7
June 11, 1898.]
PRINCE HENRY AT WEIHAIWEI,
Shanghai, 1st June.
Reuter's agent has kindly informed us that Prince Henry of Prussia arrived at Weihaiwei on board the Deutschland on Monday; after saluting the British flag, he exchanged visits with Admiral Seymour, and walked over the island of Liukungtau. Everything went off smoothly. The British are busy giving names to the streets and the roads, and attending to sanitary measures. The pier is in fair order and vessels can load alongside it. A cable is being laid between the island and the mainland. Several indications point to the fact that it is likely that a number of Chinese merchants may establish themselves at Weibaiwei.-Mercury.
THE RIOTING AT WENCHOW,
A letter from Ningpo, dated the 28th May,
says:-
Last night the Protestant Missionaries gave a return dinner to the Taotai, prefect, and dis- trict magistrate. They were very much excited over further news which they had just received from Wênchow,
There had been further trouble, and the native officials, taking a firmer attitude, bad used the soldiers at their disposal, with the result that two persons were shot dead. This has complicated affairs; but the Wenchow officials were trying to appease the relatives of the two men by a money compensation of three thousand dollars. That the position of affairs in Wenchow was grave was evident from the conversation and demeanour of the officials here and we shall look with eagerness for news per Poochi on Monday next.
The mandarins in Ninggo are apprehensive of the troubles in other places tending to incite the people here. One good move has been made in the East Suburb Kiangtung-where rice is being sold at the rate of 36 cash per sheng, each family being allowed to purchase five sheng per day at this rate.
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To-day, the officials are consulting on mea- sures which would tend to mollify, the people, and put off any trouble until the first crop is garnered.
P.S.-Proclamations are out telling the.
will not be collected; there is furthermore a people that for the time being the House-tax rumour that the new opium tax will also be sus- pended for the time being.-N. C. Daily News.
Wenchow, 29th May.
The
We had hoped the rioting was over on Thurs day (19th), but a stupid notification was put out that rice would be sold last Sunday (22nd) to the extent of a dollars's worth each purchaser, at the house of a certain wealthy man. Chentai (Brigadier-General) had arranged to superintend the distribution, but to his dis- composure some thousands of applicants turned up, by six in the morning. Sansculottism was in excellent spirits, and would enjoy either plenty of rice or the equivalent in breakages. The Chentai soon found the post a laborious one, the distribution of tickets and reception of dollars went on merrily for an hour or so, when some who evidently thought their turn would never come began to grow assertive,
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. ladies as were willing to go to the Is. land and there they remained till things were quieter. Mr. Ayrton, H.B.M.'s Consul, and the staff residing there of the I. M. Customs gave kindly shelter to the refugees. Three of the Chinese wounded (bullet through left up- per arm in each case) are receiving treatment by Mr. Stobie at the Mission Hospital.
The Pingyang Magistrate's yamen has since been attacked; two Likin places there have also been wrecked: Rice is still only obtainable with difficulty and it is nearly two months from the first crop. What the next two months will bring forth we leave events to prove.-N. C: Daily News correspondent.
FIRE AT SHANGHAI,
Shanghai, 31st March, Tah Tah oil mill, near the Camp, on Sunday A serious fire occurred on the premises of the
godown at about 9,30 p.m., and prompt mea. night. The fire was first discovered in a large
sures were at once taken by the mill staff to the inflammable nature of the contents of the with the outbreak, bat in consequence of cope building their efforts could only prevent the fire flames continued to burn with great fury until spreading to the adjoining premises. The an early hour in the morning, and yesterday afternoon it was necessary to keep three streams playing on the still burning building. The fire being outside the settlement limits, the alarm did not attend A large godown, measuring was not rung, and the Fire Brigade therefore about 200 feet by 100 feet, used for the storage of bean cake, cottonseed, and ground nuts, was completely gutted, but fortunately none of the surrounding buildings were involved. No canse is-at presept assigned for the ontbreak. The Hongkong Fire Insurance Company had a line of Tis. 3,200 on the building, and the contents are said to have been covered by a policy for Tis: 10,000 in the Phoenix, all of which is a total loss.-N. Ú. Dáily News,
Brickbats and howls assailed the beaveu, the Chentai, and the house of the rice-owner. Very soon the Chentai deemed it necessary to go to the protection of his own yamen close by. "The crowd grew decidedly obstreperous, and not content with howling began to wreck the house and property of the rice-owner, who had verily found the Chentai guilty of Mandarin faith, when they commenced an attack on the Gen- oral's yamen itself. This was speedily closed, and a guard mounted. In response to several blank musket charges the crowd raised terrific yells, but seeing no one was hurt they proceeded with their attack. On this ball charges were inserted, and at the command of the Chentai a volley was fired which had the desired effect, the "trouserless" and otherwise found the bullets hot and coufined their howls to a respectful dis- tance. Nevertheless the rice-owner's place was completely gutted, and the grain was being looted hours afterwards, without any attempt at protection.
When the firing began in earnest and news reached the forigners in the city it was once more deemed wise to transport as many
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SIAM-TRADE.
STEADY INCREASE.
The Siamese Customs trade returns at Bang Bangkok Times finds that the returns show kok, for last year, hare been published. The how steady has been the growth of trade there.
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EXPORTĖ.
475
change in the value of nature of the general as regards imports. Practically, there is little imports, the increase being really due to the much larger amount of treasure imported. This item alone accounts for $3,201,000 of the total increase of $3,813,000. Iron and hard- ware show an increase, but steel and machinery oil increased from $548,657 to $754,375.: Opíum were both on the downward grade. Kerosine
shows decreased value.
There was an advance of $5,000,000 in the exports in 1896, and last year the exports mounted from $30,362,912 to $32,032,390. Singapore took a couple of million dollars worth more goods from the port, but the most. marked change in the destination of the products of the country was the drop of $4,000,000 in the exports to Hongkong. Direct shipments, in fact, increased very materially in 1897, there being an increase of $1,700,000 in the exports to Europe, aud of $2,100,000 in those to places included under other countries." The two ports, exports to which show a steady decline, are Bombay and Saigon. One healthy sign is a considerable increase in the quantity of rice exported. In value, rice and broken rice together show an increase of $2,240,000 over 1896, and this was not effected merely by a change in the price as has happened before, for the quantity exported was greater by 1,706,000 piculs. The value of the teak ex- ported was $2,647,678 in 1896, and 82,840,124 in 1897. There has, however, been a consider able falling off in butt-ends, boards, stares, log-ends, shingles and scantling, which only go to Singapore and Hongkong; teak timber and teak planks have increased from $1,574,072 to $1,960,848. There is a big increase in the direct export of teak to Europe. The effect of the rinderpest is shown in the greatly de creased returns for the bullock trade. In 1896 there were 26,033 bullocks exported, valued at $460,294; in 1897 only 1,832 bullocks were sent to Singapore, valued at $44,192.
SHIPPING.“
cleared at Bangkok show that last year 523 The returns of the shipping entered and vessels entered and 521 cleared, as compared with 468 entered, and 475 oleared in 1896. The tonnage of the vessels cleared last year was 463,254; in 1896 the tonnage cleared was 410,216. The old supremacy of Britain in the trade of Siam is as clear as ever from these exported 821,918,615 worth was carried in figures. Of the $32,032,390 worth of goods" British bottoms,
There were 386 British vessels. with a ton- nage of 358,452 cleared;. and 135 of other nationalities with a tonnage of 104,802.
THE QUARANTINING OF THE " PERU"
Kobe, 28th May. The P.M. Peru arrived off Wada yesterday morning at an early hour, and the quarantine
Chinaman on board and a protracted discussion officials were soon on board pursuing their usual investigation. A patient was discovered in a
ensued. One party stood out that it was a case of small-pox, the other insisted that here was an instance of bubonic plague. Dr. Moore decision in favour of the latter dreaded disease. Grabam, we understand, gave an unhesitating The news was reported here by the Java, but was not confirmed up to tiffin-time. It w then announced that the Peru would be despatched for Yokohama at four o'clock without communication with the shore, leaving it to the Quarantine Doctors at Nagahama (outside Yokohama) to determine the steamer's fate. A little later, however, official notice was circulated that the Peru is
น
-was
detained in quarantine here, and that her de- parture for Yokohama, Honolulu, and San Francisco is consequently postponed till June 3rd. Our sympathies are heartily with Captain
Saunders and his officers in their misfortune. The unfortunate Chinaman died last night, the evidences of plague being unmistakable. The whole of the ship's company and passengers are to be landed at the quarantine station to-day to undergo the horrible operation of disinfecting, and at the same time the steamer is to be thoroughly fumigated. Now that the plague-- stricken man is dead the period of detention may possibly be shortened if no other case supervenes, and the steamer allowed to proceed to Yokohama completing the full quarantine period from Nagasaki on her arrival there. — Hiogo News.
THE “ ETERNAL GRATITUDE” OF THE UNITED STATES.
A PIECE OF ANCIENT HISTORY.
pendance Tonkinoise
We translate the following from the Inde-
It is, to say the least, curious to recall that the their independence received on several occasions United States of America wheu struggling for important assistance in men and money from Charles III. of Spain, It was from Cuba itself that the convoys of Spanish volunteers for the reinforcement of the American troops set out.
Franklin at its head arrived at Paris in When the American embassy with 1776. it solicited permission Madrid to request the assistance and pro
to repair to tection of Spain. Two members of the em- bassy, Messrs. Arthur and Charles Lee, were allowed to present themselves at court, where the king received them most amiably, promised them his support, and allowed them to instal She imports for 1897 amounted to $24,858,071, permanently in Madrid s representative of as compared with $21,044,328 for 1896, and the American Congress, Mr. John Jay, who show the comfortable margin of $7,174,319 on
succeeded in obtaining considerable assist- the right side when compared with the exports. ance from the Minister, Count de Florida- Singapore sent nearly three million dollars' blanca. The Americans at that time were worth of goods more than in 1896, and Hong-warm in their protestations of remem- kong also shows an increase of some 8500,000", brance, and some years later, in a metage
IMPORTS.
harsi
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