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50. It was in the course of the year arranged, that I am not to control the distribution of these telegrams, for which my responsibility ceases, as soon as they have been properly forwarded from the Observatory.
51. In fact now that meteorological signals can be exhibited from this side of the harbour, the distribution among so many addresses is perhaps unnecessary, and with reference to the Telegraph Companies I have formed the opinion, that telegrams concerning typhoons should be forwarded only to those Treaty Ports, to the ships in which their contents would be of importance in each individual
case.
52. In the latter part of August a mast for hoisting police and storm-signals erected at Tsim- sha-tsui was furnished with the system of signals explained in my notice of the 11th August (Appendix F), and a gun was placed at the foot of the mast for giving warnings to the Colony.
53. The signals, although they were rather light,-being made of perforated canvas framed in leaden pipes, blew down and were damaged, because the cord, that supported them, was far too weak. At the time the water-police had not yet taken possession of the new barracks and there were only a couple of English constables living in the old station, but it would be impossible to refer in too high terms to the conduct of the police, who are charged with hoisting the signals, both under those difficult circumstances and also afterwards.
54. A new set of signals made of rattan have since been made at the suggestion of the Surveyor General, but they are only 4, while the original signals were 6 feet in diameter. Whether they will be sufficient, remains to be seen. At any rate it is to be hoped, that arrangements will be made to have them hoisted to the top of the mast, which was reserved for these signals.
55. The notice referred to was extensively circulated and it was clearly stated, that the signals are hoisted solely with the object of informing masters of vessels leaving the port concerning the where- about of the centre of typhoons, and that local storm-signals would be given by firing the gun,-so that it is surprising, that a portion of the public should be under the impression, that the signals indi- cate strong wind in the Colony, but no doubt more correct notions will get abroad next season.
56. Through these signals supplemented by the information given in the daily registers, masters of vessels are enabled to form an opinion of the winds and weather, fine in some places foul in others, -likely to be encountered on the voyage, and to select the best time for starting all according to their destination. But after all I have learned, that cases still occur, where a captain, who is less familiar with typhoons, delays his ship in port, although the information issued to a practical meteorologist implies, that he is likely to encounter fine weather on a voyage to the port, for which he is about to start, while another ship starting at the same time for some other port may run great risk.
57. To a port frequented by so vast a shipping as Hongkong it would be an advantage to have trustworthy information concerning bad weather likely to be encountered by each individual ship leaving the port placed within reach of every captain about to leave the port, and this can only be effected by allowing them to telegraph to me for information, adding the name and destination of the ship in question. Similar enquiries may in England, on payment of one shilling for the message be addressed to the meteorological office, but the answer contains only a guess at the weather expected next day, while in the China Sea it would be possible to give information concerning the weather likely to prevail on the voyage.
58. But in order to effect this it would be necessary to appoint a telegraph clerk in the Observatory. Occasionally during the past season masters of vessels have sent one of their mates over to make enquiries, and I have done my best to give them the required information, but at serious inconvenience owing to the smallness of the staff attached to this Department.
59. I devoted part of my time in the autumn of 1883 in studying past records of the weather kept by officers of the Harbour Department and Mr. FIGG assisted me in taking monthly means of observations. The results were published in the Gazette (Appendices A-C to "Observations and Researches in 1884"). He also took monthly means of the height of the barometer registered for over twenty years in the Harbour Office, but as some difficulty was encountered in ascertaining the corrections, which the barometers required, the results have not yet been published and will not be of much importance when published.
60. Beside the reports to appear in the "Observations and Researches in 1884," which will include a complete barometric determination of the height of Victoria Peak, I have published the following papers:
"On the Rainfall and Temperature of Markree, Sligo." (In “Quarterly Journal of the
Royal Meteorological Society" April, 1884).
b. "Markree Observatory." (In "The Observatory. A monthly review of astronomy."
October and November, 1884).
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