the annual meeting to be held on Monday, 29th March. The report states that the club is in a prosperous condition, although, owing to extra- ordinary expenditure, typhoon damage, ex- tension of ground, etc., the balance sheet does not show the profit anticipated. The member- ship now stands at 99, an increase of five over last year.
The results of the matches played during the season are given. The Club played five bowling matches, two against the Civil Service
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