[Donela 18.
PLAGUE AT CANTON.
A Canton correspondent writes that plague has again broken out in the Sz Heung, that being the collective name of four villages dis- tant about ten miles from the city of Canton, and that some few cases have also occurred in The outbreak is as- Houam and Fongohiun. cribed by the natives to the long continued drought, and the Namhoi and Panyu Mögis- trates have visited the emple of Horrors to make offerings and pray for rain. At Fatshan the slaughter of cattle has been prohibited for five days on account of drought.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
healthy. I came to the conclusion that death was ane to electric shock.. he condition of the heart rendered it likely that a slighter electric shock would prove fatal in deceased's case than in the case of a man with a healthy heart.
Francis Joseph Price, said-I am an electri- cian employed by the Hongkong Electric Co. I made deceased's acquaintance on Friday last. I belive he was the fourth engineer of the German steamer Salhadgi. Deceased was an Englishman. I had been on board his ship on the afternoon of the 19th inst, and left him there about 5 p.m. I last saw him alive bout 7 pm. the same day in the Electric Light Station.
Last week's return of the cases of com- He was in company with the second engineer (a Dutchman) of the same ship. They were municable disease reported as occurring in the not there by any appointment, made with me. colony of Hongkong showed one imported case I did not speak to them; I was going to my
of plague, which occurred on a junk. As will quarters to dinner. About 7.30 p.m. or a little
be remembered, the Medical Officer of Health later a Chinese engineer who was on duty came
Home time ago proposed that a system of to my quarters and iu consequence of what he medical inspection of vessels arriving in the said I went with him to the station and saw the colony, junks included, should be instituted, but second sugineer of the Sa hadgi and two the mercantile community doubted the feasibility Chinese in the act of lifting the body of de of the scheme. With another threatened re-
our immediate neigh ceased from the round close to an arc machine.erndescence of plagne in which was working. I examined the deceased bourhood would it not be advisable to reconsider after he was carried out and found that he was the possibility of preventing the importation of breathing. I suggested that I should fetch a cuses of the disease into the colony ? little brandy for deceased, but the man who was with him said he had had enough already.
in Japan,” ** more often characterised by enthusiastic ambition than wisdom, and the practical outcome of which appears to be a marked advance in taxation, on the other hand hangs the wrath and vengeance of the aborigines. The latter differs from the location of the tomb of Mahomet, as instead of being for ever suspended in mid air it frequently falls, and falls heavily, Japan, as a student. has had the opportuuity of avoiding the faults of European colonising methods in the control|| of Formoss, and being Asiatic, thus uuder- standing the peculiarities and needs of the people, should have introduced a system of sound government, adapted to the real require. ments of Formosa. The Formosaus needed primarily civilising and educating, and these could only be brought about by reconciliation or subjugat on But we are compelled to believe that in the high ideal we think she honestly aimed at Japan has fallen very short, The old truism that the Roman empire was not built up in a day may hold equally good in this case, but where the Romans conquered they governed, and they, unlike the Japanese in Formosa, took care that the people they governed were protected: that the dountry advanced, not receded. As far as the Chinese in Formosa are concerned, and they are the merchants, they in spite of official corruption would perfer to have the old regime back in perference to the existing government. Then if their income was squeezed. the balance was protected, their heads were safe, and in- dustry ficurished in the narrow channel per missible by Chinese mandarin control. Now they live and have their being in daily drend of wholesale robbery punctuated with murder and with the knowledge that the authority they are compelled to recognise and maintain is in adequate to protect their lives and their goods. They live under conditions similar to those of the days of the Highland caterans, that "he may take who has the power and he may keep who can ?" As to the financial side of the ques tion and to what metre the colonial solo works out in Japanese fiscal affairs we have yet to learn. What the Japanese have also accom- plished on the island in public works and in- sitations for the people is yet to be published. though it is not easy to believe that civilisation and the advancement of trade can proceed space when the aboriginal tribes exbibit so repeatedly and manifectly such signs of their contempt. The real subjugation of Formosa has yet to be completed, and though the Jap- anese statesmen may regret their self appointed task, they cannot well go back but must carry out at any cost a system of sound and adequate government. If the Japanese colonial service be honest, if its administration be just and equitable, and if it be strong enough to support and maintain its edicts, then the good govern. ment of the island will be assured. At present, however, its experiments in colonising Formosa adds as little to the dignity of Japan as it does to the ability and integrity of her colonial officials. It is then for the Japanese people to take the question seriously in hand and demand that the Formosan Government be effective and ade- quate; otherwise Japan may one day arise to the fact that other and more ambitious Powers may contrive to undertake that task for her.
· KILLED BY ELECTRICITY.
At the Magistracy on 22nd Dec. Commander Hastings held an ouquiry into the ciro, mstances attending the death of Thomas Mercer, formerly fourth engineer of the steamer Salhadyi, who met with an awfully sudden death on 19th Dec, He had gone to the Electric Station at Queen's Road East, and during an inspection of the premises put his hands on one of the dynamo brush machines, receiving a shock which resulted in his almost immediate death.
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Commander Hastings- When you left de- ceased at five o'clock, was he somer?
Witness-No; he was the worse for liquor. Continuing witness said the general public were not allowed in the power station but as he knew deceased was an electrical engineer on board the Salhadgi he did not interfere as he thought he could come to no harm. The dynamo was running at between 2,000 and 2.500 volts and judging from what the Chinese -ngineer told him after the accident witness should think that deceased received the shock of about a third of this power-800 volts- which was quite sufficient to kill a man. There were marks on deceased's bauds and oue of the brushes was bout. He did not do anything to restore deceased, but advised the man who was with him to take him on board his ship, and be took him away in a ricksha.
Cheong shing. No. 2 engineer at the Electric Light Works said a lit le after 7 p.m. on the 19th instant he was in the engine room when two Europeans came in and walked round, looking at the engines. One of them touched the engines as though he knew perfectly well what he was doing. They passed ou to another part of the shop sud witness thought they had gone away, but shortly afterwards he saw them again-one near the No. 1 dynamo and the other near the No. 2 dynamo. Witness starte towards them to warn them but before he could get near them the deceased fell backwards. He had touched ove of the brushes. Deceased did not appear to be dead. His left hand was bleeding, and there was blood on the machine. Decoused was afterwards taken away by his friend in a vicksba.
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LIQ: ID. FULL
THE STEAMER TRIGONIA, On the invitation of Messrs. Arnhold, Kar berg, and Co., general agents of the Shell Transport and Trading Company, Limited, a number of gentlemen went on board the Tri- gonia on 19th December, on the occasion of a trial trip. The vessel left the harbour at about half-past two and proceeded for some distance up the Canton River, arriving at Redder's Wharf, after a pleasant trip, just before six o'clock: The Trigonia burns Borneo liquid fuel, one ton of which is worth about two and a half tons of Japanese or Indian coal. Much in- terest was-manifested in the apparatus employed. l'he use of quid fuel is a saving of labour in the stokehold. Stokers are often a cause of auxiety to the engineer staff, and this trouble is almost entirely done away with, as well as the wages bill and maintenance of them to the owners. It is in the Indian Ocean where the advantage will be felt. A steamer burning 20 tons of coal per day will require about 500 tons to steam between the Suez Canal and Singa pore, while 300 tons of oil would do the same work, which would leave space for 200 tons more cargo. The Trigonia was built by Messrs. Armstrong, Whitworth, and Co., to the order of Messrs. Samuel and Co., and the following is a description of the vessel; Her dimensions are:-Length, 248 feet 6 inches, breadth, 40 feet; and depth, 17 feet 8 inches:; and she has been specially designed for the oil-carrying trade from Borneo. The engines are of the compound surface-condensing type, taking steam from two boilers working at 100 lb pressure, the diameters of the cylinders being 30 inches and 63 inches, with a stroke of 39 inches. Both engines and boilers have been designed and constructed under the supervision of Messrs. Flannery, Baggally and Johnson, of London and Liverpool, and the pumping ar rangements for dealing with the oil cargo, like those on all vessels of this line, are very com- plete But the special feature of the Trigonia is that her furnaces are fitted for burning oil fuel; at the same time they are available for coal in the ordinary way if required, it being pos- sible to make the necessary alterations for a change of fuel in a few bours. As a matter of fact the first speed trials were made off the Tyne with oral. The method employed for burning the oil is to pulverise it before combustion, and suitable arrangements have been provided in the furuaces to prevent any local 'înjury to the OPPOSITION TO NA-AM TRAFFIC | boiler plates. The oil is carried in the coffer lam.
A ricksha coolie gave evidence as to taking a man in his ricksha from the Electric Works to Murray Pier on the evening of the 19th Dec. When he got to the wharf the man was examined and taken out of the rickshaw by a constable.
P.C. John Mokinnon said on the 19th inst at 8.30 p.m. he was on duty at Murray Wharf when the last witness drove up to the wharf with a man in a ricksha. He thought he was drunk and exatuined him, when be found him to be dead. There was another man with de- censed. Witness procured an ambulance and took deceased to the Central Police Station, from there to the Government Civil Hospital. and subsequently to the morta ry.
tric shock was returned.
A verdict of accidental death caused by elec.
AT FATSKA
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Dr. Ji C. Thomson said—On the morning of the 20th inst: I examined the body of a European
The passage boats and slipper boats at Fat male adult, said to be that of Thomas Mercer, shan struck work the other day on account of the at the Government mortuary. He was a young steam-launch Kwong Tsai taking in tow a pass mansomewhat over thirty. There were no
age boat, thereby, as the natives deemed, de- external marks of injury excepting a cut on priving the boatmen of their customary earn- the left hand across the third and little fingers.ings, and the steam-launch was detained by them. The blood was dark coloured and quite fluid On the 15th December the N mhoi Magistrate throughout the body. The heart was fatty went by the steamer Kwong P to Fatsban and and degenerated. The brain and all the internal settled the dispute, after which the Kwong organs were much congested, but otherwise " Tsai was allowed to leave.
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bunkers, or double bottom; from which it is pumped into a service tank over the boilers. From this service tank it gravitates down to the burners at the front of the furnaces, where, by the aid of steam jets, it is pulverised or broken into spray. The combustion" of the 'orl is effected without any layer of coal or other substance, such as is occasionally used with liquid fuel, and the furnaces are fitted with brickwork, which, besides - ussisting complete combustion, serv, s to retain a certain amount of heat in the furnaces when the burners are? ikút
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