386
The leading first class boat was thus just over half an hour in front of the leading second olass boat, and as there were strong winds and light, rough water and smooth, the race should be a good guide as to the suitability of each class to Hongkong waters.
The first of a series of three races for the commodore's cup will be sailed on Saturday, the 13th inst. starting at 2.30 from Kowloon Point.
FIRST RACE FOR COMMODORE's cups,
NOVEMBER 13TH, 1897.
This race was sailed in a nice fresh breeze on Saturday afternoon, starting at 2.30, and proved a great success. The course was from the starting line off Kowloon Point, round Channel Rocks, the chequered buoy marking the man. of-war anchorage, the west red buoy of Messrs. Meyer & Co's. iron pier near Bay View and back to the starting line, all marks being left to starboard; 8 miles.
The following boats started. *
Erica
Meteor
FIRST CLASS.
Mr. A. Denison
Maid Marian
"
J. Hastings
Chanticleer
C. A. Tomes
54
C. H. Kew
**
H. E. Pollock
Officers R. E.
SECOND CLASS.
Officers R.E.
Active
Sybil
Dart
Elfin Aileen
Dr. Clarke
*
Scratch Scratch 30 seconds
1 minute 2 minutes
Scratch Scratch
2
TJ
9
23
++
Payne Ladybird Mr. C. D. Wilkinson 1 min. 20 sec. She
E. M. Hazeland 2 minutes W. Hamann Capt. Phillips All the boats but Elfin started with one reef. About two minutes before gun fire Erica got hung up on the outriggers of a junk. but got clear without much damage in time to cross the line before the last of the fleet. The starting line was more than usually obstructed, there being no less than four steam launches and about 10 juuks on or about the line when the starting gun went.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
CORRESPONDENCE.
[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.]
WITH HOW MUCH WISDOM HỌNG. KONG, IS GOVERNED.
23
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS.
SIR.As to the remarks made by me in the Legislative Council on Monday, 8th instant, on the subject of the prospective and possible heavy loss to the ratepayers through the Government having borrowed loans in gold instead of in silver, may I ask you to republish at your con- venience, for the information of those concerned, the following extracts from the speech made by me in Council on 11th January, 1893. When speaking on Stheinstant I would mention that the arguments which I used on 11th January, 1893, had quite escaped my recollection :-
"Thi si a silver using colony; its rates and taxes are collected in dollars. The Government now ask for authority to raise a loan in gold which will have to be repaid in gold. In your Excelleney's opening address you informed the Council two months ago that the position of the colony in regard to its finances has never in recent yearss been as correctly presented to honourable members as it might have been, and that the state of affairs so far as the colony's finances are concerned could not be considered The unofficial members entirely satisfactory. quite share in your Excellency's views. the Government now asked for the Council's
If
sanction to raise a moderate silver loan I should
help to pass such a Bill at this sitting, but the Government seeks for anthority to borrow in gold. It is most nnwise for a silver using colony to contract a loan in gold at the present time, when the immediate and future gold value of silver is shrouded in boundless uncertainty, greater than was ever known, and when no one, begins to know what is going to happen to the metal. In your Excellency's opening address to the Council In the beat up to Channel Rocks Erica, Meteor two months ago yon said: The frequent and Maid Marian went away from the rest of fluctuations in silver and eastern exchange are the fleet, and had a race to themselves, getting naturally creating great difficulties, and indeed round the rock within about 40 seconds. Active consternation, in countries in which the silver and Chanticleer were making a good race of it standard is in force, as well as in one of the with Sybil in close attendance, and Ladybird largest and wealthiest co unties in England. It and She were leading the rest of the second class. is sincerely to be hoped that the monetary con- In the run down to the chequered buoy Lady-ference which is about to meet will decide on bird, with her enormous sail spread, ran out of her own class into the first. getting round the buoy just in front of Sybil. Elfin broke her bobstay and gave up after rounding. Most of the boats had shaken out their reefs before rounding Chanuel Rocks and started the second beats under whole sail.
The times at the chequered buoy were:-
52
H.
M.
8.
Erica
3
4 35
Maid Marian...
Meteor
Phoebe
Active
3
Chanticleer
3 49
28
Sybil
3 50
Ladybird
She...
Dart
Payne
Eltin Aileen
4
3959388
31 50 26 11
55
37
31
45
In the second beat up Erica and Maid Marian gained considerably on Meteor, and Chanticleer passed Active. Ladybird also went away from Sybil, gaining a minute in the short beat to the Oil Works buoy. She and Dart were making a close race of it, She just getting round the buoy before Dart, but was passed again on the run down. The line was crossed at the finish as below
Erica Maid Marian. Meteor
Chanticleer
Phoebe
Active
Sybil
Ladybird Dart
She ...
Payne
Aileen
8. H. M. 4 20 21 421 54 4 24 23 22 4 27 4 30 18
4 31
6
4 35 10
4 34
7
4 42 15 4 42 26 4 15 36
18 13
10 marks
4
}}
1 mark
10 marks
1 mark
4 marks
some sort of bimetallism which will at all events give a fixity of value to silver coin, which appears to be the first consideration. If such should be the case the effect would be im- mediately felt by the energetic business com- munity of this well-favoured Island.'
[November 18, 1897.
that time was about 3s, 21d. per dollar while If the loan was re- to-day it is 2s. 8d. paid to-day the colony would lose in exchange 15 to 17 per cent. That is not the only loss. There is a redemption fund which has been in. vested by the Crown Agents in the securities of other colonies, some of which have depreciated in value some 8 to 10 per cent since they were purchased. There is no reason why there should not be further depreciation in the securities and a further fall in the gold value of silver, all of which loss the colony will have to pay. Both India and China are silver asing countries. In bygone years they contracted loans in gold because by so doing they could borrow at a slightly lower rate of interest than they could have borrowed at in silver. China loses very heavily through having contracted such loans. India through having borrowed in gold now loses millions of pounds sterling per annum, and her finances are seriously dislocated and embarrassed thereby. Whatever may be the opinion of the honourable the Colonial Secretary Conneil we respectfully submit that we have more knowledge and experience in the financial world and in the world of business than the We entreat honourable the official members.
about the unofficial members of this honourable
your Excellency to allow the question of the colony's contracting another loan in gold to stand over for six months. At present no one knows what is going to happen in regard to the gold value of silver. In six months hence we may know something. If sound financial principles are followed the colony's loan should be in silver and not in gold. For a silver using colony to contract a gold loan now is to indulge in gambling at the risk and expense of the ratepayer. It may be a surprise that unofficial members should have again presumed to offer any suggestions on this question, having been recently told by the honourable the Colonial Secretary that they had shewn them- selves totally unfit for their positions in this Council by their honest endeavours to effect a retrenchment of £5,000 a year in the extravagant cost of Government, while their ill-advised action in his opinion did not betoken any marked capacity for administration. We are farther labouring under the reproof adminis- tered by your Excellency when you compared us unfavourably with other unofficial members of your acquaintance who were amenable to reason. We venture to hope that the honour- able the official members of Council will be amenable to reason in this matter, or if they are only amenable to your Excellency's commands and to the orders of the Secretary of State, that we will find your Excellency at least ready to give some weight to our arguments, and adjourn for six months the further consideration of this Bill until we are in a position to deal with the question intelligently and effectively."
It is a matter of history that:
1.-On the report of Lord Herschell's Com- mission the Indian Mints were closed to the
free coinage of silver on 26th June, 1893, and that a duty of 5 per cent. was imposed on silver imports into India;
2. That the international Monetary Cou- ference, Brussels, 1892, ended in failure; and
3.-That the Sherman Act was repealed in
has since then ceased to buy silver.
The International Monetary Conference met in Brussels recently and has adjourned its sittings nutil May next, while the Indian Cur- rency Commission presided over by Lord Her- schell is still taking evidence in London. The consensus of opinion amongst the highest finan- cial authorities of the age is that the Inter- national Monetary. Conference will reassemble four months hence simply to record its failure to effect any remedy to give stability to silver. If such should be the case it is almost certain that a determined effort will be made to repeal in the United States the law which now enforces America to purchase 51,000,000 of ounces of silver aunnally, or roughly speak-October, 1893, and the American Government ing 8 million pounds worth of the metal.
The unconscionable delay in realising any Should America cease her purchases one of the first authorities in London. Mr. Samuel portion of the Taipingshan area, resumed in was due to the mistake of the Government in Montagu, M.P., predicts a fall in the gold 1893, entailed heavy loss to the ratepayers and value of the rupee to ninepence, and in the dollar to Is. 6d. It is extremely unwise for this sub-dividing the land into lots too small and in silver using colony to borrow at the present attempting to obtain Crown rent out of all pro- portion to the possible rental of houses of such juncture in any other metal than the cur- rency in which its revenue is collected. The size and in so poor a neighbourhood. The rate- payers were not in the least degree to blame for colony's loan of £200,000 in 1887 was con-
the insanitary condition of the property. The tracted in gold in obedience to the orders
land was all Crown land, was laid out originally of the Secretary of State, and against the
by the Crown officers, all the houses were built general wish of the colonists. In 1886 the un-
in strict accordance with the Building Ordinance official members feared that there would be a further depreciation in the gold value of silver then in force, plans were submitted to and ap- which made it dangerous and inexpedient to proved of by the Government departments con. borrow in gold. Lord Stanley thonght differ.cerned, and the entire executive and legislative ently and was of opinion that an allowance for a further fall of 3d per dollar was sufficient to satisfy all prudent requirements. His Lord- ship's estimate has been very wide of the mark, for the gold value of the dollar has since fallen almost sevenpence per dollar. Exchange at
power was in the hands of the Queen's officers and not dependent upon any popular assembly or municipal council, For whatever was wrong the Government and its officers were solely res- ponsible. It was their duty to see that the in- terests of the public were properly safeguarded
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.