April 29, 1898.]
the commission was issued we met again and prepared a lengthy series of questions to be ad- dressed to the different interests in the colony -the wine merchants, importers of wines and spirits,the licensed dealers and the naval and milit ary medical authorities. The answers to some of there have been received and the result of our pre- liminary inquiries and investigation was this, that so far as we could see there was nothing very serious the matter, there was nothing really substantial to inquire into. From Mr. McCallum and Mr. Brown we ascertained that so far as their knowledge and experience went there was nothing in the shape of adulteration practised in the colony. They had never had any proof if it, and so far as their experience went they believed adulteration was not pre- valent. The very most that was done was that the liquor was weakened, and if there was any. thing wrong it was in connection with the liquor imported; perhaps a good deal of the -liquor was too crude and not of the very best quality. The Captain Superintendent of Police was the only witness examined by the Commission at the sittings it h:ld. Mr. May had nothing to complain of either as to the conduct of the keepers of public- honses generally, or the quality or quantities of the liquors sold, and in fact said there was no reason to complain of drunkenness in the colony. They got answers from the naval and military medical officers and they bad no serious complaint against the quality of the liquors supplied to the meu. They had nothing to suggest, and broadly, we came to the conclusion that there was little or nothing substantial to inquire into. One point with reference to which amendment was possible conld only be tackled by interfering with the trade of the port, and imposing restriction on the import of liquors of different descriptions, and imposing tests aud calling for examinations and reports from the importers of liquors, which would seriously in- terfere with the free trade of the port, and which would be most strenuously resisted. Therefore, when Mr. Wodehouse had to go away the meetings of the Commission were delayed in consequence of his illness,—when Dr. Hartigan was leaving the colony for twelve
months, when Mr. McCallum was taken ill and had to leave, so that it was absolutely necessary to re-constitute the Commission, I mentioned the matter to Mr. Cobbold, who was practically the only other member of the Commission besides myself, and we agreed that there was very little to inquire about, and very little use to continue the Commission, and, therefore, I informally addressed the Government on the matter. The result of that communication was that Mr. Wodehonse was asked to hold a meeting of the then members of the Committee
to ascertain their viewE I attended 008 meeting, and we were unable to get a quorum Mr. Wodehouse called another meeting on the morning before he went away, but it was impossible to get a quorum, and this meeting was called. I, therefore, beg to move that the Commission be allowed to lapse.
I
The Rev. R. F. COBBOLD-Gentlemen, it may be a matter of surprise to some of you, as it was to myself, when I received notice of this meeting, to learn that until five minutes ago had no idea whatever as to what the business was. Mr. Francis will pardon me if I express my entire disapproval of what he has said. It left I had a conversation with him, but I think he must have absolutely misunderstood what I said. Mr. Francis has just said entirely on his own authority that the result of the inquiry as far as it has gone is that there is nothing very serious the matter. That, gentlemen, is a point on which I absolutely disagree with him. I have no intention whatever of shirking the duty which, gentlemen, at your instigation and request, has been placed upon us by the Govern- ment. We cannot possibly prejudge this ques. tion. Whatever our opinion may be at present as to the possible result at which we may arrive, I do not think we have any right whatever at the present moment to say that this Com- mission ought to cease to exist. (Applause.) | It has been suggested that not long ago a Commission sat at home to inquire into very much the same kind of matters we have in hand, and that the result of their inquiry was practically nothing could be done. I be lieve it is partly upon that ground that it has
is true that some time before Mr. Wodehouse
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
been suggested that this Commission should cease, but, gentlemen, our conditions here are not the same as those at home. I do not say we shall not arrive at the result which Mr. Francis has so clearly sketched out to us, but this is not the question before us. The Commission has been appointed with definite powers, definite scope, and it is our duty to continue it.
Mr, FRANCIS-I would ask leave to say one word in explanation. If I conveyed the idea that there was any formal expression of opinion, I failed to express myself clearly, but communicating personally with Mr. Cobbold be distinctly expressed at the time his agree- inent with me." I have carefully perused Mr. May's evidouce, as submitted to the Committee, and I am perfectly satisfied, and anybody who reads it over will be fully satisfied, that the Captain Superintendent of Police, who has immediate control of the licensed houses, coffee shops, and other public houses here, sees nothing that requires amendment, and is satisfied with the method of conducting the public houses. Mr. Browne, the Secretary, stated emphatically to myself and Captain Hastings, when talking the matter over the other day, that in the reports of the military and naval medical officers, in answer questions submitted to them, that they had nothing whatever to complain of. All they said was that the men got too great a quantity of liquor but as to the quality they had nothing
to say.
to
The Rev. R. F. COBBOLD-I am sure Mr. Francis will agree with me in this point that hearsay evidence is of no practical value. I have not seen the answers to questious formulated by the Commission, neither has Mr. Francis, and we are not in a position to say that there is no use for the Commission.
Dr. STEDMAN-I beg to second Mr. Francis place of Dr. Hartigan, and I have had a lot of motion. I was appointed to the Commission in
and he tells me emphatically and distinctly that conversations with Mr. Browne on the subject,
be cannot by analysis detect any deleterious principles in the cheap whiskies and gins that are sold in this colony; that the cheap whiskies aud gins sold in this colony are cheap because they are not natural spirits, but manufactured spirits, and, so far as he can tell, were manu- factured with more or less pure proof spirit.
Certain flavours are added to them, certain
-
small proportions of whisky or gin, as the case may be, to give them a flavour, so that these manufactured spirits contain less fusel oil and far less furfuraldehyde than other expensive liquors. Mr. Browne has told me that in all these cheap whiskies he cannot find as much fusel oil, furfuraldehyde, and one or two other things, which are supposed to be injurious in newly-distilled whisky, as was found in much more expensive whisky, and more than that these cheap whiskies have been brought to him from these low grog shops in the town, and after analysing them and failing to find any. thing deleterious in them he has drunk these common cheap whiskies at his own table, and not only received no injury from them, but found them very
much like the ordinary whisky, except that they had not the same amount of flavour. It seems to me it is entirely a matter of analysis; we are left entirely in the analyst's hande, and if the Commission were to yestigate the spirits sold in this colony and send them for analysis, and the analyst tells you beforehand that he cannot find anything deleterious in the liquor the whole thing must
end in smoke.
Dr. CLARK-I would just like to say that the statement we have heard from Dr. Stedman is a most important one, one which practically settles the question. We are receiving the statement of the Government Analyst at second hand, and I would like to suggest, Sir, prior to the dissolution of this Commission-Would it not be well if the Commission took the evidence of Mr. Browne on that point, and if necessary call another meeting of the Justices to hear at first hand the evidence of the Government Analyst P
327
Dr. CLARK And these two members con- stitute the Commission.
Mr. FRANCIS-No, a quorum consists of the Chairman and two other members.
Dr. CLARK—I will move, "That the Govern ment be recommended to appoint the, Acting Police Magistrate Chairman of this Commis sion, and that this meeting of the Justices begs to suggest to the Commission that they take the evidence of the Government Analyst upon the question as to whether it is possible by analysis to prove the deleteriousness or otherwise of cheap liquors sold in this colony, and report the result of that evidence to a future meeting of the Jus- tices." Then, Sir, we should be in a position to consider the question whether it is worth while to waste valuable time taking further evidence. Until we get that, we have no evidence before. us to justify the dissolution of the Commission.
Dr. Lowson seconded.
Mr. FRANCIS withdrew his proposals in fa- vour of Dr. Clark's resolution.
Dr. CLARK's resolution was aarried unani- mously.
"THE LIFE OF NELSON AND ITS LESSONS."
LECTURE BY MR. J. J. FRANCIS, 2.0. Under the auspices of the Hongkong branch of the Navy League, on the 18th April Mr. J. J. Francis, Q. C., delivered lecture in the Chamber of Commerce Room at the City Hall on "The life of Nelson and the lessons to be learned from it." The chair was occupied by Commander Hastings. There was a fairly large audience.
Commander HASTINGS, in the course of a few remarks from the chair, said he was glad to say a sense of duty was animating the Hong- kong branch of the Navy League. They were bringing in recruits. He was glad to be able
to tell them that there were 172 members and
35 associates, making 207. (Applause.)
Mr. FRANCIS, at the outset," said his sketch was taken almost cutirely from the recent publication by Captain Malion, of the United States Navy, aud in the preface to that life, which he believed would remain for many years, if not for ever, the standard life of Nelson, Captain Mahon pointed out that the prepara- tion for that life and the studies necessary for its completion were simply the complement of Nelson's previous studies of the influence of sea power in the history of the world. The Captain described Nelson as the one who in himself summed up and embodied the greatness and the possibilities which sea power comprehended, the man for whom genins and opportunity worked together to make him the personification of the naval power of Great Britain. The Captain spoke of Nelson as concreting in himself that period in the history of the world in which the naval power
man
of Great Britain reached its culminating point. Nelson, born on the 29th September, 1758, was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar on the 21st of October, 1805. He was 47 years old when he died, and practically the history of his public life, of those great exploits which had gained for him such a conspicuous place in history, were summed up in the last 12 years of that life-from 1793 to 1805. There was one
point in connection with Nelson's career to which Mahon called particular attention. Through- out his life Mahon considered him and placed him side by side with Napoleon. They con stantly associated the names of Napoleon and Wellington as the two great antagonists of the period commencing practically in 1793 and terminating in 1815. Mahon pointed out and emphasised that the great antagonist of Napoleon, the man by whom the most serious blows were struck against Napoleon and the power of France, the man who at the principal points of his career confronted and opposed Napoleon, was not Wellington but Nelson. The lecturer enumerated many of these points, from Napoleon's first great campaign, when on his appearance off Tonlon Nelson was in the British fleet which was ... then in the occupation of the harbour of Toulon," to the reply from England to the Bat tle of Austerlitz by the Battle Trafalgar,
all the.com-
There which annihilated at on e anlf of
Mr. FRANCIS-In the present state there is no Commission. The question is whether the Government should re constitute it. are only two members of it-myself and Mr.bined French and Spanish navies. The lecturer Cobbold.
adde that if Wellington was able in succeed-
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