The-Hong-Kong-Weekly-Press-1898-03-12 — Page 14

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THE ROYAL HONGKONG GOLF CLUB.

CAPTAIN'S CUP FOR MARCH.

A fair average number of competitors entered for this cup, resulting in a tie between two of the members, but the scoring was not very bril. liant, in spite of the fair weather prevailing during the three days set apart for play Dr. J. M. Atkinson

89 Mr. A. J. McClure

103 14

105

16

89

Dr. J. Bell...

105

15

90

Mr. E. A. Ram

102

9

93

18 entries.

POOL.

Mr. G. Stewart

86

101

12

104

14

102 103

Mr. G. Millward

Mr. E. R. Morriss...

Mr. H. L. Dalrymple Mr. E. A. Ram

3248 σ

9

tie

83

89

BERL

90

94 94

15 entries. The monthly winners of the Cup-9 at pre- sent in the colony--are notified that the final for possession of the trophy will play off at an early date; the draw will be posted in the Club house in a day or two.

The tie for this cup between Dr. Atkinson and Mr. McClure was played off on Thursday morning and resulted in a win for the latter: Commencing with an eight and winding up with the same figure his card shows 102 loss 1686. The members now left in to compete for final possession, Mr. Palmer having scratched, are Messrs. W. Taylor, H.W. Slade, G. T. Veitch, A. J. McClure, C. W. May, H. L. Dalrymple, W. J. Saunders, and V. A. C. Hawkins. The first ties must be played by 14th inst., and the second ties by the 21st inst.

CORRESPONDENCE.

[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.]

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THE NEW POST OFFICE.

TO. THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESS,'

SIE-Anent the discussion now going on, I wish to put my spoke in the wheel. Personally I would prefer the Post Office to remain on its present site, because think it most central. It has taken about five years to decide whether we needed a new Post Office at all. For heaven's

sake don't let us waste another five years in deciding where the Post Office is to be, and per- haps another five years to build it. What is needed is more room, and the sooner the Hon. Mr. Ormsby is instructed to get on with the work the better.

There has been a great deal said against the Post Office lately, but with the inadequate ac- commodation they have I for one think they do their work wonderfully well. My firm put through the Post Office an average of about three thousand letters a month and it is very rarely we have any mistake.-Yours &c.,

DISPATCH.

Hongkong, 4th March, 1898.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESS."

THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND

| tensive. They have been kept in good repair, and it would seem that the Court House could be easily adapted to the present wants of added room to the Post Office, next door, Again, it would probably be found practicable to put an additional storey upon the Post Office and the Land Office buildings. This would not only give more room, but added light and air.

This arrangement would seem adapted to the present need. In a few years time, should the expectations of some people he fulfilled, that the present site of these offices may become too crowded for their convenient use, then a change might be made. The land on the Praya Reclamation will bear keeping, and | pay well for so doing. The advance of the Chinese towards the Hotel will also increase rather than lessen the value of the sites of the present buildings. Thus there would seem no fear whatever of any loss, but rather that a gain would result. Moreover, the above suggestion if adopted would be a sort of compromise of a difficulty and difference which has unfortunately divided those who should, with all of us, be striving with all of might and meaug to promote unitedly the public benefit. Pray excuse this hasty letter. I had left my office at six o'clock and in passing the Supreme Court these thoughts occurred to me, and I retraced my steps to jot them down.-Yours truly,

PRO BONO PUBLICO. Hongkong, 4th March, 1898.

A CORRECTIÓN.

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11

TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESS.

SIE,-In your leading article of the 3rd in- stant you say that I stated in Council that the resolution proposed by me, and which subse. quently passed, committed the Council to no- thing. This is entirely a mistake. What I did say was that the resolution left the matter of the purchase of Beaconsfield open. I certainly un- derstand that the resolution passed finally set- tled two questions, so far as the Legislative Council of this colony is concerned, namely, that the new Law Courts should be built on the site immediately in front of the City Hall, and that the new Post Office and Treasury, and possibly other Government offices, should be built on the site now occupied by the Post Office and Supreme Court in Queen's Road.--I am, Sir, yours faithfully,

R. D. ORMSBY,

D.P.W. Public Works Department, 8th March, 1898.

PROVINCIAL INDEPENDENCE.

It is well known that many of our difficulties with China arise from the semi-independence of the provincial authorities, who are appointed indeed from Peking and are accountable to the

Ea

peror for their actions, but who in their own provinces are almost entirely independent of the Central Government, as long as they keep order and send up to Peking a sufficient portion of their revenue from time to time. Ever since Foreign Representatives were stationed at Peking, the tendency has been more and more to centralise the government of the Empire. The extension of the telegraph has helped this on, and the construction of railways will give it another good impetus; while every fresh loau that is contracted by the Central Government necessarily interests Peking more and more in the finances of the provinces.

[March 12, 1898.

deterred from carrying out the Imperial wish by the natural opposition to the measure on the part of the men and officers whom it was pro- posed to disband, by the objections of the pro vincial authorities to whom the handling of the pay of these regiments was a very important consideration, and by the fear, fostered naturally by the provincial authorities, that the disbanded officers and men would get up a new rebellion on their own account; and the pro- posed reform has been in abeyance ever since.

In the late war, however, the inefficiency of these "Green" troops was so glaringly displayed that the Central Government has had to look into the matter with renewed earnestness, and it began to consider the advisability of saving the enormous sum annually appropriated for the maintenance of this useless, and to a great extent non-existent army, and using it to pay for new bodies of foreign-drilled troops, for whom the Central Government has now to find the necessary funds where it can. Accordingly, as early as 1896 the Emperor issued special edicts calling upon the provincial authorities to disband at least one-half of the "Green" regiments as a beginning. The provincial authorities, how ever, seeing that the result would be that they would still have to find the money, but that they would not have the handling of it but would have to send it to Peking to be used in the formation of an Imperial army which would not be under their control, made a variety of excuses without giving a direct nega- tive, asking above all to be allowed to delay the disbandment until more propitious times. Only two or three Viceroys or Governors made any serious attempt to obey the edict, and when they saw their colleagues in other provinces treating the Imperial order as a dead letter, they also stopped the disbandment of their troops; and in this state matters remained until the commencement of the present Chinese year. The troubles with Russia and Germany have seriously alarmed the Emperor, and he understands that if China is to preserve what independence is now left to her, she must have a reliable army; and accordingly he has sent another urgent decree round the provinces ordering the disbandment of the troops.

Green

It is stated that, having no valid excuse to offer, the Viceroys Chang Chih-tung of the Hukuang provinces, and Tao Mn of the Shen-Kan provinces, with Governors Wei- Kuang-tao and Chên Pao-chên, of Shensi and Honan respectively, have sent up memorials which convey a flat refusal to obey the decree in question. In reply the Emperor, in a recent decree, has sent a peremptory order to the disobedient Viceroys and Governors to obey his commands within six months, or render them. selves liable to impeachment as traitors to the Throne. It is a very interesting situation.

The financial difficulties of the Government ·

are, of course, at the bottom of these troubles; As was pointed out some time ago, the payments that the Government have had to make in conse- quence of the late war have so crippled it, that it has had to recoup itself in the best way it can from the provincial treasuries. But the provincial authorities have no money to spare, without incurring the odium of increasing the local taxation, and now they are to have a por- tion of the likin diverted to the service of the new loan. Unless China adopts complete fi nancial reform, with the centralisation that cir- cumstances are making imperative, there will be very serious trouble in the near future, and it is very doubtful whether the necessary re- forms can be adopted without serious friction between the Central and the semi-independent provincial governments.-N. C. Daily News,

COAL FOR THE RUSSIAN FLEET.

SIE,-I have read with much interest your very careful and well balanced article of the 3rd instant upon this much vexed question. Its effect upon my mind was simply to balance the pros and cons. Perhaps this was your inten- tion. In the difficulty and uncertainty which prevails in men's minds, as to whether the pre- sent site should be utilized or the Post Office and Treasury be moved to the Praya, there is one certain and undisputed fact, that a very A question has lately come up for solution, large outlay will have to be met. Has the colony which seems likely to put a considerable strain this sum to spend? All seem to concur in the on the relations between Paking and the pro- necessity for a new Supreme Court House. This vinces, and may lead during the coming summer is considered to be absolutely necessary. Its loos- to quite unexpected and yet very serious de- Lion on the new Praya site will also have many velopments. It will perhaps be remembered advantages, one of the chief of which would be that ever since the late war with Japan, the the peace and quiet which would reign around Central Government has shown itself very We understand that the Norwegian steamer it as compared with the noise and tumult of the anxious to do away with the "Green" or terri-Pronto, which left Shanghai on the 23rd Febru Queen's Road. But is there an equal justifica-torial regiments, owing to their proved useless- ary, ostensibly for Nagasaki, for which port she tion for calling for a new Post Office and Trea-ness as fighting men in time of war. The utter was cleared by the Customs, is really bound to Eury?

decay, owing mainly to corruption and the Port Arthur with a full cargo of Cardiff coal The need of more accommodation is undeni-canker of a long peace, of this branch of China's for the Russian fleet. She is, in fact, chartered able. Can this not be well obtained by the military organisation was realised at the time to make three runs to that port with 2,000 tons utilization of the present Supreme Court? All of the Taiping Rebellion, when the Government of coal, for which the Russians have paid a very three of these buildings, which it is now proposed were compelled to enlist" Braves," or country handsome figure. We also hear that Russia, to rase to the ground, appear to be exceptionally militia, to fight against the rebels. Even then has secured another large cargo of Cardiff coal substantial, and by no means wanting in fair it was intended to do away with the Green" in the South. If we are not much mistaken proportion. The buildings are also very ex- regiments, but the Central Government was she will want it all ere long-China Gazette.

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