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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
entered and these defendants were about to be discharged a formal proclamation would made calling úpe¤ any peersca in (, ourt to show why these pei saus kicubi not be discharged and if any fresh charge were made Lis Lord-hp would direct their detent.on.
His Lordship-I do not think I can make any order.
Mr. Francis-Very well, my Lord. This concluded the business of the unusually jong Sessions.
Immediately after the defendants had ob- tained their discharge the police were instructed to re-arrest them, but of course the guilty and lucky pair had disappeared and could not be found. The police are still looking for them.
IN SUMMARY JURISDICTION.
BEFORE ME. T. SERCOMBE SMITH (ACTING PUISNE JUDGE.)
YEUNG SHIU KAM v. HON. F. A. COOPER AND OTHERS.
Young Shiu Kam brought an action to re. cover $250 damages from Hon. F. A. Cooper, Dr. J. M. Atkinson, Mr. H. B. H Lethbridge. Dr. F. W. Clark, Mr. N. J. Ede, and Police
Constable Rae.
The suit is a test case and is brought to try the right of the Sanitary Board to enter pre- mises and pull down cocklofts without getting a Magistrate's order.
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the defendants deny that they caused any damage or injury to the said premises or any of them for which they can be held liable at law.
-Tho defendants deny that the acts alleged against them in the petition were illegal, and they deny that the plaintiff has suffered damages to the amount of $250, or any other amount whatever.
5.-In the alternative, and while denying any liability, whatever, the defendants bring into Conrt the sum of $60 and assert that the same is sufficient to satisfy the claim of the plaintiff herein.
Dated the 2nd day of July, 1896.
REBELLION IN FORMOSA,
REPORTED MURDER of ́a parsee MARCHANT.
GREAT EXCITEMENT.
[FROM A CORRESPONDENT.]
TAIWANFOO, 1st July..
A rebellion has broken out in the centre of the island. Hoonim, the camphor centre, was attacked on the 27th June. It is supposed the few Japanese there, numbering about a dozen, including the gendarmes, were killed, and it is feared that Mr. D. D. Ollia, of the firm of Dinshaw & Co., has also fallen a victim. The town is supposed to have been sacked and the loss to foreigners will be considerable. The Mr. J. Hastings (of Mr. V. H. Deacon's office) Japanese troops are reported to have fallen appeared for the plaintiffs and Mr. A. B. John-back upon Chang-hoa to await reinforcements. son (Crown Solicitor) represented the defendants. Mr. Hastings asked his Lordship to fix a day for the hearing of the action.
His Lordship said he would take the case on Wednesday next at 10.15 a.m.
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The plaintiff's filed petition reads as follows: 1. The plaintiff is a merchant carrying on business at Victoria in the colony of Hongkong, and is the owner of certain houses and premises
situate at Victoria aforesaid and known as Nos. 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, and 90, Queen's Road East.
2.-The defendants, the Honourable Francis Alfred Cooper, John Mitford Atkinson, Henry Bridgman Henderson Lethbridge, William Clark, and Nathaniel Joseph Ede were
Francis
This deplorable state of affairs is solely due to the cruelties committed by the Japanese in the country and to the utter ignorance, arro- gance, and general misconduct of officials.
I will wire you as soon as I can get authentic news. The roads are blocked everywhere and there is no communication with Hoonim. The only other foreigner at Hoonim at the time of the outbreak, besides Mr. Ollia, was Mr. Patel, and he escaped.
[BY TELEGRAM.]
ANPING, 2nd July. A rebellion has broken out. Hoonim, camphor centre, has been sacked. Ollia reported killed.
July 8, 1896.
With best and kindest regards. Very
J. HENNIKER HEATON. fully yours,
The Hon. T. H. Whitehead.
SIMIFI
IN
Downing Street,
11896. 30th May
Sir, I am directed by Mr. Secretary Cham berlain to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 12th instant relative to the consti tution of the Hongkong Legislative Council. and to inform you that Mr. Chamberlain has just addressed a despatch to the Governor con- veying his decision on this subject, which will be published by Sir W. Robinson in the colony.
am, sir, your obedient servant,
EDWARD FAIRFIELD. J. Henniker Heaton, Esq., M.P.
THE RECENT RAINS AND THE RESERVOIRS.
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The reservoirs have benefited to a very con- siderable extent by the heavy rains which fell during the month of June, and on the 1st July there was a total storage of 180,000,000 gallons. The rainfall during the month was 17.52 inches as registered at Kowloon Observatory and this is a little over the mean for the past ten years. Of course the rainfall at Tytam and Pokfulam differs, sometimes in a great measure, from the rainfall day by day at Kowloon, but taking all the year round it will be found that the Kow- loon readings come very near those at either of the two reservoirs. The prospect for the year is by no means so dismal as it was last year, when the rainfall for June was exceptionally low and when what should have been the rainy season was almost an unprecedentedly dry one. July and August have yet to run before the rainy period can be said to be over, and it is to be hoped that these months will be productive of sufficient rain to fill Tytam. At present Pokfulam is almost full, as it contains 60,000,000 gallons of water, and the supply is, and has been for some days, obtained from that reservoir only, together with the streams. Tytam reservoir, which is not being drawn upon, contains 120,000,000 gallons, so that it is just about a third fall; but of course the streams are
on or about the 8th- May, 1896, members of the All others safe. Great excitement prevails here.\running very freely and for some time to come
month. The defendant
Sanitary Board as constituted by Ordinance The said No. 24 of 1887 of Hongkong. Francis William Clarke is also Medical Officer of Health of the said colony. Colin Rae is a member of the Hongkong Police Force and is one of the officers of the said Sanitary Board.
3. On or about the 8th May, 1896, the defendants or their servants or agents wrong fully and illegally entered upon the plaintiff's premises Nos. 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, and 90, Queen's Road East and caused great damage therein by pulling down and injuring certain mezzanine Aoors or cocklofts therein and taking away or wholly removing portion of the said mezzanine floors.
4.-On account of the illegal act of the defendants as aforesaid the plaintiff has suffered damage to the amount of $250).
The plaintiff therefore humbly prays (1).—That the defendants may be ordered to pay to the plantiff the sum of $250 and the plaintiff's cost of this suit.
(2.)—That the plaintiff may have such fur- ther or other relief as the nature of the case may require.
Ďated the 23rd June, 1896. The answer filed by the defendants is as fol- lows
1.-The defendants admit the truth of the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the petition.
2.The defendants act that on on about the 8th day of May, 1896, they or their servants or agents entered upon the printiff's premises at Nos. 80, 82. 84, 86, 88, and 90, Queens Road East, but they deny that they so entered either wrongfully or illegally
3. The defendants admit that they dr their servants or agents pulled down portions of certain cocklofts belonging to Nos. 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, and 90, Queen's Road East, but the defendants state they were justified in so doing under the provisions of the Closed Houses and Insanitary Dwellings Ordinance, 1894, and of the by-laws made thereunder, and
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[Mr. Ollia had been resident in Formosa for a number of years.
His firm is interested in the camphor trade and he was no doubt at Hoonim in connection with that business. The deceased gentleman's son arrived at Hongkong only a few days ago from India. It does not appear from the above letter or telegram that the report of Mr. Ollia's murder has been con- firmed and there is therefore still room for hope that he may have made good his escape.]
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
The following correspondence has been for- warded to us by the Hon. T. H. Whitehead for publication
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a letter which I
House of Commons, London, 5th June, 1896. My dear Mr. Whitehead,-I enclose Mr. Chamberlain's reply to addressed to him, not long ago, urgently press- ing upon him the claims of Hongkong to ad- ditional unofficial representation in the Legis- lature Council. I dwelt upon the strong and general feeling of the colony on the subject, on the facts that the predominance of the Crown was not endangered, that the object was solely to ensure the fullest representation of local opinion, and so forth. I also asked whether there was any record in the Department of Lord Ripon's undertaking to you with respect to the concession of at least one or two additional un- official seats Before you receive this the decision of air. Chamberlain will probably have been published. I send this to complete the correspondence.
I trust the Minister's decision will be favour- able. You know how strongly I sympathize with the wish of the colony, and how I have thrown my small influence throughout into the scale for you. If I can do anything in the future (assuming that the decision is unfavour. 'able), please let me know.
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they will be carrying into the reservoir the water which has fallen during the past With an abundance of rain during July and August Tytam reservoir should be filled before it is utilized again. Certain figures relating to the rainfall and the effect on the water supply will no doubt be interest- ing to consumers. Hon. F. A. Cooper, the Water Authority, reckons that one inch of rainfall is equivalent to about 4,000,000 gallons of water at Pokfulam, and 7,000,000 at Tytam. In ad. dition, the catchwater at the east of Tytėm gives about 1,500,000 and about 2,000,000 gallons are drawn from the streams; so that altogether one inch of rain means a gain to the water sup- ply of about 14,500,000 gallons. Of course these figures cannot be said to be mathematically correct, but they can be relied upon as approxi, mately accurate. As the consumption per day - is 3,000,000 gallons, we require a yearly rainfall of about 90 inches for the purposes of a constant water supply.
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· PRESENTATION TO PLUCKY POLICEMEN.
There was a very large gathering of the mem- bers of the Hongkong Police Force at the Con- tral Police Station on the 3rd July... The oc- oasion was the presentation of medals to Police Constable 70 Hoggarth and Chinese Constable 30 Li Lin who displayed such conspicuous bravery in arresting the Wanchai murderer. Amongst those present were Mr. H. B.-Lethbridge (Acting Captain Superintendent of Police), Deputy Superintendent Corcoran, and Chief Inspector Mackie.
Mr. Lethbridge made the presentation and said-His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to recognise the gallant, conduot, dis- played by P.C. 70 Hoggarth and P.C. 223, Li Lin when arresting the murderer of the District Watchman on the night of the 2nd May last. The special jury, in finding the prisoner guilty of the crime, added a rider in which they
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