436
premises very often were used. The same practice was in vogue at the Hongkong Club, where naval and military officers and others were admitted.
Mr. Barlow-Fat that is provided for in the
rules.
His Lordship-What is the rule about
subscribers ?
Mr. Barlow-They pay $3 a month, and have
no entrance fee.
His Lordship (to Mr. Harris) --Your client appears to have paid an entrance fee!
Mr. Harris-He denies it. What really happened was he paid $15 against his bar book.
Defendant was called, and said he went with acquaintances to St. George's Club and found it rather a nice place. He was asked to become a member, but declined because he ojected to paying an entrance fee of $3 a month when he was so long out of the Colony. He was willing to use the Club as a visitor provided he could pay a nominal sum, but did not want a voice in the management. He did not sign any form proposing himself as a member, neither did he give the Committee an address where he could always be found. He never received a noti. a member, fication of his appointment as neither did he receive a notice of any meeting or a copy of the memorandum and articles of
association.
In cross-examination he said he did not ascertain how far his privileges went as a visitor at the Club. He claimed he had been a visitor for two years at a dollar a month.
Your opinion was that you were not a mem- ber, and had no voice in the management?-Yes. Then how did you come to sign a proposal form? I have no recollection of signing it. It may have been presented to me promiscuous- ly and I signed without observing what it
was.
-
You say you had no notice of your election? --None whatever.
And how did you know you had the right to use the Club?-I went there as a risitor.
His Lordship said that when Mr. Barlow brought the case he had not much doubt about the matter. He thought the liquidator was perfectly justified, and was bound to bring the action, although it could not be sustained in face of the evidence of the defendant who said he had never consented, did not become a member, and never recollected paying an entrance fee. A person becoming a member assumed liability, but it seemed to his Lordship that the defendant never had an intention of doing any. thing of the sort. He was quite willing to use the Club for payment of a dollar a month, but his Lordship did not find any consent on the defendant's part to do what plaintiff wanted the Court to find he did. His Lordship therefore found that the defendant was not a member, and entered judgment for him,
The same plaintiff then proceeded against E. J. Hales to recover $12 for goods had and received and $25 subscription; and against C. D. Small to recover $5.70 for goods had and
received and $25 subscription.
After hearing the evidence in each action, his Lordship entered judgment for plaintiff.
DEPARTURE OF THE MILITARY TEAM.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
The Hongkong Military Cricket Team left Hongkong by the China Navigation Steamship Company's s.s. Chinhua yesterday for Shanghai, where they will play cricket. tennis and golf matches, and leave Shanghai May 27th per China Navigation Steamship Company'ss.s. Chingtu for Kobe whence they will entrain for Yokohama. They will play at Kobe on the return journey. The team consists of Capt. H. H. C. Baird, Capt Brierley, Capt. Greenway, Capt. Garnett, Lieut. Crookenden, Lieut. Green, Lieut. Byrne, Lieut. Bagnall, Lieut. Anderson, Lieut. I. Innes. Capt. Beasley, at present at Shanghai, joins the Team upon their arrival there, and Lieut. Whyte leaves Hongkong per 8.5. Empress of | India on 22nd May for Shanghai and proceeds with the Team per 8.8 Chingtu to Kobe. Thomas Cook and Son have arranged the trip.
The team will also play polo at the various ports.
Messrs.
SHIPPING NOTES.
Two new steamers called the Kitano and Tokiwa, each having an aggregate tonnage of 8,600 tons, will be placed on the European service of the Nippon Yuson Kaisha. One of the new liners was constructed in the Mitau Bishi Shipbuilding Yard and the other in the
Kawasaki Yard.
The Nippon Yusen Kaisha fleet at present comprises eighty steamers ranging between 700 and 8,500 tons, with an aggregate tonnage of about 299,300 in addition to forty steam launches representing a total tonnage of about 1.400. Besides these vessels, the company is taking charge of seven steamers with an aggre gate tonnage of 27.291, which were prizes of war taken by the Navy, and two steamers with a total tonnage of 8.452 belonging to the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. These Government steamers, says a Tokyo dispatch to the Asahi, are used in carrying Australia. Owing to the cargo to India or depression in the marine transport business since last year the company has five steamers lying idle and not sufficient cargo can be obtained to load the Government vessels held in trust, thus adding to the difficulties of the company, which is anxious to return these steamers to the Government. The Navy and Agriculture and Commerce Departments have no means of keeping them, however. No pur- chasers for the steamers willing to give reason- "able prices can be found at present. It has therefore been arranged by the company and the Government that the steamers shall be retained by the company, and an allowance made by the Government towards the expense of mainten
ance.
The Philippine Commission has killed the Assembly bill prohibiting the employment of foreigners as captains, engineers and assistant engineers on steamers in the coastwise trade. The object of the bill is to favour seamen who are residents of the Philippine islands or of the United States as opposed to those who owe al- legiance to foreign countries, and is the result of the repeated efforts that have been made on the part of Filipino engineers and officers of vessels to get legislative preference over those owing allegiance to foreign countries. Accord- ing to a report made by the burean of naviga- tion, there are 217 steamers operating in these islands, the total number of available engineers, including general engineers, first assistant, second assislant and river and harbor engineers, is 457, of whom 12 are Americans, 422 Filipinos and 23 foreigners.
In the enquiry held at the British Consulate, Kobe, with regard to the stranding of the Indrani on Mushima Island, the finding of the Court was as follows: That the stranding was due firstly to the under-estimation of the speed of the ship between Takaikami and Mushima, the estimates made of the distance differing greatly, the pilot's estimate being over 10 miles and the Third Officer's 81, whereas the true distance was 14 miles. Secondly, to an unusual set of the tide to the N.W. in the neighbourhood of Mushima, not anticipated by the pilot. The Court is satisfied that the absence of soundings being taken did not contribute in any way to the accident, there being no change in the depth of water, and that
standard errors of the the correctly known and applied. cumstances the Court hold that the Master, Captain Macfarlane, must be held free from all blame, but it considers that the pilot committed an error in judgment, seeing the conditions of weather. in not ordering the Master to anchor before approaching narrow waters. The Court considers that the 3rd Officer might have used his discretion in warning the Master, after he had gone below for his breakfast. that the Weather seemed thicker. The costs, amounting to £6-12-6, were ordered to be paid by the Mas- ter, as being a party to the proceedings in Court."
compass were In these cir-
The Cunard Steamship Co.'s report for last year shows that the profits for the year, includ. ing £109,882 brought forward, amount to nearly £300,000. To this is added nearly £100,000
[May 24, 1909.
from the insurance fund and £50,000 from the reserve fund. After debiting income tax and depreciation for ships and wharf properties there is only a balance of £3,582, which is carried forward to profit and loss. The report states that the financial crisis in the United States depreciated freights and disorganised the west- bound third-class traffle, the number landing at New York and Boston falling from 1,116,000 in
1907 to 835,000 in 1908.-
According to the Japanese newsaper Hochi, a certain party interested in marine insurance is reported to have stated that, during the Russo- Japanese war, the Japanese Goverment chartered for campaign purposes many Japanese vessels, with the consequence that the number of ships disqualified for registration with Lloyds through unfitness has largely increased. This has had a disastrous effect on post-bellum marine trans- portation operations. These vessels being unfit for Japanese coastal voyages, wrecks ocour so frequently as to make it appear that the ships are but instruments for casting cargoes in the sea. The marine insurance companies have been thereby so hard hit, as to have concerted measures to drive these vessels from the field. One method has been to refuse insurance on the hull, insuring the cargo only, at the same time raising the premiums. This resulted in a doerense by half of the number of policies effected last year, as compared with the previous year; but with a proportionate decrease in the number of shipwrecks.
CHINA INLAND MISSION.
The China Inland Mission, according to the
report presented to the annual meeting in the Queen's Hall last month, has now 928 repre- sentatives at work, recruited from many denominations, chiefly in the British Empire The total shows an and the United States. increase of 28 for the year. and of 193 since 1902. The income, £65,329, shows decreases of £241 in receipts here and £6,660 in receipts from America and Australasia-on the mission field itself. But & the receipts for 1907 included a special fand of £8,0 0 for famine relief, the ordinary income shows a considerable growth. On the very day when funds had to be appor- tioned and telegraphed to Shanghai, a donation of £5,000 was received. There are more than
churches 21.00 communicants in the mission's 2.507 having been received during the year. The report alluded to revivals in Manchuria anp Korea, as well as here and there in China, the characteristic features being "the overwhelming and poignant sense of sin, expressed at times in tompests of agonized cries and tears until the noise has been heard afar "-contrition and confession being followed by reconciliation and restitution.
Mr. Theodore Howard, the chairman, said that a wonderful blessing had come upon the aboriginal tribes as well as on the Chinese and All Manchus und Koreans already referred to. the mission's financial needs had been met, though not a single appeal for money had been made.
Mr. James Stark, who for 16 years has been at the mission's headquarters in Shanghai, said that more than half of the 30,00 converts since the beginning of the mission had been made in the last seven years. A pare church rather than a large church was the ainì always kept in view. To avoid pauperizing the converts, they were required to pay half the cost of maintaining the mission schools.
second meeting was held at night in the same hall.
WIRELESS TELEGRAPH AT THE PHILIPPINES.
P170,000 has been appropriated for the bureau of posts for the construction of eight wireless stations in the archipelago at the following points: Maasin, Leyte; Surigao and Mambayo in Misamis; Cuyo, Culion, and Puerto Princesa in the province of Palawan; Bojeador, Ilocos Norte; and Basco, Batanes Islands. The construction of these stations has been proposed in order to give telegraphic conmunication with points between which it has been impossible to maintain cables at a reasonable cost.