1938-11-21 — Page 6

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1988,

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The

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1938.

Evening Star

BY N.S. WHITESTONE

muscular limbs hurls the belt

man

T. Paul Gregory

tells about.

Sniffs

of Snuff

NE of the most unusual

ONE

roles in the history of the China trade has been played by that familiar domestic commodity of our ancestors-snuff. Not even the ubiquitous cigarette of our modern era has enjoyed greater popularity; for less than a century since, the

of a well-filled

STAR" and with the full strength of WITH WHAT offence is the THE "NIGHT

charged? Attempted glides all but impercep- nioft and out to the sinking man, suicide would appear not to be a tibly over the shimmering, Other belts quickly follow and criminal or punishable offence in offering sunny harbour, turning her there is little danger to the the Colony, and the possessor of snuff-box to one's acquain- back to the multi-coloured would-be suicide, who is quickly an ineradicable desire for a sup tances was regarded in the glories of the sinking sun rescued by a passing walla of Lysol need, I suppose,

Nowadays, of course, except

in his wake. The life-belts are heart chat!

Beyond the purpling hills walla and hauled to safety: a jure up no fears of again awak-light of a social grace.

miserable, drenched, shivering ening in status quo aute, with surely a sight scarcely to be mortal, tugged aboard the Ferry the added disadvantage of find in certain isolated communities, surpassed, and towards with scant care or ceremony, ing a large, red-faced note the use of snuff is practically obsolete, although aingularly which but few of the homing teeth chattering and limbs a booked policeman at the bedside, crowd cast even

a glance, tremble, pools of water collecting eager and ready for a heart-to-chough, it is still in vague in China; for in this ancient land and but one gazes back at boathooked aboard and we con- Possibly the rescued man was many of the established habits Hongkong Telegraph. the landing, loth to part tinue our journey homewards. not charged with anything any- of the past have not yet fallen with the poignant, heart- By some chance-or is he al- how, but humanely dried and into desuetude. Indeed, there is a considerable percentage among ways there?-un official is on fed and told to think it over. stirring loveliness.

board. He takes charge of the What does happen in such the more conservative element An unaccountable spurn- skinny derelict, and at Kowloon, cases, and with what conceiv. of the Chinese people who retain ing of a gift for which we the pair march off, presumably able offence could he be charged, with affection this habit of another era. For them, more- suicide excepted?

over, snuff is a daily necessity, pay nothing, and for an in- to the Water Police Station. ferior representation of

and 'strange as it may appear, which the rich man pays

an exceedingly expensive one; for these devotees of pei-yin, or thousands.

"nose tobacco" as it is. termed in the vernacular, have the tastes of truc virtuesi, compared with whom the most avid con- noisseurs of rare wines pale into insignificance.

Marine Inquiries

The Merchant Shipping Or- dinance of 1899 provides for public inquiries into shipwrecks or other casualties affecting ships. An anomaly arises, how- ever. The Ordinance makes provision for inquiries into casualties in which ships are in- volved, but in the definition of ships expressly exempts junks.

As the Ordinance now stands, it appears that there is no authority to demand an inquiry into an accident involving a ship and a junk, or involving two junka.

A crowd to ponder over.

A Few Hints

on

Hongkong has endured BEING AN EXPERT!

many a bitter taunt and biting gibe. Far fewer are the words of praise.

Ja

language which' nor his friends under-

an

ACTUALLY it is quite easy to being book

ARISTOCRATIC CULT an expert; you have only to neither he

Strangely enough, Souff- To the earping visitor we listen to experts talking to realise stood,

taking as practised by old- might well retort: "Come and this.

I have a friend who is reputed to

Chinese has been see our Ferry !".

First you must decide upon which be an authority on art. One Sunday fashioned subject you would like to be an ex- he was strolling along a London elevated to the status of Other countries and colonies pert. The field is wide, and for your street when it came on ram. Like aristocratic cult, distinguished intermingle their varied popu- benefit it might be, as well to give most townsmen he had never been lations, but never with so com- few general hints on the brat sub inside the Art Galleries, ut ae by a number of opinions and be- liefs which, to say the least, in-plete and feel timid or out of jects, and those to avoid.

was near them, and it was raining. plete and admirable a success as Always avoid a subjec; that has he decided to kill two birds with one seem to the uninitiated to be whimsical and even fantastic. does Hongkong.

hard and fast rules and anything stone. connected with "dates." It is useless When he came out again he ran' For instance, there is the notion knowing when the Battle of Hastings into a man he knew. This man that snuff, in order to be good, was fought, or when Alfred burned could not understand why anyone must be old; for, like wine, it is the cakes, To know them would should want to visit Sunday, and he alleged to improve with nge, and take months of memorising, and then lerics, even on a wet he,

Actually, departmental quiries are sometimes held, al though the authority for them cannot be found in the Merchant Shipping Ordinance. But they. are informal and although law- yers are present to watch the interests of those involved, the evidence is not taken on oath, as in a regularly constituted Marine Court of Inquiry.

The Press is rigidly excluded from these departmental in quiries, and what transpires behind the closed doors is known only to the principals and de- partmental authorities.

Indian

not

The

stronger

are

HERE NO ONE, of whatever nationality (indeed, also those of none at all) need feel you could not argue about them. put it down to the only possible rea- after a hundred years or so, it

You must plek n

acquires a 'bouquet' which is n subject that docs son. My friend was an experti timid or out of place.

need memorising. and which

absolutely incomparable, and in- The Confident Manner certainly allows you to argue. The constables-of irre

cidentally, a value which is It is as easy as that. Of course, many times greater than its proachable manners; British more controversial the subject, the

is your position. Moreover, these

fortuitous cages, males of the tired business and always pick a subject which no one everyone gets

Not reputation thrust weight in silver. other varieties; neat, dapper, knows anything about--whether it is upon him. Most people have to The grades of anuff in most beautifully coiffured

demand are those imported into the evolution of a tea cup, or politics, work for it. steno- graphers; wealthy, long gown- A Flying Start

To do this you must cultivate a China from Portugal in the time conildent

ent manner. It does not mat- Probably the quickest way to be-ter what you say as long as you say of the Manchu emperors Ch'len the inevitable harsh-voiced Ger- come an expert is to By the Atlantic, it confidently. Few people have the Lung and Chia Ch'ing (circa An anomaly exists here that man; an occasional gesticulat- swim to Macau, or become a film courage to contradict anyone who 1735-1820), which are packed in

ing. should be corrected. While it

sharp-toned Italian; a star. The last is much to be pre-speaks as though he knew every gilt ornamented glass bottles of manufacture. would be absurd to require that Parsee lady with the delicate, ferred. Then you become on expert thing.

on love, home, and the opposite sex; George Bernard Shaw was-prob- early American every accident involving junks lovely hands of race, the perfect- and you can write books on religion, ebly is--8 sly man. Speaking to These bottles are of various should be investigated, we be-ly moulded limbs gorgeously your experiences, nothing, or any- strangers was torture to him. And sizes ranging from 2 to 20 gowned; Chinese and Portuguese thing--and, what is more surprising, then he discovered that if he spoke ounces, and while in the country clerks, unreasonably neat and sell them!

lieve that if a marine accident

is serious enough to warrant a

departmental inquiry, it is

serious enough to be carried out in a regularly constituted Court, at which evidence is given on oath, and to which the public and Press should have access.

Last week such a depart- mental inquiry was, in fact,

ed, gentle-mannered Chinese;

loudly and confidently people would listen to him. The subject was im- of their origin, they were proba- tidy after a sweltering day; a Having decided upon which sub-material, and it did not matter what bly intended to hold spirits or French priest; a trio of cream-ject you wish to be an expert, the he said. As long he spoke loudly liqueurs, they were utiused by the foreign merchants at Can- and-black Maryknolls, obviously next item on the agenda is to become he was an authority,

Another method is to wait until ton to serve as containers for women of gentle breeding, eyes one: Funnily enough, this is the

nart which stumps most people. someone has finished explaining a

enuff. intent upon the book of ded And yet it is ridiculously easy to gain difficult point, and then say: "Rub words never have I succeeded a reputation.

bish!" That is all. But in nine PRECIOUS COMMODITY in catching a fleeting glance; Arnold Bennett tells how he gained cases out of ten the speaker will and our grand old man, the a literary reputation simply by buy- (Continued on Page 5.) litheness of whom belics one ad-

ing lady, bound on yet another GRIN AND BEAR IT

earrand of social benevolence.

held. It was an inquiry into thejective, with his gracious,charm- circumstances surrounding the sinking in mid-harbour of a junk, a large number of men, women and children aboard be- ing rescued by European pas- sengers on a Star Ferry. What transpired at that inquiry is un- known, and in all probability will not be made known. Humanity to Animals

Every precaution to protect men, women and children of European cities in event of war is being taken—and being taken for granted. What of animals? Even while the cables and wire- leas were crowded with the developments on which the issue of war or peace hung, came des- patches that the safety of animals was not being over- looked, in England at least.

London has developed a gas- proof kennel for cats and dogs and started an air-raid protec- tion fund for pets. Animals, were objects of human solicitudo in those tense hours.

Man's humanity to animals is more credible than mankind's inhumanity to men, and in it is proof of the existence of motives which will one day predominate in all human experience.

But one other town do I know where such a congregation ami- cably rub shoulders, and none where the alloy is no complete.

如

*

ONE PASSENGER holds him- self aloof. On the lower deck. A poorly clad little old Chinese stands gazing fixedly down the wake.

In mid harbour; a sharp "plop" seemed to synchronise exactly with the flinging of a life-belt from the upper deck by a ready-witted and quick-action- ed Briton.

Truly a remarkable example of the deceptiveness of British phlegm. One moment this grey- ing, middle aged fellow, whose appearance gives na hint of any thing beyond mediocre mental capacity, is apparently complete- ly absorbed in his own thoughts and not too pleasant thoughts at that, judging from the half- scowl upon the anxious features; the next moment his world is changed and he springs to vivid, pulsating, creative life; he leaps to the rail, wrenches out the belt

According to the firm bellef of the present-day Chinese de- voter of snuff, the commodity, to be of value, must be in the ori

By Lichty ginal glass pnial in which it was

"Parties! Parties! Parties! I've been up every afternoon, this week!”

packed so long ago, and as four- teen distinct blends and seven different styles of containers are recognised, it requires no little art to be able to distinguish with sufficient exactitude the many variations of the product. Each grade, moreover, is of a different value, and, as re- marked above, this snuff which has survived through the years with its flavour unimpaired is extremely precious. A four ounce bottle of genuine old snuff will command at the present time, no less than $45 in H.K. currency, while one of say 16 or 20 ounces will easily fotch $160 or even more.

Modern "varieties of snuff, regardless of the country of origin, are regarded with con- tempt, and only the verlest ama- teur would think of choaponing his exotic vice by partaking of them.

Even the ricksha coolies of Swatow, who, incidentally, are greatly addicted to the use of snuff, scorn recent importations, and, as far as their limited means permit, endeavour to pur. chase blonds which have been (Continued on Page B.)'