50
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
July 16, 1896.]
living memory," and the death being due that any such mistaken impressions have | THE GOVERNMENT PRINIERS AND to secondary causes, goes to establish the been conveyed as in the case of the THE GAOL PRINTING OFFICE. "conclusion that flogging with the rattan is papers on the petition for constitutional "not a punishment peculiarly perilous in reform. It may be that the further refer- "its infliction on 'Chinese," The inquiry ence to the Secretary of State has been for the of the Committee, while it failed to bring to purpose of asking him to accede more to light any abuses in relation to the adminis-popular opinion than was conceded in his tration of flogging, shows that the hospital accommodation in the Gaol is dangerously defective, and the Government should lose no time in acting upon the recommendations made on that point.
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original decision, and if that be so we will|“ be very glad to give the Government credit for the fact, but it seems a forlorn hope to expect concessions of any kind from our present Government except under the strongest pressure; and in any case it is desirable that there should be no conceal ment in the matter. If the last reference to the Secretary of State is in the nature of an application for a rehearing or reversal of judgment both parties to the dispute ought to have an opportunity of being heard.
THE DISTRESS IN JAPAN.
(8th July.)
THE SANITARY BOARD PAPERS.
It is to be regretted that the Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD'S motion at the last meeting of the Legislative Council for the production of the papers with reference to the proposed reconstruction of the Sanitary Board was not adopted. In reply to the arguments advanced by the hon. gentleman" it was stated that the question had been referred to the Secretary of State for final decision and that the Government did not intend to We would direct attention to the letter of lay the papers on the table until that de- the Right Rev. Bishop BURDON, enclosing cision had been received, that a decision one from Bishop AWDRY, published in supposed at the time to be final, had another column. The distress caused by the already been given, but that circumstances recent tidal wave in Japan is extreme, had since arisen that rendered another and doubtless there are many people reference necessary, and that now the in Hongkong who would wish to contribute final decision must be awaited. After to its relief. Bishop BURDON expresses this extraordinary explanation the Hon. C. himself ready to take charge of any P. CHATER withdrew his support from the subscriptions, but if his Lordship should motion, and Mr. WHITEHEAD thereupon, wish to be relieved of the clerical work seeing he could not carry his point, let it attaching to the office of treasurer drop. In this case, therefore, it is possible we of a public fund we have no doubt may have a repetition of what happened with some gentleman in mercantile life would regard to the papers in connection with be found ready to take his place in the petition. for a reform in the constitu- that respect. If any fund is raised tion of the Legislative Council. In August, in Hongkong the best channel that could 1894, Lord RIPON wrote a despatch, be found for its distribution would be expressing certain liberal views with regard to granting local control of local affairs, and concluded by saying " Whether 'any scheme of the kind is feasible "I would ask you carefully to consider at "your leisure, and in the meantime you are "at liberty, if you see occasion to do so, to give publicity to this despatch." Advant- age was taken of the loophole afforded by the direction for publication not being absolutely definite and the papers were not published for two years afterwards. And from the form in which they are published it would appear that no correspondence on the subject had taken place between August, 1894, and May, 1896, when Mr. CHAMBERLAIN's final decision was sent out, although it is said that in the meantime a considerable number of despatches had passed. It will be readily understood that it must have been very disagreeable to the Government to have to publish the despatches at all, and especially disagreeable to the Colonial Secretary to have dragged into the light his memorandum char acterising the community as ignorant and incompetent, but in view of Lord RIPON's expression of opinion the papers ought un- questionably to have been published' in 1894, and when finally they were published, two years later, they ought equally unques- tionably to have been complete. For ought we know they may be complete, for it is only a matter of hearsay that other despatches passed which have not been published, but it seems unreasonable to suppose that such an important 'question could have been left in a state of pendency for two years without something being said about it. However that maybe it would be decidedly more satisfactory if the Sanitary Board papers now produced so that the community an opportunity of addressing the State direct if it should be found
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The Medical Officer of the Gaol in his annual report says:-" As I stated last year, "the statistical tables could no longer be printed in the Gaol and I had to depend entirely on the Government printers. This "year, as they had in hand many more im- portant works, there was a greater delay in printing these tables, and for this reason I was unable to write this report sooner. This is a matter that seems to call for some investigation. To pay the Government printers for printing Gaol forms, or any other Government work for which the Gaol establishment is sufficient, is a wanton throwing away of the ratepayers money, and it seems also, from Dr. MARQUES'S report, to produce delay in the public service. Formerly useful employment was given to a number of prisoners in printing forms and documents in which very fine work was not necessary, but some time ago instructions were given that all printing was to be sent to the Gov- ernment printers and paid for. The Gov- ernment printers, we believe, put in a claim that printing in the Gaol was an in- fringement of their monopoly. But when was this monopoly created and by what authority? If there is any legal contract in existence it presumably only runs from year to year and on renewal could be varied to meet the absurdity of sending work out of the Gaol, to be paid for, which could as well be done in the Gaol for nothing. When the Estimates for next year come on for consideration the unofficial members might usefully enquire into this matter and see whether the agreement with the Govern- ment printers is a fair and proper one, made in the public interest, or whether it is not governed by personal favouritism of the description which some parties express so much fear would prevail if the ratepayers were allowed to manage their own affairs.
CONTEMPT OF COURT.
the committee formed at Kobe. A public meeting was held at that port on the 25th June, when a representative committee was appointed-consisting (with additions made subsequently) of Mr. SIM, Mr. HAPPER, Rev. J. L. ATKINSON, Mr. LENG, Bishop AWDRY, Mr.' VON Krencki, Mr. DE ATH, and Mr. C. P. HALL. At the date of our last advices from Kobe the sub- In another column we report some re- scriptions at that port amounted to $4,000, marks made by the Acting Puisne Judge and it was agreed by the committee to utilise in the Summary Court on the publica- 81,000 at once in the purchase of tools, etc., tion in our columns, before the case as a beginning. In a few days Mr. Sim was came on for hearing, of the pleadings in a to go north and personally,distribute these suit brought against the members of the among the people who are at present requir- Sanitary Board. Such publication his ing only some such help as this to put them Lordship holds to be contempt of Court. on their feet again and beyond the need of His-Lordship is good enough to say, how- any further charity. He would then also, ever, that he is satisfied no contempt was (we quote from the Kobe Chronicle)`" have intended, and that we can confirin, so far as an opportunity of studying the further this journal is concerned. It is right that requirements of the situation, a necessary we should express our regret for any step for which his unique experiences technical offence that we may inadvertently "make him specially qualified." At the have committed, and we shall of course, public meeting at Kobe it was at first sug-in the future, consider ourselves bound by gested that the funds raised at that port should the ruling of the Court, though that ruling be handed over to the Yokohama committee, does not commend itself to us as being either it being thought, apparently, that it was good law or sound policy. None of the unnecessary to have a committee at each cases quoted by his Lordship are on all fours port, but a proposition to that effect was not with the present one.
If the petition hạ carried. This was fortunate, for it appears been published without the answer the that the Yokohama community are giving strictures of the Court would have been their collections to the native authorities for well deserved, but the answer was given distribution, and as the Kobe Chronicle equal prominence with the petition. points out, there are reasons, well known to public and semi-representative Kobe residents of 1885 (Osaka flood) and sued, in the names of its members, by 1891 (Gifu earthquake), why any unknown private individual for what is alleged Japanese offering to take over the funds for a wrongful act, the subject being distribution should be fully guaranteed. which the public is vitally intere That is why we suggest that the funds raised fail to see in what way the adm in Hongkong should be forwarded to the of justice could conceivably Kobe committee for distribution, for that by the publication of the committee intends to carry out the work the state of the law h itself with Mr. SIM, well known to many in Puisne Judge describes it, we Hongkong, as its chief executive officer, that in our judgment the law D
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