The-Hong-Kong-Weekly-Press-1899-04-29 — Page 10

Hongkong Weekly Press AND China Overland Trade Report All

stages at Kowloon city, nd people of the city shall se of the said landing stages, Lereafter, when any railway line, con, structed by: China, approaches the boundary of the territory newly lessed to England, each country shall depute officials to deliberate as to what action shall be taken.

7.The population resident in the new Set- tlement, shall ill continns in the nudisturbed pursuit of their former occupations, and no pres sure shall be brought to bear on them to make them remove, Their landed property shall not bé son lacated to Government use, and if it is desired af to obtain land, for the erection of public buildings and such like uses, a fair price shall be paid, and nó undue pressure shall be brought to bear.

8 The extradition of oriminals from both countries shall be managed as heretofore in ac. cordance with the original Agreement and the Ordinances recently drawn up by the Hongkong [Government].

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THE HONGKONG TRALIA, PRJA ANT

-HYDROPHOBIA AT SHANGHAL.

Another death from hydrophobia has ooou red at Shanghai. Constable Johannes Ellefsen, on the 22nd March last, while standing in the compound of the Hongkow Police Station, stroked a stray dog which came in. The animal repaid the careks by a bite. Ellefsen himself thought nothing about the occurrence at the time, but he was advised to go under treatment, from the 22nd ulto, til the 17th instant, and in the hands of Dr. Stanley he remained

when he went on duty. But unhappily he was pompelled to relinquish duty on the 2nd inst. and was sent to the General Hospital, where he died in great agony on the 24th.

ANTI-FOOTBINDING IN CHINA.

INTERVIEW WITH MES, ARCHIBALD LITTLE. There are two characteristics of the Chinese people that everyone notices when entering China, namely, the men, quenes and the women's Chinese vessels of war, whether (Chins lily feet" or "golden lilies." The queue calls be) belligerent or neutral, shall be at liberty to mot for our compassion, but the obvious tor- anchor in and have access to the waters of such ture of the women does move all Europeans who places at Ta Piang Bay and Shen Chou Bay, give it a thought, deeply when they gain any which are within the boundaries of the new practical knowledge of the hideous tortures Settlement. Piracy being extremely prevalent these poor victims of fashion have to go through in Kuantang Province, the war vessels of both when submitting to the practice of foot bind countries may co-operate in pursuing and catching." Our sympathy is even more deeply ing pirates whenever necessity arises for such moved when we know that the practice has to sotion, with a view to insuring the peace of the be submitted to by the young and helpless. locality.

Finding that Mrs. Little, of Chungking, was in London, I sought her in order to gain a faller knowledge about this custom and to find put what she and her devoted band of humane ladies were doing to influence public opinion in England, and more particularly in Chips, on this matter. It is most gratifying to find that there is such a devoted lady possessed of the requisite ability and knowledge" up and doing" among her countrywomen the work of spreading knowledge and raising funds for the ameliora tion of so much suffering among the women of China,

10.—Land owned by Chinese subjects within the new Settlement must pay the land-tax to the Chinese authorities. Should British sab. jects purchase, land, the rent shall be paid in socordanos with the Regulations prevailing at Shanghai, the amount being settled in an equit. able manner. If it should be Government land, an equitably determined rent must also be paid. 11-As England has consented to render effective assistance in matters connected with the Customs revenue, the existing Customs atatious shall, as at present, be under the con- trol of the Commissioner of Customs. This is on the same lines as the Regulation applying to Chinese officials within Kowloon city. Should any cases arise, he shall forthwith concert measures with the British officials, so that (the action taken) may be in accordance with Eng- land's expressed intention to afford effective assistance.

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'Mrs. Little," I said, we know that every cause needs its leader, and as such I would like to have from you some account of what is being done to 'unbind' the women's fetters in China?" in China for ten or twelve years and the “You know," she replied, “that I have lived

greater part of that time in the remote City of Chungking, 1,500 miles up the Yangtase. This has given me the fullest opportunity of studying the foot-binding question at its source. The sights and suffering I saw led me to the attempt to found a society whose sole object was the abolition of the hideous fashion. Fashion it is undoubtedly, for it was in imitation of a favourite of a certain Emperor of China I have the honour to observe that on the 9th

that the practice was begun about a thousand June last, an Agreement for the extension years ago. There are one or two versions known of the territory of the Colony of Hong-first introduced, but it is certain that it was among the people as to how the practice was kong was entered into by our respective Governments, in which all relevant matters were included in clear detail.

BIR2 C. MACDONALD TO TSUNⱭ-LI YAMEN.

Peking. September 20, 1898, On the 10th instant I received the Yamen's despatch on the subject of the extension of Hongkong quoting a despatch of the Governor. General of Canton, and inclosing Regulations for the loan of the district in question.

Pedas

It is therefore, out of the question that the Governor-General of Canton should be permitted to draw up Regulations for the loan of his district. His action is quite uncalled for, and his Regulations are unworthy of con- sideration.

with Him,

(Signed) CLAUDE M. MacDonald.

imitation that led the women throughout the Empire to bandage their feet to make them look small, and the practice in its present state is the growth of many centuries of cultivation,"

Then it is not the result of Imperial Edict, or will p

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So we have tried the only way ope that is to educate the woman We have tried both to stop the young and to get those already bound to their bandages. Some three years ladies in Shanghai joined me in forming society, the Tien Tau Hui, or Anti-footbinding Society with this one aim in view unmixed with any religions or other propaganda.

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Has it been successful P^. I asked. ment and, strange to say, from a quarter least "We have had the most remarkable encourage. expected the Literati, who are of course, all men in China. It is from some of the men that we have had the most encouragement, for the youthful victims have no voice in the matter and until the men consent to marry unbound girls their mothers are not likely to help us very much, though even there we have had much encouragement.

“Many leagaes have been formed among fathers of families pledging themselves not to allow their daughters' feet to be bound or to marry their sons to bound-foot girls. In Chungking, two hundred of the best. families have joined such a league, whilst in the adjoin. ing district there is a league 1,500 strong. In Shenai one Chuanai alone has got 75 of hist lady relatives and friends to unbind, whilst at Canton Kang Yu-wei, the modern sage, started a league said to be now ten thousand strong; this league memorialises officials and disseminates literature on the subject”

"Do the official classes encourage the move- ment ?"

'Yes many do. The late Governor of Hunau went so far as to forbid foot-binding and there is now a strong movement in that province. against it. Chang Chih-tung, the powerful Viceroy of Chihli, has written against it and urged all his subordinates to discourage it as far as possible each in his separate jurisdic tion,"

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And in Hongkong-has your society any agencies at work there?

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"That, strange to say, is our weak point. There should be a capable lady secretary there with an energetic hand of workers who would see that the boys from the Government schools go out imbued with anti-binding feelings, and surely it the girls at the public schools. Even the ought to be one of the subjects instilled into

Roman Catholic schools in Chins are making a beginning now in this direction.”`

"In what way does your Society work ?;" - "We have in Shanghai a strong organising committee with Mrs. Blomfield as Honorary Secretary, and we appoint other Corresponding Secretaries in all the Treaty Porta. These secre- taries get together committees to distribute our literature and help our funds. This last, however, has much less importance. for it is willing workers we want all throngh China, for classes of Chinese, but more particularly to the printing costs very little. We appeal to all educated and wealthy classes, as the others are sure to follow.

* You have circulated much literature, I sup- рове р

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We have, and have had the most encourag. ing results. I have found the press most sym- pathetic on the subject, as was to be expected. My new book "Intimate China" (Hutchison will contain a good deal of my personal ex bare devoted much of my time to getting at the perience of the Chinese in this relation, for I real feeling of the Chinese on this subject.

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In other respects do yon consider the Chin- ese women intelligent and interesting ?”

"Not interesting certainly, as one generally uses the word. But their fine womanly brows and quiet dignity give me great hopes of them if they were once set on their feet again and given reasonable educational facilities."

"Oh, do; not at all. When the Manchu Dynasty came into power three or four centuries With regard to the definition of the boundary ago it was made a penal offence by the Emperor the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Stewart Lockhart, for parents to bind their children's feet. That Shun Chih (1644 1692), punishable with death, has already inspected the district, and has re-decree was, however, repealed three years after turned to England to present his report. When Her Majesty's Government deputes an officer at the request of the Board of Rites. At the to define the boundary, the Chinese Government also made ordering all men above a certain age. time that decree was promulgated another was will be requested to send an official to co-operate to wear a queue; this was meant as a sign of sertitude and was stoutly resisted until the Tartar Emperor' with 'much shrewdness and tact forbade all those convicted of crimes to Since it was finally decided, says “F. A: G.” † wear the queue or to shave the head! This bad in the Kobe Chronicle, that Consular jurisdićthe desired effect and the queue became an tion should be abolished, the Masonic Societies have been under some fear that they might have to dissoles as it was improbable that the Japan ese authorities would permit any Society of

She must be an extraordinarily which the rules were: not public to remain in

woman, but I have no means of knowing more existence. - Lounderstand that as the result of

of her than others. I am telling⋅ what I know certain communications which hïve passed; the *It might be tried if there was a compliant of her in an article that I believe is to appear dikloalty is nottled, as the Japanese have decided Emperor în China, but they have an 'Empress " | in the May number of the Cornhill. I have sed: the Masonic Societies as benevolent now who is not concerned with this matter. She - given the surgion! › details, conosening foot- tions, the rules and regulations of which herself and her attendants are Manchna who binding in a recent number of the Homital not be mbmitted to the authorities for up. never took to foo-binding and she, probably they are too painful for the general re pet puta saa 4 knows nothing of the sun stings attendant on it, suppose you know the common mying i 19štedi buz la fomun MILOVAą, unda. Eljon.

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honourable appendage.”

“These are very interesting facts and I am sure will dispel many wrong notions. Would it not 'then be desirable to decree that small fest are a badge of ' cruelty,' or say, 'plain- ness ” p”

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“Do you expect any assistance from the Throne of China? We have › heard so much lately of the Empress Dowager. In 'nho really so clever and terrible as she is pictured: ‹in England p

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