260
HONGKONG.
The sun has been intensely powerful the past few days and doubtless everyone will be glad when cooler weather sets in. There has been very little doing in the colony in the way of important news during the week nuder review. A petition is being signed for presentation praying the Government to discontinue its Folicy of erecting solid stone piers in favour of open steel piers. The petition points out the superiority of open steel piers over the solid piers of masonry. The latter act as break- waters in tend to increase the siltage, to say nothing of the great inconvenience to which the public have to submit in windy weather owing to the water breaking over the piers and rendering landing either dangerous or impossi- ble. The fourth gymkhana meeting of the sea- son was held on Saturday and proved a success.
There were 2,095 visitors to the City Hall Museum last week, of whom 203 were Europeans. H. E. the Governor has given his assent, in the name and on behalf of the Queen, to the Supplementary Appropriation Ordinance for 1896 and the Infected Milk Ordinance.
The hon. treasurer of the Alice Memorial
and Nethersole Hospitals begs to acknowledge with thanks the following donation to the funds of the Hospitals:-Ho Ngok Lan, $50.
A European constable stationed at No. 5 Police Station was recently attacked with enteric fever. It is supposed his illness was caused by drinking milk brought from a Chinese dairy. He is a patient in the Govern ment Civil Hospital.
We regret to learn of the death from small- pox of Lieutenant Dawson, R.A., which oc- curred in the Kennedytown Hospital on Monday afternoon. The deceased had been ill only a few days. His early death will be sincerely regretted by a large circle of friends.
Star had another trial trip on 22nd Sept. in order The new double-ended ferry launch Guiding to test the new propellers she has received since the first trial trip. The trial gave every satis- faction. The new launch will be put on the
regular service in about a week's time.
At the Police Court on 24th Sept. two Hong- ham bone boilers were each fined $10 for creat- ing a nuisance. Sanitary Inspector Macdonald proved the case and said the defendants had created a very great nuisance in Hongham by not complying with the by-laws dealing with the trade.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
|
The Shanghai Mercury says: -The Rev. Missions Etrangeres, Shanghai, is to leave here Father Beaublat, assistant at the Procure des for Hongkong to take charge of the Mission's Father Beaublat's departure will be as keenly regretted by his many friends beyond the pale of the Church as by those who have been accustomed to receive his priestly ministrations.
Sanitarium.
Two shipping cases were before the Magis- trate on 25th Sept. In the first six Lascar firemen on the steamship Mogul refused to obey the orders of Captain Wright, and they were sent to gaol for fourteen days. In the second case an Arab seaman employed on the British ship Fannie Scholfield was charged was disobey- ing orders. The prisoner, who said the quality of his rations was very bad, was sent to gaol
for one month.
killed at Kowloon owing to a landship which The inquest on the body of a coolie who was
occurred during the digging of a trench was concluded on 24th Sept. Mr. Hazeland, of the Public Works Department, said he did not think anyone ought to be blamed for the occurrence, because if rain had not fallen it
was probable the bank of earth would have stood firm. His Worship returned a verdict that no blame could be attached to anybody. of accidental death and expressed the opinion
Telegraphic intelligence was received from England on 22nd Sept. of the death of Mr. Ed- mand Sharp, formerly Crown Solicitor of Hong. kong. Mr. Sharp arrived in the colony in 1863 to establish himself in practice, and in 1871 he was appointed Crown Solicitor on the death of Mr. F. I. Hazeland, the previous incumbent of the office. Mr. Sharp retained an interest in his firm, now Johnson. Stokes, and Master, until 1890, but had practically retired a year or ceased gentleman enjoyed a lucrative practice two earlier. During his residence here the de- and having also been fortunato in bis invest- possessed of considerable wealth. He married ments he was reputed on his retirement to be
a second time a few years ago and leaves a widow and one child,
[September 29, 1897.
British dollars are being counterfeited in tion. That is the report current here, and it Singapore and sent to Hongkong for circula- is hoped that shopkeepers and people generally will take warning and be on their guard against "smashers." One shopkeeper in Queen's Road East has already caught one man, who appeared before the Magistrate on Monday. The prisoner went into the shop and after some bargaining He produced what looked like a good British agreed to purchase a tin of milk for 25 cents. dollar, but on being tested it was found to be spurions, and be was, thereupon given into cus- tody. He was sent to gaol for three months' with hard labour.
Two 'ricksha coolies had a little battle to
themselves early on the morning of the 23rd September. One of them brought his vehicle along Queen's Road and created a great noise. The other feared. the inhabitants of the im- slumbers and told the noisy one to be less bois. mediate district would be disturbed in their
terous. This gentle remonstrance irritated the obnoxious coolie, who attacked the other with a lump of wood, inflicting very severe in. juries on the head. The assailant was locked up and the victim was taken to the hospital. He appeared in the witness box yesterday morning with his head enclosed in a multitude of bandages, which seemed to weigh him down, for he could not keep up his head. The prisoner was fined $10 and also bound over to keep the peace for six months.
Wodehouse heard a charge of embezzlément pre- At the Magistracy on 25th Sept. Hon. H.E. ferred against Lee Kun, a clork in the Dairy Farm Company, Limited. The allegation was that the prisoner had sold three bottles of se- parated milk on the 23rd inst. and six bottles on the 24th inst., and that he had failed to enter the sales, thereby defrauding the company of al-
Dr. Noble, director of the Company, there has together 45 cents. According to the evidence given by Mr. W. H. Potts, the Secretary, and
of late bee an considerable difference between and the quantity accounted for as sold, as many the quantity of milk handed out for distribution
as 1,600 bottles having been lost during this month. Suspicion fell upon the prisoner, whose A Chinese carpenter employed on the Heung-duty was to enter on a slip of paper all sales shon had a curious experience which he related to the Hon. H.E. Wodehouse at the Police Court on the 24th Sept. He was unfastening some windows with a long screw driver when the The case of the two women who jumped into compradore of the boat thought he was going the harbour with a boy ten years of age was to strike him with it. By some means which again before the Magistrate on 22nd Sept. His the carpenter could not explain the screw driver Worship bound the women over in their own did hit the compradore on the head, causing recognizances of $10 to be of good behaviour much blood to flow. That, at any rate, was and directed them to be taken to the Po Leung the excuse pot forward by the carpenter when Kuk Society's home. The boy was discharged. | charged at the Police Court with assault. The It is notified in the Gazette that the follow-compradore's story was somewhat different and ing Ordinances have been approved by Her in all likelihood more reliable. He was turning Majesty, namely, An Ordinance to consolidate away a boy from the ship when the carpenter and amend the Laws relating to the Protection deliberately struck prosecutor on the head and of Women and Girls and An Ordinance to chest with the screw driver, inflicting a severe authorise the Appropriation of a further Sup- wound on the head. The Magistrate thought plementary sum of $900 to defray the charges this story was more probable than the one with -of the year 1895.
an element of mystery in it and therefore fined the carpenter $10.
Overheard in the Tram :-Eminent Official (reading in the morning paper the petition re steel wharves)--"What nonsense this is about the waves breaking over the new Murray Pier! A couple of dollars' worth of oil would settle that" Cute Shipping Mau-"Yes, but how are you to get at the waves to put the oil on ?” Collapse of Eminent Official,
•
On Sunday the bronze statue of Count Senna Fernandes was erected in Macao. It is life size and stands on a handsome granite pedestal with inscriptions in Portuguese and Chinese. As already stated by our Macao correspondent, the statue was subscribed for by the Chinese mer- chants of Macso. Several acres of ground round the statue bave been acquired, and are to he laid out as a garden and enclosed by an ornamental iron railing. We understand that the unveiling will not take place for some weeks yet. Owing to the great weight of the pedestal considerable difficulty was experienced in regard to transport and erecting, but these have now been successfully overcome by Messrs. Brown, Jones & Co., of Hongkong, who supplied the stone work. The statue, which appears to be an expectionally fine work of art, was designed from a number of different photographs and cast by one of the first firms in Italy.
The annual meeting of the members of St. Andrew's Society was held at the City Hall on 24th Sept. Hon. J. H. Stewart Lockhart pre- sided and in moving the adoption of the report and statement of accounts called attention to the present satisfactory position of the Society. The last ball was a success, but it was accom- panied by its invariable concomitant, a deficit. It seemed almost impossible to hold a Scotch ball in Hongkong without having a deficit. This was perhaps due to the lack of enthusiasm at the beginning and he trusted that in future members would lighten the burden of the in- defatigable hon. Secretary, Mr. Wood, by show- ing more enthusiasm. The motion was seconded by Mr. Fullerton Henderson and carried. The Hon. J. J. Bell Irving was elected ing officers were appointed-Mr. G. C. An- President for the ensuing year and the follow- derson, Vice President; Mr. D. R. Crawford. Hon. Treasurer; Mr. David Wood, Hon, Secretary. The following were elected on the Committee-Major-General Black, Hon T. H. Forbes. It was unanimously resolved to cele Whitehead, Messrs. MacEwen. Bain, and
brate next St. Andrew's Day by a ball.
by him and then to transfer the account into a book, paying the whole of the money over at stated times. The Captain Superintendent of Police was communicated with and a milk dealer who bought three bottles of sepa- rated milk from the prisoner on the 23rd. inst. was requested to attend the office. The pri soner's slip was examined and it yas seen that he had not entered the sale. He was thereupon arrested for embezzlement of 15 cents, the value of the milk. While this charge was being made against him at the Police Station Mr. Walker, the manager, preferred a second charge of embezzling 30 cents, the value of six bottles which the prisoner had sold on the 24th inst, and had failed to enter
on his slip of paper. In regard to the three bottles the prisoner's explanation was that on reckon. ing up the day's sales, he found he was 15 cents over the amount recorded on the slip of
bottles of milk at 8 cents a bottle and failed paper. He thought he must have sold two
to enter the sale, and he therefore put one cent of his own money to the 15 cents to make up the amount, which he would have paid over in the ordinary course. He remembered having sold the six bottles and admitted having failed to make a note of the sale. But the slip of paper was only a memorandum and if in the evening be found he had cash over the amount recorded on the slip of paper he always entered it in the book as so much surplus fresh milk sold. He had not handed over any of the money and therefore there was no proof that he had been guilty of embezzle- ment. Dr. Noble, in answer to the Magistrate, said that if this explanation was improbable he could not prove it was false because the prisoner had not handed over the money, but it seemed very curious that the same thing occurred on two days in connection with the same buyer. When asked if he had sold any separated milk on the 23rd the prisoner replied "No. If such milk had been sold it would be recorded on the slip of paper." His Worship said there were one or two points which he wished to consider and he therefore adjourned the case.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.