October 2, 1895.]
under steam are crossing so as to involve risk of collision, the ship which has the order on her own starboard side shall keep out of the way of the other." In the absence of any local rules for river navigation in the river Menam this rule, it seems, if any, shall apply, and the steamer Donar was in fault for a breach of the rule. Again and this seems to us the point of most import- ance-the Donar was completely under com- mand, and had a high rate of speed on with a strong following tide. The Kongsee, on the other hand, was under only a very limited control, being at the time in the act of turning in the bend to go down river and partly round. It was the duty of the master of the steamer Donar to draw the attention of the master of the steamer Kongsee to the fact that he wanted to pass him, and give the Kongsee an opportunity to get into such a position as to allow him to do so. The steamer Donar, in passing the Kongsee, did so at her own risk, more especially as she came down on the port side of the channel, and the Kangsee was on her starboard bow.
The master, in our opinion, appears to have navigated his vessel in a seamanlike and proper manner, and when a casualty was inevitable to have done everything in his power to avert the collision. The Court sees no ground for blam- ing his conduct.
W. R. D. BECKETT,
H.BM. Acting Consul (President). G. B. POWNALL, Lieut. R.N. R. MORGAN, Mongkut,
THR NEW VICEROY OF THE LIANGKIANG.
The following translation of a native letter, dated Wuchang, 15th September, contains a variety of interesting news, including the name of Chang Chih-tung's successor at Nanking. Yu Chih-kai is a Hunan man, who has been Provincial Judge of Szechnen and Treasurer and Acting Governor of Kuangtung. retired in May, 1890:--
He
I went on Saturday evening to the quarters of the Shêng battalion and during a close con- versation with the people there learned the following:-
1.-A decree has arrived mentioning that Governor T'an had been denounced.
2.-Yu Chih-kai has been ordered by decree to the Viceroyship of the Liangkiang provinces. 3.-That Chang Chih-tung would probably return to the Hukuang.
4.-That Governor T'an in obeying instruc- tions to disband the superfluous regiments gar- Prisoning Wuchang was in fear of his life and had brought 500 troops into his yamen as a guard.
5. On the 12th as the acting Treasurer Lung Hsi-ching was passing through the main street of Wuchang city making calls, he was accosted by a large number of the garrison, who used threatening language and even made a show of using personal violence to the Treasurer. The latter seemed to be in great trepidation and went twice to the Governor's yamen to consult on this matter (of disbanding the garrison). It is probable that the disband- ment will be deferred until Chang Chih-tung shall have returned to Wuchang. The regi- ments to be disbanded, however, demand a bonus of several months' pay before they would consent to disband peaceably.
6. It was also mentioned in conversation to the effect that Te Shou, Governor-Designate of Hunan, passed through Hankow incog. the other day, but that instead of proceeding to his post (Hunan) he went straight on to Szechuen. This conduct is the subject of wonder and con- jecture amongst all of us. Wu Ta-chêng, the deposed Governor of Hunan, is still at his post and will not go up to Peking yet awhile.-N. C. Daily News.
A counterfeit coin manufactory has been dis- covered and broken up at Macao. Ten and twenty cent pieces were being struck from dies which appeared to have come from the Canton Mint. In the earlier days of that establish- the worn out dies were not destroyed and it is believed that a good many of them are in use by counterfeiters.
CHINA ÖVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
A NAVAL DEMONSTRATION.
Shanghai, 21st September..
It is evident that the British are making a kind of naval demonstration on the Yangtsze. The Eolus left Chefoo under secret orders and, after remaining a short time at Woosung, pro- ceeded to Nanking and is now moored off that city, not at the usual anchorage, but in such a if required. The Spartan was passed to-day near position as to be able to do considerable damage the Langshan Crossing, steaming at full speed on her way to Nanking. Our Nanking corre- spondent informs us, according to what he these are to follow. Immediately on arrival could learn, that other British vessels besides the commander of the olus sent a long telegraphic despatch away to the Admiral. It is evident by the movements of these vessels and from what we can gather that a naval demonstration is to be made on the Yangtsze, and this, no doubt, is the reason for not having other British men-of-war ing under instructions from home, and that the at Foochow, Probably Admiral Buller is act
British Government intends to let China know that she has. had quite sufficient of missionary murders and riots. If such is the case we are sure every foreigner in the Far East will wel- come the action taken by England. We do not think that it means any harm to Nanking or Chang Chih-tung, as his province of late has been exempt from murders and riots. But no doubt, when a sufficient number of war vessels have congregated, they will move up towards Hangyang, opposite to Hankow, where threats have been made to exterminate the hated foreigner. Or they may make a call at Kiu- kiang where the Chinese are defying the British with regard to the Kuliang affair. Let us hope the British lion is in earnest and that he is about to show his teeth and claws to some purpose.-Mercury.
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THE NEW GERMAN CONCESSION AT HANKOW.
2
The Hankow correspondent of the China Gazette writes under date of 13th September :-
Our German neighbours are going ahead. Yesterday a large turn out of native officials, along with the Consul-General from Shang- hai, were busily engaged measuring out German Concession, and placing the boundary stones. The site of it is on the river side immediately below the city wall; and in area it exceeds the British Concession. There has been a good deal of land speculation in that corner recently, as some folks have got it into their heads that all the grand railways which are to be in the near future will centre there; hence its value has gone up with leaps and bounds till paddy fields and cabbage gardens are supposed to be worth as much as class raised lots in our well roaded, bunded, first
and perfectly finished settlement were a will not repeat itself in this instance. When the year or two ago. It is to be hoped history English Concession was first laid off, the bare unimproved lots brought more than they have ever done since and happy was the man who had his fortune in them! But a dozen years saw a great change, when £1,000 lots changed hands for such figures as $9, Tls. 15, or were even given away for nothing to save the taxes.
Chang Chih-tang's iron works. after being first under English management and then Belgiau, have now passed beneath the hands of all the conquering Germans. It will be a good day for His Excellency if it is found possible to make a success of some or other of their manifold departments, if not of all; for up til now the concern has been the bigge the long list of our famous Viceroy's failures.
The death of Mr. F. B. Aubert, which oc- curred in the General Hospital, Shanghai, o the 23rd September, after a short illness, will, the, China Gazette says, be deeply regretted in local sporting circles, for a better or more thorough-going sport than Mr. Aubert never came to Shanghai. He had been in Shanghai for 23 years, during which he made innumerable friends in every treaty port of China. The funeral on the 24th was very largely attended.
THE ATTACK ON TAINAN.
255
There has been some confusion with respect to the movements of the Japanese forces in For- mosa, owing to the similarity of the names quite distinct, the former, which lies 95 miles to Taiwan and "Tainan." The two places are the north of the latter, being the chief town of the province of the same name, whereas Tai- nan is the southern capital--as Taipeh is the have their headquarters, and there, if anywhere northern. At Tainan the Black Flags have
different
in the island, a stout resistance is to be expected - by the Japanese. They took Taiwan without state of affairs at Tainan, and are making their much difficulty, but they anticipate a preparations accordingly. The various corps forming the Second Division will doubtless be mustered for the assault, and there does not seem to be much probability that the place will be attacked before the early days of next month, by which time the climatic condi- tions will be better fitted for campaigning ing to the Japanese press the Black Flags purposes than they are at present. Accord-
are expected to prove very formidable adver- saries. But we do not share that opinion. It is true that these guerilla warriors gave the French considerable trouble in Tonkin, but if the reason for their trivial successes in 1884-5 be scrutinized, it is seen that they owed incom- parably less to their own prowess than to the insufficient preparations of the French. The latter, having undertaking a large task with very inadequate forces, were constantly obliged to entrust duties of ontpost, recon- naissance, and even attack, to mere handfuls of men, and these, working under topographical circumstances of extreme difficulty, offered to
the Black Flags precisely such opportunities as suited the latter's peculiar tactics. In an open fight Liu's warriors would not have had any chance whatever against the French, and we do not expect that they will make a very serious stand at Tainan, despite the long time they have had at their disposal to make defensive preparations.-Japan Mail.
THE MAHOMMEDAN REBELLION.
While
There was a rumour recently in Peking, writes our native correspondent in that city, to the effect Mahommedan rebellion in the North-western that in consequence of the serious aspect of the provinces, the Emperor had issued a secret de- tang-a and Chang Shun to take two Man- cree commanding the Tartar Generals E-k'ô-- churian army crops, of 15,000 men each, into Shansi and the Mongol territory to the north of that province in order to prevent politan province of Chilli, where there are any eruption of the rebels into the metro-
about a million and half Mussulmans, who are turbulence and extreme clannishness. dreaded by their Buddhist neighbours for their
the rebellion is confined to a distance from the fear a Mussulman outbreak, but at the first in- metropolitan province there is no occasion to timation of a rebel force penetrating into Chihli, there is little doubt that the Mahommedan popu lation of the province, who can muster over join the insurgents. Most of the Mussulmans 60,000 strong, hardy and brave fighting men, will in Chilli are either carters, muleteers, or horse herds the latter a most unruly class, constantly travelling about, armeden Manchet their herds of cattle from the raids of the numerous mounted bandits of Mongolia and Manchuria, who delight in robbing the property of those pro- fessing an alien religion. The Tartar troops me to cooperate, wherever practicable, with the various brigades at army corps under Generals Yung, Ma, Ag, and Lui, nor opposing the »cbels in Kanêu ? heusi.
An expaation the apparently unaccount- able tardiness of the first-named General in reaching the scene the rebellion in Kansu has recently been received in, Peking. It will be remembered that General Tang is Commander- in-Chief of Kashgaria and had an army of 25,000 men covering Peking in anticipation of Japanese invasion last winter. He was the first to be sent to aid in suppressing the rebellion, upon conclusion of peace last May. But it seems that when his armny arrived near the Kansų borders last July, the corps, or rather the
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