な
The
Daily Press.
HONGKONG, OCTOBER 6TH, 1874.
AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM. TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS." Sra--It is melancholy to find intelligent men in treating of the terrible visitation we have just been subjected to ignoring reason and the vidence of their own senses through the miser- able spirit of faction, for such I call the feeling which animates those who are attempting to hound down Mr. Deane, aud make bim à victim for the shortcomings of others. I have read the i two letters in your paper of to-day, the one beaded, "Alteram Partem No. 2" and signed "More Fair Play," the other "The Typhoon Scandal" and signed "Citizen," and I feel bound to say that two more flimsy, flippant, and illogical effusions I have never met with. “More Fair Play," in reference to my first let- ter, expresses himself in doubt as to whether I wrote in fun or earnest," This writer's idea of "fun" seems peculiar, though indeed I do oot believe any such doubt as be expresses ever entered his mind. He characterizes my letter as "thoughtless," because he thinks I can only have written at random, and considers he bas made a great point, in showing up what he no doubt thinks an inconsistency. Quoting from my letter he says, "During the night of the ty. phoon a great purtion of the Police Force was on night duty, and had to be relieved in due course. Here comes the triumphant point of this sige, which will utterly crash the writer and ring the death knell of poor Mr. Deane, Now," says he, "if it was safe for policemen to be sent unt as relief, there could have been no danger in sending them out to save life or extinguish a fire ?"-Sir, if your correspondent bad read aright my letter, which, "thoughtless" na he calls it, was at least intelligible and plain, he inuet have seen that the main reason I ad- duced for not sending out a party to assist in saving life from shipwreck, was that a more paramonet and necessary duty bad shortly to he performed by them, namely, the relief of those who were then present ou night duty. Those men, who must have been drenched and worn, and perhaps severely hurt from the fall. ing tiles and debris, must have been relieved by fresh men, for it was absolutely necessary that this large atraggling city, rainona at it is along the face of the harbor from three or four miles, should not be left on such a night without police, yet such must have been the case had Mr. Denne diverted the force at his command to the assistance of the dibay and the other wrecks.
As to Mr. Deane's refusal to ring the fire bell, I think be did quite right in not doing so. It is Low made clear that when asked to have it rung, he knew that sufficient aid was at band, and that there was no necessity whatever for doing so. Why add to the horrors of that dread- ful night by sounding a needless alarm of fire and belping to create a dangerous panic! "More Fair Play would have the fire bell rung at any rate; just like the man who having purchased watering machine, persisted in using it, thongh Heaven was sending upon his garden bountiful showers. It really seems to me that "More Fair Play," in bis auxiety to cast blame upon Mr. Deane, would have written more cheerfully, if we had had a little of that “bloodshed and plundering" upon which he so flippantly writes, which happily for us we have
not been visited with.
Citizen," pour other correspondent, takes a different view of my letter and unintentionally helps to prove the case I have successfully made out for Mr. Deane. My argument is, he states, that because Macao with its miserable sonrecrows of Eurasia: 8, or something similar, was louted on the Typhoon night, that Hong- kong with its plucky and stalwart inhabitants ran the risk of being similarly treated, had not Mr. Deane acted as he did and coufined his force ap in the barracks." Now, Sir, what right has "Citizen" to insult the respectable For tuguese inhabitants of Hongkong and Macao in this manuor? Many of them may be Eurasians but that is no disgrace. Take them all in all, the Portuguese are very good specimens of humanity. They have, I feel assured, as much pluck" as Europeans. Macao until this un fortunate Typhoon was one of the best policed oties in the East. Life and property there
were secure, but on that trying occasion, from a variety of causes, it is pretty clear the police broke down, and so there was looting, incendi- arism, and bloodshed. The conduct of the police, the military and citizens since then deserve all praise. I should like to know where this person, who styles himself "Citizen," was on that night. Sure I am that he was not one of the gallant five who risked their own lives so bravely in resening so many persons from the Albay - allude to Messrs. MacEwen, Baird the Brothers Taufer and Lieut. Prior, Sure I am also that be was not one of the heroic band that turned out with Mr. J. Me- Leod to extinguish the fire.
"Unquestionably," continues "Citizen,” “there was a great deal of petty plunder going on, which it is to the disgrace of the police that it was allowed, but even on the typhoon night there were sufficient young and able Europeans in the street to have rendered an attack on any one of the Bauks a most hopeless proceeding, Now is this latter statement true or not? If time, bow comes it that in the most central and conspicuous parts of the town, namely, on the Praya, before Douglas Laprak & Co.'s wharf, where an appalling shipwreck was taking place, and the abrieks of the sufferers heard above the howling of the storm, there were only the five chivalrous young men referred to available to render aid to the sufferers, those five not being stray inhabitante, but living right opposite to the scene of the calamity. It is not true that there were many young and able Europeans in the street at this time. When the typhoon became really severe they were in their beds, scattered all over the Colony. Had they been in the streets, as "Citizen" states, there" would have been no need for Mr. MacEwen to bave craved the aid be is said to bave songht from Mr. Lesne.
The more I have read and seen of this unfortu- nate typhoon, the more satisfied I am that Captain Deane's conduct has been blameless, and that be deservoa thanka rather than condemnation. That "petly plunder" which "Citizen" admita took place, shows that if it was not for the per- fect police arrangements made there would have been a great deal of serious plunder, and the public owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Deane and the officers and men under bis command for their admirable conduct during the terrible typhoon we have been visited with.
Citizen "again asks "oan Fair Play' even with his great admiration for Mr. Deane explain why he turned out at 2.50 a.m. when be would not tarn at 1 a.m. " Why what miserable bosh is this? If his common sense cannot answer this question let him write a note to Mr. Deane, and I am sure that gentleman will enlighten bin.
To wind up "Citizen” declares "that from the whole tone of Fair Play's' letter he feels con- fident he does not hail from the British Isles although be claims them as 'bowe."" When Martia Chuzzlewit was on his way to the City of Eden he fell in with a Mrs. Major Homing, who asked him "where did be hail from ?" Mar. tin was obliged to plead ignorance of the ques- tion, when the lady commiserating his ignorance descended to the level of bis poor intelligence, and asked again where was he rose ?" Now to re-assure "Citizen" on the question of my nationality, although, I cannot for the life of me acu bow it affects the questions at issue, I can tell him that had I been in Martin's place I could have given quite as satisfactory a reply as he did. I am a true Briton, and being such must assure "Citizen" that I would ra- ther cut off my right hand, than ase it to pros- titute my pen to hound down and persecute an bonourable, innocent, and deserving fellow- countryman, as he and a few others, who may be called the "Stormy Petrela" of the occasion, are doing, Bot bow about your own nation- ality, Mr. "Citizen;" your language is certainly more transatlantic than European; America is a fine country, but too often one finds a mix- ture of races ibere. I trust you are pure Cance. eian. I have not much prejudice against the Asiatic, but I am weak enough to dislike the African. We must draw the line somewhere, and I do so at Niggers.*
In proof of my alien origin "Ditizen" declares e that I write in complete iguorance of home Custom when I throw the odiam of incompe- ence upon the military authorities, who re- quire to be called upon by the ciril authorities in all cases, and they cannot act without their requisition " And be positively declares that the military received no notice whatever, and then he states that it is said Colonel Smith is bighly indignant at the way things were man aged, and has said be would have turned out
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