1881-12-21 — Page 2

A. S. WATSON & Co.

WHOLESALE AND RETALL

DRUGGISTS,

AND

GENERAL CHEMISTS, Manufacturors of the following AERATED WATERS, viz : SODA. TONIC, SARSAPARILLA, AND POTASH, LEMONADE, HINGERADE, RASPBERRYADE, AND PHOSPHORIC CHAMPAGNE.

Delivorios in Town and Harbour from

7 AM to 7 P.),

Sars' MEDICIEND CHESTS REFITTED, PASSENGER SHIPS SUPPLIED.

Prompt Attention given to Coast Orders.

HONGKONG DISPENSARY,

HONGKONG. SHANGHAI PHARMACY,

SHANGHAL

CANTON.

CANTON DISPENSARY,

THE DISPENSARY,

THE

FOOCHOW.

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH-WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21ṣr, 1881.

A circular has just been issued to the members of the Hongkong Civil Service, in which they are informed that an officer of the Government cannot be permitted to determine for himself whether he shall take legal proceedings in rospect of any newspaper criticism of the conduct of official business,

the necessity or expediency of such a step be ing a question for the decision of the Gover, nor in Council, after careful consideration of

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est degree the efficient conduct of We learn on very good authority public business. The acts and con-

that there is a likelihood of the young duct of all public men are open to

Princes turning up at the rano.course criticism, and so long as a news.

to witness training operations on Sa. turday morning. In the bolief that the paper does not impute dishonest motives, no action, civil or criminal, presence of Royalty will attract au

usually large, number of patrons of would lie against the critic. We

sport to the Happy Valley, "Taylor do not expect law from the

has laid in extra supplies of choice China Mail, and we look in vain for

Mocha and fragrant Bohoa. The common sense and truth. Where is, famous Saigon teapot, lately freshened in the above extract from the Tele-up with a new coat of whitewash, will graph, the "attack as remarkable for also be produced in honor of the coca- its rancour as for its utter baseless- sion. Half a dozen H.B. pencils nud ness" It has never existed except a clean page of the subscriber's book ou the lying tongue of our contem

have boen carefully prepared for ex- Saturday will be porary

"powing" morning, so some interesting` sport may be confidently lookedfor.

pected victims. Instead of having rancor- ous feelings towards Capt. Thomsett, we had personally been on the most courteous terms with that gentleman for many years; and were ready when wo discovered that our criticisms had been misconstrued, to publicly dis- avow our intention of reflecting in the slightest degree on the Emigra- tion Officer's honour and probity, and we actually did so unsolicited,'

Yesterday afternoon Vico-Admiral the Earl of Clanwilliam, accompanied by his Flag-Captain, Captain Charles Penrose Fitzgerald; his Secretary," Mr. G. Love, his Flag Lientenant, Lieutenant A. S. Wiasloe; and · Lord Charles Scott paid a visit to H.E. the Governor. The Admiral landed at five o'clock at Marray Pier, where a guard of honour from the Royal In- niskilling Fusiliers, and the band of the Rogiment, were drawn out, and presented arins as he stepped on the Pier. Lieutenant Cox, RIF., Aide-de- camp to the Governor, was in attend. nuce, and accompanied the distinguished

world that any servant of the owo wrote:The the Emigration vornment betraying private official Officer's examination was a thorough business-more especially to a public farce, must be patent to every one newspapor-thereby renders himself who knows anything of the manner liable to instant dismissal; and he in which these sham examinations can moreover be criminally prose are conducted, and we must hold the cuted. This particular circular, which Governor responsible for permitting has sent our contemporary into hys- such a state of affairs to exist. It is terics, has, however, according to the absolutely indispensable that the China Mail's own showing, a good Emigration Officer should be a man deal of interest for the general public. thoroughly conversant with tho The following extract from the arti- languago and general customs of the cle above referred to, will give our Chinese, and it is equally necessary readers a good deal of information of that his time should not be taken up that character for which the writer with other duties. Capt. Thomsett has obtained such an unenviable no- is not a Chinese scholar, and as Harbour Master he has more work toriety :--

than he can properly attend. to-or why should there be a Deputy Har bour Master! The principle of one government official filling two or three different positions, so common in Hongkong, is rotten to the core, and wholly indefensible. The time has surely come when the Augean stable wants a thorough cleaning out, and we would strongly recom- Need we repeat-what we declared mend that a start be made at once

on oath in the Wicking. v. Fraser- in the Emigration Department." Smith libol case-that the statement This was a very fair criticism of a

made by the China Mail that the state of affairs which had already information which led to what was attracted a good deal of public atten- called, the attack on Capt. Thomsett, tion, and created in certain circles had been supplied by the Governor, no sinall amount of scandal. We

was utterly devoid of foundation ! neither imputed, or intended to im- Our contemporary again repeats what pute anything dishonourable to the it knows is a lie.. Where are "the Emigration Officer; but we question- garbled extracts which formed the ed, on good grounds we believed, his basis of the attack" where the false

The Pacific Mail S. S. Co.'s steamer qualifications for such a post, and we and malicious statements which were

Oily of Rio de Janeiro, 3,543 tons, J. M, had indisputable evidence to prove written for the express purpose of Cavarly, Commander, reporta sailed that the examination of emigrants injuring Captain Thomsett's cha- from San Francisco on Tuesday No- was quite the reverse of what it

racter and reputation? All these rember 22nd, at 2.15 p.m., having on ought to have been, and for this things never had an existence-ex- board 33 cabin and 683 Chinese in the wo very properly held the Governor cepting in the fertile immagination of steerage, 36 packages mails, 50 pack. responsible. However, Capt. Thom- our honourable (?) contemporary..

ages Treneurs value $120,541.00, and sett felt aggrieved at our audacity in The insinuations of the evening075 tons Morchandize. Winds and weather to Yokohama generally favor an officer should be obliged to submit pa presuming to interfere in what he

paper that Lord; Kimberley's des-

able. Arrived at Yokohama December tantly to seeing his actions misrepresented doubtless imagined was his own ex-

patch has been "manipulated" to and his character traluce, redress being eclusive privilege, and after taking suit the private aims of the Governor and 36 minutes from San Francisco; 13th at 7.30 a.m., 19 days 22 hours nied to him because it would be inconvenient

the advice of our sprightly barrister, to the superíor officer who had furnished

are so despicable, that we can find sailed from Yokohamn on Wednesday. the documents, garbled extracts of which Mr. T. C. Hayllar, QC, applied to the

no fitting terms to express our dis-

December 14th at 12.15 p.m., favor- formed the basis of the attack, to be public Governor through the Colonial Seere gust, especially after the manipula-able winds' and weather from Toko- ly exposed in a Court of Law; and yet this

tary for permission to institute pro- tion of what we never wrote, to is the result of the ransoning attributed to Lord Kimborloy. The aggrievel officur my ceedings against the proprietor of which we have above alluded. The say to the Governor in Council, "I have

this journal for libel. During the besa shamefully attacked. I am prepared time the application was under

China Mail asks Governor Hennessy to prove in a Court of Law that the state-

to publish Barl Kimberley's despatch ments male against me are false in every His Excellency's consideration Dr. F in full" in the interest of respect- particular, and that, they were maliciously written, with intent to damage ms in my Stewart, the Acting Colonial Secre-able journalism." If it is respect- character and reputation" and His Ex-tary, took it upon himself to adviso cellency may smilingly reply, "My dear Sir, Capt. Thomsett that the consent of I am every sorry for you, but I cannot per the Government was not at all neces- mit you to prosecute, as it would be highly

Hongkong Telegraph. patches from the Secretary of State have

HONGKONG, 21ST DECEMBER, 1881.

We have occasionally received from many friends and well-wishers, high- ly esteemed views as to how a pub- lic

should be conducted. newspaper Well-intended hiuts have reached us from various quarters that the guer- illa warfare we have been for months past waging against the unscrupulous policy pursued by our local contem- poraries in all matters relating to the present local Government of Hong- kong, has alienated from our cause many influential supporters. This may be perfectly true, and if so we can. only regret that a spirit of im- partial independence, and an un- swerving allegiance to the cause of justice and truth in the public in- terest, have been so little understood, so indifferently appreciated. We have been censured for the severe

criticisms, and the strong language, we have at times applied to our con- temporaries; but more especially to the China Mail. It has not been

alleged that the evening print did not richly merit all that has been

all the circumstances. This is said to be the decision of the. Earl of Kimberley, an is apparently the result of an appeal made to his Lordship, a few months singe, by an offi: cer of the Hongkong Government, who felt himself, and with much reason, aggriov. ed by a printed attack, as remarkable for its raucour as for its uttor buselessness. From our past experience of the way in which des been manipulated before they have been communicated to those interested, wo aro inclined to believe that, the whole letter were published, a different view of Lord Kimberley's intructions would be obtained from that presented by the two isolated paragraphs which have been so carefully ex- tructed. It is a most remarkable fact that Sir John Popo Honnessy has an absolute horror of a complete document, and rarely publishes one if he can help it. If, however, the circular truly conveys the Secretary of State's moaning, it is difficult to suggest upon what ground he has former his decision,

for it strikes a blow at the independence and comfort of the officers of the Civil Service, which under present unfavourable conditions, may seriously imperil the effcient confluct of public business. Itscomsintolerable that

inconvenient for me to have a public enquiry.sary, and that he was quite at liberty For reasons into which I cannot enter, I to take whatever legal proceedings

said about its contemptible policy of. / supplied the materials upon which the statohe chose, on his own responsibility. —to induce Government servants to

ments of which you complained are based, and

person

sanctimonious cant, time-serving as my purposes have been servel, I cannot huming, and unscrupulous misrestultify myself by permitting you to punish

the person of whom I have malo uso, au presentations; but that it would

that the information with which I supplied have been a matter of policy to have him was well, inaccurate. allowed our contemporary's strange With the single exception of the ideas as to the rights, privileges, fact that a circular of the character duties, and responsibilities of a public described has actually been sent for newspaper, to have passed unnoticed. general information to all the Go- We cannot agree with this view of vornment Departments, the whole of an independent 'journal's proper the statements, assertions, and in- functions, nor have we any intention ferences contained in the above -now or at any other time-of al- extracts from the China Mail are lowing the public to be gulled, and utterly and absolutely false and un-

founded. And, moreover, the the representative of Her Majesty in this Colony, whoever he may be, -we cannot descend to the gutter unjustly abused, and infamously and apply opprobrious epithets even vilified by a gutter publication to this miserable disgrace to an of the type of the China Mail. honourable profession-who wrote Those of our readers who do not

the lies, knew that they were lies plain admire plain, unvarnished, and un- and unvarnished. There is not even mistakeable English will do well to the slightest attempt made to con- leave this article unread. In self-ceal the motives of the writer. It defence we are compelled to strike is a rancorous personal attack, on out from the shoulder at the old Governor Hennessy, prompted by established organ, and as kid-glove private feelings, and written for courtesy would be thrown away on. private rensons. It is an insult to such a scurrilous perverter of truth, the honour of the community at we will condescend for once to de-large; a reflection on the integrity of our Government servants, and scend to his level.

In the China Mail of the 16th drags through the mud and mire, instant appears a leading article on that proud palladium of a free Press, the subject of a circular which has the vaunted privileges of the Fourth recently been issued to the various Estate-and for what? To gratify Government Departments in the co- at all costs the miserable spite of the lony. Before going into the ques- "gutter editor" and his half dozen tion dealt with in this circular, we unscrupulous supporters. On the would ask, where did the evening 12th of last July, in an article on the journal obtain the information so subject of Chinese Emigration from ostentatiously displayed! We have Hongkong, we animadverted on what no doubt whatever that the religious we considered the very unsatisfactory and high-toned print received it by manner in which the examination of illegitimate means from some tenth- emigrants was conducted by the rate understrapper in one of the Go-Department whose duty it is to su- vernment offices, although it is per-perintend that business. Referring fectly well known throughout the to the notorious Glamis Castle case

visitors to Government House, where they were received by His Excellency, who was attended by Mr. G. S. North- cote, Private Secretary.

hana to Van Dieman's Straits, thence w strong N.N.W. and N.N.B. galos and rough sea up to the last 36 hours, thence port moderate N.E, monsoon and fine weather. Died on the passage, five Chinese passengers, named In Kan Sing, Ah Chen, Si Ab Koy, Ah Chang and Chan For; bodies oiabalmed. Health of all ou board good. Arrived at Hongkong December 21st at 8.30 am. rauning time from San Francisco 20 days 18 hours and 54 minutes.

FOOCHOW RACES. SECOND DAY.

The second day's racing at Foochow was unfortunately accompanied by wet weather, which could not bat greatly detract from the character of the sport.

Mr. Yorke was again in great form, winning the Racing Stakes and Foo-

able to lie, abuse, vilify, and miss represent; to sneak and crawl; to use the public as tools for gratifying privato ends, and by illegitimate means-at which we do not even hint Acting on this gratuitous and most betray official confidence, then the injudicious piece of advice (consider China Mail can fairly claim to re- ing that Dr. Stewart was a paid ser- vant of the Government) Capt. Thom-if journalistic respectability means present respectable journalism, But sett applied for leave to withdraw fair and honorable dealing with the his letter, so that he could at once

public of every shade of thought and take the legal steps contemplated. opinion, truth and impartiality, a This was refused by the Governor policy far above the pattiness of A meeting of the Executive Council social differences and disputes, an

chow Stakes with his own pony Wild was shortly afterwards held, at which

honest representation of public opi-Send, and the Lottery Cap with Mr. the matter was discussed, and we

nion, then we decline to acknowledge | Owl's Flying Fox, The St. Andrew's believe His Excellency justified his the China Mail's claim to a place blas and silver jacket was also well to refusal to permit Capt. Thomsett to

among respectable journals, on the the fore, Merry Monk being credited ' take legal measures against the grounds stated in the above article.

with the Bagatock Cup, and Iroquois with the Club Cap. Details of the Hongkong Telegraph on the grounds

day's sport are appended that the criticism was a perfectly fair one, and that moreover he had felt it his duty on several occasion's previously to admon:sh Capt. Thom- sett for the unsatisfactory manner in which the emigration examinations were conducted. The result was that Capt. Thomsett abandoned his threat-

His Excellency tho Governor, necomTM ened action for libel, and the whole

panied by his Private Secretary, return matter was referred to the Secretaryed the visit of Vice-A Imiral the Bar of of State for the Colonies. Dr. Ste-Clauwilliam. on board the Inconstant wart's exceedingly ill-judged inter- this morning. ference called forth the severe censure

The German barqao Occident has undocked at Aberdeen.

Vise-Almiral the Earl of Clanwilliam visited the Franch fligahip Themis and the Russian corvette Prince Poguraki this morning.

Owing to the Detached Squadron it richly merited, and led to his resig-being unable to got a team arranged, nation.

This is the true history of the entire proceedings referred to in the China Mail article, and we can honestly say that we have nothing extenuated nor set down aught in malice. The Earl of Kimberley has decided, and very, properly, too, that no Go- vernment servant can resort to legal measures against a public newspaper, without the approval and sanction of the Governor. This decision does not in anyway "strike a blow at the independence and comfort of the officers of the Civil Sorvant nor can it possibly imperil in the slight

the cricket match announced for to-day has been postponed until to-morrow morning at 11 o'clock.

The RACING STAKES of $10 each with £50 added; for all China Ponies; weight na por scale; winner of Lord Forbes' Cap 71ba extra, of the Stand Stakes 10lbs, ex- tra, if of both 14lbs. extra; previous non. starters 7lbs. extra. Threo-Quartora of a Mile.

Mr. Yorke's grey Wild Soud, 13.1., 10st. -

11lb.

1

The FEIMA CUF, presented, value $200; for all China Poules; woights as per scale; winner of Compradores' or Hongkong Cup 7lbs. 'extra, if both 10lbs, extra; en- trance $10, Two Miles..

Mr. Snipo's grey Roverse, 13.1., 10st. 11lb. 1 The LOTTERY CUP, value $150, Second Pony $50; for all China Ponies that have never run previous to this meeting; weight na per scalo; entrance $5. Ono Kile and a Half.

Mr. Owl's gray Flying Fox, 13.0., 10st. 8lb. 1 The BAGSTOOK Our, presented, value $200; for all China Ponies; weights as per scale;

entrance $10. Ono Milo.

11st. Olb........

The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers made their first appearance yesterday in the red tunios with "Royal" facing Mr. St. Andrew's dun Morry Monk, 13.2., which, in consequence of the regiment's recent change of name, will be their future uniform.

A telegram from Rome, pablished in an American paper, states that the Pope will consult the Bishops of Great Britain and Ireland in regard to the question of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Great Britain and the Vatican.

1 The CLUB CUP, value $100; for all Chins Ponies; weights as per scale: winners 10lbs, extra; entrance $5. Half a Mile. Mr. St. Andrew's grey Iroquois, 13.0., 10st.

lb......

The FooooW STAKES of $10 cash; it forced entry for all Ponies ontered at this meeting, except those entered for Hook Stakes; first pony to receive 70 per cent; wolghts as per scale. One Mile and a Quarter.

Mr. York's grey Wild Soad, 13,1., 10st, 11 lb. 1