Page
WUCHOW AND THE KWANGSI MINISTRY
WEST RIVER. *OF AGRICULTURE.
THE HONG KONG DAILY PRESS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9th, 1929.
!
SOCIAL PROBLEMS
IN HONG KONG.
NAVIGATION DIFFICULTIES. LEGAL POWER TO ENFORCE SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR
PROGRESS IN KWANGSI CAPITAL
[TEOM DOR CHINESE CORRESPONDEST. ]
WrcHow, Feb. 8th.' Your correspondent has just com pleted a trip to Wuchow from Can- ten by the West River. There are several steamers plying between Canton and Wuchow, most of which By the British ng But the quickest way of getting to Wachow from Canton is to take the Canton.
Shamshui Railway to Shamshui and then travel the rest of the way by boat.
The West River is the most pie-
REFORMS.
WHAT LIUCHOW INSTITUTE
HAS DONE.
(FROM `DER CHINTER 'CORRESPONDEST. į
REFORMS.
The community in general, and
KOWLOON COURT ROUND THE COURTS.
CAMEOS.
[BT "HUMANIST"}
"They had two fat pigs in a
at net. Your Worship," explain-"| ed the constable." " There was no shipping circles in particular, should matting in the basket and the pigs' be extremely grateful to the "Rev. legs were sticking through the G. T. Waldegrave for his track and bottom. The animals were in great authoritative statement of the
pain so I arrested the prisoners" social evil? in the port. It is an
Mr. Hamilton smoothed his hair The Kwangsi Government has unpleasant problem, and if allowed
and pointed his pen accusingly at decided to create an Institute for to continue unchecked may seri-Ab Shu and his wife who gazed Industrial Development at Liuchow. ously damage the Colony's pres apprehensively at the Bench
What have you to say!" he de Mr. Tang Taic Tee, M.S., formerly tige, for these things particularly dean of the College of Agriculture | effect crews of merchant ships, who of Sun Yat Sen University, and carry. the news of them over the Mr. Chau Ping Wen, of Nanking. whole world, and it is easy for a are to be joint directors with full port to acquire a reputation, as a
SEVERAL ROBBER SUS- PECTS DISCHARGED.
THE CENTRAL MAGİSTRACY.
The fifteen persons arrested in connection with the 40,000 armed robbery at No. 10, Lower Castle Road last week were again brought before Major C. Willion at the Central Magistracy yesterday when. Inspector Shannon asked for the discharge of eg persons in the second bitch, who are charged with conspiracy to commit, the robbery. manded.
This was granted and only one, a "Piggies no talk and I no sarvy
cock named Laung Leung, defend- laws,' explained, Ah Shu apoloed by Mr. F. E. Nash, was remand- getically
ed for one week. Nevertheless," retorted the in- dignant magistrate, if you and your wife were jambed together in highway you would savvy what ammal net and jolted along the cruelty meant !"..
..
The other batch, held on the more serious charge of arraed robbery, described as a cook-amah in the consisted of five men, and a woman
household entered by the robbers. These defendants were alia remand.
furesque waterway in South China been taken in view of the depend is perhaps a correspondence in the said Ab Shu tentative Ene of $5 id for one week at the request of
and is the commercial connecting link between the Leung Kwang Provinces, From Sam Shui on wards the river runs mainly be tween fairly high mountains some way back from the banks.
administrative, powers, although sick of iniquity.", General Wu Ting Yang, Commis The difficulty of the problem is sioner of the Bureau of Recenstrac-not its intrinsic complexity but that tion, will be the nominal head of things are allowed to side,
Mr. the Department. This decision has
Waldegrave writes a letter, there ence of the mass of the people of
local Press, a Kwangsi on agriculture, and the new Legislative Council, an official as question in the Institute will exercise legal con- trol over farmers and farm landssurance, and no more is heard of
it publicly. in the province, and be able to enforce the introduction of modern Mr. Waldegrave has done his part methods..
by stating some of the facts, and the next step is to examine their significance.
Farmers' Grumbles.
19
Facing The Facts.
We must first accept, as a funds mental, that in all large towns, and especially seaport towns, there, will be prostitution. Mrs. War. ren, to quote Shaw's great char The Institute has actually been acterisation of the type, is every ia existence for some time but fune- where. You cannot suppress her. tioned only as a centre, of learning Efforts have often been made and and experiment. The complaint (as in England at the Restoration against it on the part of the farmers | period) the result is disastrous.. As is that the Institute has erected human nature, "and" economic con- houses, on a more costly and com- attempt must fail. barns, stockyards and chicken ditions, are at present any such Neither im- fortable plan than the former's own morality" ner prostitution in dwelling houses! They appear also crime. In England prostitution, deeply to distrust modern veterinary like gambling, is in an anomalous science and methods of combating position, being neither consten- plant diseases.
anced nor suppressed.
Mr. Tang Tsic Yee has already dono much for agriculture through The intervening country on reports and experiments carried either side is closely cultivated out at Liuchow, and a number of the men who will help him in, his "with vegetables, pad other crops..new duties worked formerly under The land is thickly populated but him in Canton. the houses are poorly constructed, many having thatched routs. Groups of fishermen in small sam- pans may be seen casting their nets and Beets of big, sampans heavily laden with firewood pass frequent ly on their way down to Canton.
Owing to the drought, the West River is at its lowest ebb, being 8 feet below "the normal spring level. Steamers experience The Institute's Experimenta.
The Institute, under Mr. Taug's the greatest difficulty in getting to
direction, has made an agricultural Wuchow and the channel is so nar-survey of the Province, collecting that the specimens of the native flora, ex- Tow and circuiticus
amining the the soil, studying the slightest error by the pilot means existing methods of farming, and
teaching new ideas. grounding.
7 or
It is necessary to keep two men apunding with long bamboo poles in the bowa, and between Wuchow and Nanning, vessels find it im- posible to travel at night. Travel- ling is slow and tedious and it takes 19 hours to traverse the dia- tance from Sham Shui to Wuchow and about 30 hours from Wüchow to Canton.
1
Out here it has to be counten.. anced, but the logical conclusions following the acceptance of that principle are not applied, and we have many of the disadvantages of both licensing and promiscuity. There, 4 extremaly numerous
aly" housea and the "sampans," from which disease is being exten- Besides this there sively spread.
is a very general exploitation of the women concerted for other people's profit.
Government Action,
In the laboratories of the Institute experiments are being carried cut to improve the method of pressing ci and milling sugar cane, and many up-to-date farm implements, including tractors for pioughing have been imported. The Government has undertaken to buy more agricul
To many people". Government livensing of these places is abbor; tural machinery whenever funds rent, and well-meaning ladies and permit, and several firms have sent gentlemen at Home, who judge the tenders for large numbers of trucks, world by their knowledge of Eng. tractors etc. The Institute proland's cathedral cities, are already poses to give particular attention agitating for na ending of the
the introduction of modern licensing system. tu
Geneva, it must machinery besides considering the be remembered, has lent its ear, Wachow the important treaty problems of afforestation and irriga
and is starting to "investigate." port on the West River is a kiadtion of, at present, uncultivated of gateway to Kwangsi being built lund.. partly on the slopes of sandy hills, riking, further away, to mountains.
Wuckow,
place is a strategic point and it is said that he who controls Wuchow controls the Province."
There are many modern concrete buildings in Wuchow, some of them four storeys high. Most of the par- row, crooked streets, characteristic of all the older Chinese cities have been reconstructed into wide and straight reads, clean and well kept, ba: not as wide as those of Canton. They are, however, paved with concrete. In conversation with Mr. Ling of the Bureau of Public Works, your correspondent w told that Wuchow could now boast three and a half miles of good maloos. Modern road construction was started only four years
ago,
and the work is still in full swing. A modern sewage system is being installed but there is as no water laid and people draw their water from the river in buckets and cans The Municipal Govern ment has however just completed plaus for water installation.
Rickshaws Not Wanted.
No rickshaw have yet made their appearance in Wuchow and the chief of the Bureau of Public Works "asid that the Government does not want them. There are row ning automobiles in the place, one is a motor truck.
The population, according the latest censtis, is, roughly 89,000, most of whom are merchants. The Municipal Government appears to be well organised, and modelled upon that of Canton.
Model Farm.
The model farma of the Institute with its wired off chicken runs, its vegetable gardens, pasture land and dairy products has already pro voked much favourable comment and has been the determining factor in the decision of the Government to give the directors of the Institute fuller powers. The Institute has already published many reports and pamphlets on farming conditions in Kwangsi.
RESTAURANT KEEPERS
FAILURE TO RENEW. LICENCES.
Twenty-seven. Chinese restauraat keepers were summoned before Major C. Willson at the Central Magistracy yesterday afternoon, for failure to renew their licenses for keeping public eating houses and the sale of wines.
It therefore behoves us to ím- prove the licensing system, or it will be abolished. That, we know, would be disastrous. The whole like a broken world of prostitution would empty, streets; it would intermingle with sewer, into the the criminal underworld. Disense, criale, drug and white slave traf he would be increased intolerably. At present prostitution is to some degree segregated, and to
some degree under police and medical control.
Two facts thus emerge:- 1. Licensed houses are the lesser of two evils.
2. That the sly house and the sampan (on Mr. Waldegrave's testi- mony) should be suppressed.
Shameful Profis. Looking at the problem for a moment from another angle, whila we all agree that it is tragic for women to be earning their living by prostitution, it is revolting that large number of persons should be making big money out of it.
It is a well-known fact that in Hong Kong, and all the world over, the unfortunate women who ply this trade receive a very small per
But we are not fat e piggies,
"But you will pay a each which will help you to say things next time you take your pigs to market decided Mr. Hamilton.
They paid.
"Why don't you people stop to think?" demanded M:. Hamilton. Fancy putting 24 fully-grown owls into one basket!"
Ng Tau aniled obligingly. "Chickens no mind." he volun- teered.
"I don't believe you." retorted the Magistrate coldly." Pay and perhaps you will know better
next time?
As Ng Tau had no money, he was seat "below" to think things over.
"You," said Mr. Hamilton grave ly to Yow Hip, are a shrew!"
The lady in the witness box gated woodenly and without interest at the indignant magistrate.
"And you," went on the Beach, painting to the man in the case,
are a nuisance. This woman has
lived with you for over eight years and now you want to cast her adrift! Have you no face!!"
"She no my wife and she smashee bowl of rice on my head. She give pleaty tlouble," retorted Wong Li
"No doubt you deserved it!** observed the Magistrate gravely. "Nevertheless, she had no business to assault you."
"I wanches money," interposed You Hip.
I am afraid I cannot oblige you," responded Mr. Hamilton. As you are not his legal wife I cannot grant you a legal separa
is
earn rice for myself," urged the "Me only a coolie and cannot
man in the case.
The Magistrate rubbed his chin reffectively.
"I do not see what I can do if the man persists in losing face with his neighbours by turning you out to starve. It is a difficult position,” he sighed, addressing the woman.
Then came inspiration.
+
"I think," he decided, I will bird you over in the sum of $50 each to keep the peace for six months!
Outside the Court, the woman
commented to her friends upon the
wisdom of the decision.
"But," she asked, "will keeping the peace give me rice
go ahead, with some chance of auc- cess against the sly house and the sampana.
There are, of course, several objections, but though real they are not decisive in the balancing of for and against.
נ་י
The Objections To Official Action.
1. Expense. The scheme would not cost much. It means, in the main, the replacing of present icense holders by officials. In any case, considering the profits clear- ed at presect, it could be made re-supporting.
Sergeant Fitches explained that: the icensees waited until the Chinese New Year to renew their licensees which expired on Decem. ber 31st. They were thus carrying centage of their earnings. They worse than the prison service. The
The
summonsca
the proscution.
HAIPHONG EXTRADITION
REQUEST.
In the case for the extradition of a Chinese who is wanted by the Indo-China Government for alleged embezzlement, which was again be fore Mr. E. I. Wynne-Jones, it was: stated by Mr. H. Somerset Fitzroy, Assistant Attorney-General, that according to the papers received from Haiphong the defalcations amounted to $90,000. He added that the documents did not bear
the seal of the Minster of Justice, and, consequently, "it was necessary to ask for a further week's remand for the documents to be sent to Haiphong for completion.
Mr. F. H. Loseby, for the de- fence objected to a further remand. He pointed out that the docu- ments arrived here nearly two weeks ago, and, incidentally, his client had been detained since be fore Christmas.
Mr. Fitzroy replied that the papers had only been passed down to the police two or three days ago from the Colonial Secretary's office where they had been since their ar rival,
Mr. Loseby answered that they were not concerned with depart mental delays, and he thought the case should procked."
His Worship remanded the case for another week.
THE SOMERSETSHIRE INCIDENTA
In accordance with the loyal necessity of producing a prisoner before the Magistrate on the expiry of every remand, Private James Boyle, of the King's Own Scottish Borders, was before Mr. Wynne Jones in the absence of Mr. R. E. Lindsell who had remanded the prisoner on previous dates, pend. ing receipt of news from Colombo regarding Sergeant Kerr who was alleged to have been stabbed by the
defendant on board the troopship Somersetshire.
Mr. H. Somerset Fitzroy said that no news regarding the condi- tion of the injured man had been received although several letters. had been written by the police. The accused was facing a charge of causing grievous bodily harm, but should the injured man die in the meantime the accused would have to face a more serious charge. However, he would ask for a re mand until this morning when he would apply for a committal to the February Sessions. The re- mand was granted.
ALLEGED FORGERY OF RECEIPTS.
A Chinese who had been before Mr. R. E. Lindsell on a charge of uttering forged documents was also
by remanded Mr. Wynne-Jones until Thursday hert. The defendant, Shing, described as the manager of a waterboat company, is alleged to have forged documents purporting to be receipts for water supplied to the s.s. Hydrangea.
Wm. POWELL, Ltd.
10, Ice House Street
LAST DAY
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Situated Praya East Reclamation Ground (Wanchai)
GRAND OPENING NIGHT
Wing Yung Sunday, February 10th, at 9.15 p.m.
TODAY'S WIRELESS
PROGRAMME.
HOTEL TO BE RELAYED.
NEW. TURES
NEW ATTRACTIONS NEW STUNTS
30 European Artistes
NEW TURNS NEW ATTRACTIONS NEW STUNTS
30 European Artistes Performing
COCKATOOS, GEESE, PONIES, E70, E70,
4. Administrative. It would not be a pleasant job, but not much on business for about two months get as much proportionately, say, necessary service could be got by without license. It was necessary B.K the unbusinesslike inventor offering aancial and other induce to enforce payment owing to the whose discoveries are placed on menta. Probably it would be well practice of many businesses clos the market by natute financiers. to keep ao one on the job for very ing down altogether during Chinese Chinese girls are particularly at long. And its nature would be bid- New Year with consequent loss of the mercy of exploiters. I do not des under tactful euphemisms,.e.g. revenue,
were know under what rules the licensed "Special Area Service.' taken out after reminders by the houses are run, but there can be The actual rules and regulations Colonial Treasury have produced no doubt about the exploitation of are a complex matter, but by no so result..
girls in the "sly "' places.
means beyond the powers of our Seventeen of the summonses were The logical conclusion is that itable and sympathetic Civil Service The University.
withdrawn as payment had since we must have licensed houses, the to devise, been made. Another was with Government which has to tolerate 3. The moral aspect.-It may be The most interesting thing, in Wuchow is the Kwangsi Provincial drawn on the licensee satisfying the them, owing to force of circum argued that this would offer too University, located on a group of Court that the delay in payment stances, should be made responsible good a thing. Against this one must DANCE BAND OF HONG KONG LIONS. TIGERS, LEOPARDS, ELEPHANTS, HORSES. hills across the river. It was be had been due to his being in oor for running them, and should not remember that girls are at
present allur- gan only a year or so ago and new respondence with the authorities be permitted to farm them out to beguiled into the life by
ing" promises of procurers." They has six modern four-storied build-asking that the renewal fee be $250. private enterprise.
This is the only way in which would at least know the truth be- ings of brick and concrete, includ- the same as last year, instead of ing two dormitories. All the equip $500. He stated that his petition this very profitable business of fore they entered. They would be ment is modern, having been pur was granted on February 5th, and financing these girls and taking a in a much better position to leave handsome profit out of their earn the life than at present, No one chased mostly from Germany and the money had been paid, England. About $3,000,000 was The other nine defendants were ings can be stopped. It is bad would be personally interested in spent by the Government on the fined $5 on each of the two sum that prostitution should have to keeping them to it; and they would building alone which is still being monses. One or two of them en be licensed, it is worse that the probably be able to save enough added to The Provincial Govern-deavoured to obtain a few weeks' exploitation of prostitution should money to face the world on their
Farious tales of the bad also be tacitly licensed at the same. ment i contributing 8500,000 a
The very fact of Government month for building and current ex-state of business, attempts to raise time. It is here suggested that the penses. There are now about 400 inouey by mortgage, and debtors Government should obtain from its control would restrain many girls atudents.
not discharging their obligations police, medical services and any from starting at all, and with the Wuchow, though attractive, is were put forward explanations other sources it can tap an estimate sly house rigorously hunted down full of gambling bouses and opium for the delay in payment. Hin of the " prostitution demand" of the licensed quarter would be the dens. The Government propose to Worship refused to allow time and the Colony, and should manage its only proposition. For all that it close down the latter but no steps, made orders for immediate past own licensed quarters both Chi is unlikely in Hong Kong, that apparently are being taken to close meat or the closing down of the nese and European. Then it could there would be any lack of recruits. the gambling houses.
"(Continued on nezi Column),
R. B. premises.
grace.
DEL
-N
!
The following programme will be broadcast to-day from the Govers. ment Broadcasting Station Z.B.W. on 350 metres:—
1,48 p.m.-Weather report. 6.30 p.m.-Demonstration pro- gramme.
748 pm Evening weather re part.
p.m. Evening programme. (Columbis records).
p.m.-Dance music relayed from
8
the roof garden of the Hong Kong Hotel..
10.-New buletin.
10.10 p.m-Dance music from the Hong Kong Hotel
10.30 p.m.-Close down.
MATINEES:-Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 4.15 p.m.
Children Half-Price to Matinees Only.
Prices of Admission:
persons)
Full Box (6
Single seat 1st Chairs
2nd firs Stall
Gallery
$20:
Soldiers and Sailors in Uniform Half-Price to 2nd. Ubära and
Stalle Caly.
BOOKING AND FLAN AT MOUTRIES,