490
it requires more than twenty years to seek a site to build upon. No sooner are the boundary stones put down in one place, than they are removed to another. It will soon be necessary to put weights on the top of the stones to keep them from walking from sito to site of their own accord. What a pity it is that the editor of Truth does not give the Public Works Department a little attention. A slight rub of caustic would doubtless do them a deal of good.
We hear that the Catholic nuns may be soon expected to commence work here. With their advent will probably come trouble, for, as is well known, the Chinese always mistrust those who make it a special business to care for poor Chinese-children.
The French Vice-Consul is also wandering around on the look-out for a site upon which to build a French Consulate, so you see we have a great land thirst upon us.
THE BANIAN TREE.
MACAU.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.] ·
Macao, 18th June, The British community of Macao, as I have already mentioned, are going to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee on the 21st inst. There are to be illuminations from 9 to 11 p.m. and a soirée. The invitations are signed by Mr. S. E. Beeton. When national rejoicings of this kind take place it is usual, I believe, for the invitations to be issued in the name of the official representative of the community giving the entertainment, but in view of what has recently occurred it has apparently been thought advisable that the name of Mr. Goffe, the British Vice-Consul, should not appear in the matter. In Mr. Beeton the community has a very worthy unofficial representative,
Many people intend to go from Macao to Hongkong to attend the Jubilee celebration in your colony. No doubt the Chinese will also be going in large numbers, and Hongkong will be crowded.
The weather during the last two days has been extremely hot, notwithstanding that we have had occasional showers and that there has been little sunshine, the sky being overclouded. Even the nights have brought little relief from the extreme heat.
On Saturday last, before the Director of Public Works and the other members of the dredging committee, the contract for dredg- ing the harbour was put up to competition. There was a large attendance of Chinese and the lowest offer was accepted, a Chinaman undertaking to do the work at the rate of $2.10 per square cheung of mud taken away in the boats. The work is to begin sometime next week. The method of dredging decided upon is that the old dredger that the Government bought some years ago is to be used. I believe the mud dredged is to be taken up the river, where it will make reclaimed land for rice fields. This idea does not appear a good one, as the mud will be very likely to be carried down here again. Here in Macao itself there are many places where the mud might be used for filling: purposes, by which a considerable amount of ground could be made available. plan of Senhor Loureiro, the engineer, was to make a sea wall from Macao to Green Island, the mud dredged from the harbour to be used in filling up the mud flat on the other side. The sum at present voted is not enough for the construction of the sea wall, but the dredged mud could be used to fill up the old junk docks at Suokong. This would be carrying out a part of Senhor Loureiro's plan and the sea wall could be constructed afterwards. Mean- time we would know that the mud would be deposited in a place from which it would not be warhed out to again silt up the harbour. If the mud is to be deposited where it will be washed down again by the river the money ex- pended will be wasted and the dredger will have to be kept at work for ever.
The
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND-
HONGKONG.
As we write (Monday) everything is in readi. ness for the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, but everybody is afraid of the weather-an import ant and disagreeable factor at this time of the year, as the sun may be shining brilliantly one minute and the rain descending in torrents another. Given fine weather and the populace will show evidence of loyalty which will be hard to beat.
The Della, of Hamburg, the latest now steamer of the Kingsin Line, arrived here on 16th inst. on her first voyage. She is a vessel of 3,134 tons and 2,200 horse-power,
The maximum temperature last month was 90, on the 31st, and the minimum 67.6, on the 1st, the mean for the month being 79.1. The rainfall amounted to 14.86 inches.
[June 22, 1897.
Commander W. C. H. Hastings has been sworn in as -Assistant Magistrate in order to relieve Mr. Wodehouse of some of the magis terial duties during the Jubilee preparations and celebrations.
Three Chinese dealers in arms were charged before Hon. H. E. Wodehouse on 16th inst. with selling arms to persons not authorized to carry them and also with not entering the sales of arms in a register. Each defendant was fined $50 for each offence.
A thief has lately been busy at the Victoria Recreation Club, and his latest exploit bas resulted in a very good haul. Money belong- ing to the Club was kept in a safe in the office of Mr. Lisberel, the steward, and on the mornings he found on going to the safe that it was unlocked. On the first occasion he did not attach any importance to the Regulations are published in the Gazette fact, thinking that probably he himself had with regard to vessels anchoring near the lines left the safe unlocked. On the second morn. of telegraph cables. No ships, junks, or vessels ing, however, he counted the money and found of any description are to anchor within the in- that over $300 was missing. He did not dicated areas; provided that junks and other na-
make any report to the police until the follow- tive craft employed at the North Point Petroleuming morning, when he found that the safe had Depot may anchor to the westward of a line again been tampered with and that a further drawn from the Eastern dolphin (300 feet from sum had been taken, making a total of 8314. the pier) to the Eastern portions of the build- Inspector Quincey is now inquiring into the robberies. It is thought that the thief opened ing on M. L. 277.
the safe with a key which unlocked but could not lock.
Those officials who affect to be so much afraid of the effect an unofficial Sanitary Board for Hongkong may be interested to know that the Home Department of the Government of India are preparing a com- parative review of the methods of working
of success Local and and the relative Municipal self-government throughout India. Most of the Provincial Administrations have already sent in their views upon the subject, which are understood to be, upon the whole, highly favourable to the working of the system in general, which, despite many short- comings, has attained a far greater measure of success than was originally anticipated in many quarters.
As the Magistracy on 16th inst., before Hon. H. E. Wodehouse, one of the owners of the oigar shop at 231, Queen's Road Central, which, it is alleged, was wilfully set on fire on the 21st May, was charged with arson. The prosecu- tion was conducted by Mr. H. L. Dennys, Crown Solicitor, and the prisoner was defended by Mr. Reece. The evidence for the prosecu- tion went to show that stock books had been altered by the prisoner in order to show a bigger stock than was actually in the shop. A former partner in the shop, who was brought down from Canton, said that the prisoner told him he would set fire to the shop because he had to pay off a debt owing to a man in Cali- fornia. The prisoner was remanded.
!
In the Supreme Court at Shanghai on the 12th June, before Sir N. J. Hannen, Mr. E. Nelson (of Messrs. Johnson, Stokes and Master) applied on a writ of habeas corpus for the discharge of Edward Vincent, who was arrested at Shanghai on a provisional warrant from Hongkong on a charge of stealing certain property of the Canadian Pacific Company, in whose service the prisoner had been as store. keeper. The grounds of the application were that the evidence against the prisoner did not show strong and proper presumption of guilt, and that, if there were reasonable or probable grounds, the charge was of a trivial nature. His Lordship refused the application and said that when the prison bonds returned from Peking the prisoner would be sent to Hong-
kong.
At the Police Court on the 18th inst., before Hon. H. E. Wodehouse, the keeper of an arms shop at 206, Queen's Road Central, was charged with not entering a sale of arms into his register: The magistrate considered the charge proved and told the defendant that he was convicted on the clearest possible evidence, but he had chosen to contest the case. On the previous day two arms dealers, who pleaded guilty, were each fined $50 for a similar offence and defendant Mr. Gedge who
· The Santa Casa da Misericordia has issued would be fined $100. a notice to the effect that the Society intends appeared for the defence, said the effect of to have a monthly lottery again, as before, and His Worship's decision was that if a defen. that the Society is prepared to receive offers dant disputed a charge and employed a solicitor from persons who wish to obtain the right of he would be fined double. His Worship replied that he would not have his decision commented nducting it. Why cannot the Society run they on its own account instead of divid-upon and told Mr. Gedge to sit down. Mr.
Gedge sat down. ing the profits with a farmer?
The old Hongkong Club-house has been pur- chased by Messrs. John D. Humphreys & Son for $127,000. When in 1893 the Club decided to build new premises on the Praya Reclama- tion the old premises were sold to the French Mission for $105,000, one of the conditions of the sale being that the Club should continue in occupation until the new premises were ready. The transfer to the new premises will now shortly take place. The purchase of the old Club-house by Messrs. John D. Humphreys
and Son bas set various rumours afloat, one of the most persistent being that the object of the purchase is the establishment of a new English Club. On en- quiry from the purchasers we were unable to obtain any definite information as to the use to which the property is intended to be put, the matter not having been finally settled. It seems to be a fact, however, that the idea of starting a new Club is under consideration.
COMMERCIAL.
TEA.
CANTON, 15th June.-Macao Congous.-Settle- ments for the fortnight consist of 1,600 boxes at Tls. 9 to Tis. 27 per picul. The second crop is reported as being very scanty and prices are high owing to the native demand for leaf for manufacture into Ponchongs. Scented Capers.--- Immediately after the publication of last report some purchases were announced and on the following day buying became fairly general. Altogether some 54,000 boxes have been settled, the demand, at first, running on Fine to Cario lines, which were taken at full prices; latterly fine teas have declined in price Tls. 1 to Tls. Ï per picul whilst medium to good medium are
cheaper by about Tls. 1 per picul. Prices gene- ally range about the same as last year for good medium to curio, but grades below good medium can be obtained at lower tael cost than last season. The pure Saikong teas, when unmixed with old, are certainly of excellent quality, and scenting flower was never better than it has been this season; in make, however, many of the teas
do not compare favourably with last year's first
crop, and they are sou ewhat lighter in colour their general excellence in cap should however, outweight these defects in an otherwise excellent first crop. Scented Orange Pekoes.-The demand for long leaf Tayshaus appear to be exhausted. The usual proportion of Onchaine is being offered with the capers this year, but many of the lower qualities are so dusty that buyers refuse to take them. The first crop scented caper leaf is now all to hand and is reported as 20 per cent. short of last season. Considerable quantities of list season's leaf still remain in some quarters, which will doubtless to some extent figure as New Season's Tea in future Reports.
EXPORT OF TEA FROM CHINA TO ODESSA.
1896-57 lbs. 8,903,670
Shanghai and flankow
1897-98 Ibs. 3,696,800
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