484
Hispano-American War is now furnishing an object lesson.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
"ble solution of the Philippine question," he says, "is an independent government, "under American protection, and this is the policy I recommended General AGUINALDO "and his compatriots to accept, and which "will no doubt be carried out. Time will
*
"show."
says
It was
The British aud. Canadian Press have been paying some, but not much, attention to this, scheme, and in some of the Austra- lian Colonies it is regarded with favour. Recent events in the Far East have attracted notice to the fact of the virtual amalgama- Mr. BRAY speaks, however, with the ex- tion of the British and Russo-Danish Tele-aggeration of an enthusiast. When he -graph Companies, and one writer has urged that Spain, with an army of 35,000 men that this is n special and undesirable fully armed, has been able to do nothing anomaly in the Great British naval station against an army of imperfectly organised of Hongkong. We are not inclined to join Philippinos who have never disposed of more in the distrust expressed by this writer, or
than six hundred rifles he conveys an en- to entertain any doubt of the good faith of tirely mistaken impression. Spain recon- the Great Northern Telegraph Company, quered the province of Cavite from the In- but this does not prevent us from feeling surgents and had driven AGUINALDO'S deeply impressed with the necessity, from forces into mountain fastnesses, from which a political point of view, of an all British they might have continued to give trouble, cable being stretched across the broad Paci- it is true, but they were not in possession of fic. The occupation of Weihaiwei and the any extent of settled country. development of British interests in China deemed expedient by the Spanish Govern- only emphasizes the necessity for an alterna- ment, however, to bring the disturbance to tive telegraph line which should not touch at an end by granting certain reforms and any foreign shore from one side to the other making pecuniary provision for the Insur- of the great ocean. Hongkong has now gent leaders. Practically the rebellion was direct cable communication with Singapore suppressed when the outbreak of hostilities and India, and this should be supplemented between Spain and America put new hope by a line from this Colony, calling at Wei- into the hearts of the natives and soon haiwei, communicating with Japan, and brought them material assistance in the shape then being carried straight to Victoria, V.I., of facilities for obtaining arms. How long and Vancouver, This enterprise would Spain might have been able to keep the readily be started by a private company if islands had there been no interference the British and Canadian Governments from outside it is impossible to say; pro- would either grant moderate yearly subsi-bably she would have been driven out dies or subscribe a portion of the
sooner cap-
or later; but in April last the ital. The line between Vancouver and natives seemed as far as ever from having Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia would achieved their independence. speedily follow, and the entire empire, with its wide-spread sections, would even tually be brught into close contact by telegraph. Such a system of communica- tion-assuredly the first step towards federation--is indeed well worth working for, and it is to be hoped that business men as well as politicians will take the question up con amore. If the Empire is to endure it must be thoroughly united; to be united there must be speedy and frequent communication. Time presses in this matter; it is not one of those questions which can stand over for an indefinite period, after the manner of most British officials. If the line be not laid within the next few years by England, another cable will be laid by a Foreign Power, and as for many years to come only one could possibly be made to pay, it is rash indeed to delay a day longer than is
needful.
THE FUTURE OF THE PHILIP- PINES.
t
It seems unnecessary to speculate on the forces that any other Power would require iu order to subdue the Philippines after Spain has been dispossessed, for no Power will wish to make the attempt. Possibly there may be demands for coaling statious, there being already rumours, according to Reuter, of German designs on the Sulu group, but the Philippines as a whole will no doubt be allowed to govern themselves, subject to an American or a joint protectorate, or at least they will be given a chance to show whe- ther they are ripe for self-government. If the people are as enlightened as Mr. BRAY claims, the experiment will no doubt turn out a success, but if it fails America will have to determine whether she will govern the islands as a subject territory herself or hand them over to some other Power or Powers. The re- cognition of the independence of the islands, if it be found possible, will be the most satisfactory solution of a problem that would otherwise prove a very knotty one. In the meantime it is not likely that America will submit to be robbed of of her spoils of victory, whether, by Ger- many or any other Power. When the war is ended she may invite a council of the Powers more immediately interested in the future of the Philippines for the amicable adjustment of any claims that may be nd- vanced, but any interference by a third Power at the present time would be calcul- ated to lead to serious complications.
Mr. H. W. BRAY is a gentleman who has espoused the cause of the Philippine In- surgents and who may be regarded as an ac- credited representative of the party. It was he who introduced AGUINALDO to the United States Consul at Singapore and he assisted in the preliminary negotiations leading up to the agreement with Admiral DEWEY. Under these circumstances an importance attaches to what he has to say on the future of the Philippines beyond that of a mere individual expression of opinion. Mr. BRAY bas recently contributed a signed article to the Singapore Free Press, in reply to one that appeared in the Spectator and which was reproduced by our Straits contemporary. The view expressed by him is much the same as that which has been previously expressed in this colunin, but with this difference, that whereas we suggested self- government for the Philippines under a joint protectorate Mr. BRAY suggests an American protectorate exclusively. "The only possi-water continues.
any
The following paragraph from the San Francisco Chronicle may be read with a local
ing of sewers with salt water is a good thing application :-There is no doubt that the flush- for public bealth. The experience of people living along the sewer line which takes the dis- charge of the Lurline baths is proof of that, the locality having freed itself of diphtheria since the baths were built. It ought to be an easy matter to pump salt water to elevated points and give the sewers a nightly bath, and it may
be an indipensable matter pretty soon, in this. year of drought, if the waste of fresh
| June 18, 1898. A NEW BURIAL GROUND for HONGKONG.
Now that the colony is about to be placed in possession of the surrounding islands it is to be hoped that no time will be lost in selecting one of them for burial purposes and closing the present Chinese cemetery on Mount Davis. The desirability of this step was officially recognised eight years ago, during the administration of Sir FRANCIS idea was at that time, however, dependent FLEMING. The carrying into effect of the
in the matter.
on the co-operation of the Chinese Govern- ment, from whom the use of an island for the purpose would have had to be ob tained, and this was then found impossible, or perhaps the matter was not pressed with sufficient vigour at Peking, but at all events the much desired and very necessary change was not mude, notwith- standing the Acting Governor's exertions Circumstances have now altered, and the colony is free to choose a burial ground where it thinks fit amongst the surrounding islands. If eight years ago the desirability of ceasing to bury our dead how much more urgent must the matter appear on the island of Hongkong was recognised,
now, since we have had three epidemics of plague! It is generally believed that plague was present in Hongkong some time before the disease was identified as such, and its victims were no doubt buried in the cemetery at Mount Davis, and without any of the precautions which have since been observed in connection with the burial of plague victims. There is also a possibility that plague cases that have escaped de- tection may have been buried there since, Under the cemetery regulations it is per mitted after the lapse of a certain number of years to reopen the graves and take out the bones of the deceased persons for removal to their native places, and it is not s at all unlikely that under the operation of these regulations the graves of persons who have died from plague may be disturbed, at serious risk to the public health. But the danger is not confined to plague cases alone. Šir Spencer Wells, in an address from which we quoted when discussing the cemeteries question in 1890, said that the germs of infective diseases are preserved in the earth far below the surface and are brought up full of deadly power by earth worms; and when the ground is disturbed, after many years, the germs are in full and fatal activity. Sir SPENCER WELLS Was speaking as an advocate of cremation. In Hongkong we are not yet prepared for the adoption of cremation for the disposal of our dead, but the remarks above quoted are none the less applicable to the argument in favour of removing the cemeteries from
Mount
Davis, where they are in such close proximity to the town and to what ought to be a favourite residential suburb. The very nature of the soil and the configuration of the gound at Mount Davis render that locality unsuitable for the purposes of a graveyard, and the plague of flies that infests the neighbourhood affords only too convincing evidence of the in sanitary conditions oxisting in connection with it.
The Singapore Secretary of the Raub Aus tralian Gold Mining. Co., Limited, bas received the following telegram from Raub, dated 6th June:"Rough cleaning up of Battery yielded 3,300 oz. amalgam, estimated quantity of stone crushed being 1,350 tons." This at a rough average of 87 per cent. gold in amalgam would give approximately 1,121 ounces gold for 1,350 tons stone milled in May, pointing to an estimate of nearly 2.250 ounces gold for the next two-monthly clean-up-Free Press,
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