424
tsin and Hankow. When in Amoy I was getting $175 a month. I had no servants. I had light but no coal.
Counsel in his address quoted Pollock on contracts pp. 315-6, ed 1885; Jones v. Lees, Mumford v. Gethin, Leather Cloth Co. v. Law. son, May v. O'Neill, Allsop v. Wheatcraft, Ronsillon v. Rousillon, Stone's Digest (App. Court) ool. 5667; Maxim Nordenfeldt Gun Co. v. Nordenfeldt, 71 L.T.L. 489; Chessman v. Nainby, Wallace v. Smith (Jessel M.R. obiter dict).
JUDGMENT,
THE HONKOGNG WEEKLY PRESS AND
that consumption of Yarn is increasing in all the districts supplied from Shanghai, who shall say that it is misplaced ?
:
Silk filatures have, unfortunately, not the same reason for hopefulness. The causes which are at work to ruin the Silk trade of Mid-China have been mentioned ad nauseam. Whether timely interference by the authorities will be sufficiently powerful to prevent further mischief remains to be seen. Reasoning from the experi- ence of the Ten industry, it would seem as if the task of changing his methods is beyond the power of the Chinese producer. There were at I find for defendant with costs as in my mills, with about 167,000 spindles, and four the end of the year five Foreign-owned Cotton judgment the restriction goes beyond what was reasonably necessary for the protection of plain-Chinese-owned, with about 146,000 spindles tiffs, regard being bad to the nature of their
It is probable however, that not more than business. (Sd) C. T. GARDNER, Prov. Judge.
an average of 60 to 70 per cent of the I agree, because Moalle & Co., on a general Foreign-owned spindles were at work at one view are quiet distinct from Watson & Co. in time, taking slack and busy periods together. business and the local accident that shipchan. Of steam flatures there were 25 in existence dlers and stevedores also sell soda water is not during the year, of which five were Foreign weighty enough to make a restraint ou defend-managed. Of this number few worked to the ant reasonable.-(Sd) R. H. BRUCE, Assessor.
full extent of their capacity and many ouly very I consider the contract good and reasonable intermittently. With the New Year all but 11 and that defendant is liable for violation.—(Sd)
ceased altogether. F. LEYBURN, Assessor.
AGREEMENT
The following is the clause of the agreement upon which the plaintiffs based their claim:- "10.--The said Edwin Cooper shall not within twenty years from the date hereof engage directly or indirectly in the business of a chemist, druggist, aerated water manufacturer. perfumer, wine and spirit or cigar merchant or dealer, or become assistant to any other person or persons carrying on any such business or or businesses, whether wholesale or retail or simply as agents thereto or as merchants either at Hongkong or at any treaty port of China or Japan, at Manila or the Philippine Islands, or the Straits Settlements, or Siam or Cochin- China without the consent in writing of the said Company under the hand of their General Manager first had and obtained, aud in the event of the breach of this clause by the said Edwin Cooper he shall and will pay to the said Company the sum of £100 sterling for each and every month or part of a month during which he shall have been or shall be so engaged whether directly or indirectly, the said sum to be payable and recoverable monthly and every month as and for liquidated damages aud not as penalty."
ENDORSEMENT,
The following is the endorsement :-The within named Edwin Cooper served with us during the period of this Agreement at the ex- piration of which he served with the firm in. Shanghai, Tientsin, and Hankow until January, 1897, when he assumed management of our branch here. He leaves us to-day at his own wish and we are sorry to lose him.-For A. S. WATSON & Co., HENRY HUMPHREYS, Assist- ant General Manager.
Amoy, May 22nd 1897.
SHANGHAI: TIS INDUSTRIES AND ITS APPROACH: S.
The following is the "Miscellaneous" section of the 1893 report of Mr. Pocher, Comissioner of Customs at Shanghai:
*-
*
Industrial prospects, as represented by Cotton mills and Silk filatures, received a severe check during the year, under review. At first Cotton spinners did well enough; but by June Raw Cotton had risen to Tls. 18 per picul, and about the same time the market was being flooded at losing rates with Yarn from Bombay and Japan. The combination made it nigh impossible to carry on at all; it is creditable to the management of young est ablishments, struggling against odds and in- experience, that they were able to keep their work people together and tide over the crisis. Towards the end of the year matters improved somewhat; the Cotton guilds had to abats their price, and the increasing inquiry from the cou- suming districts enabled the mills to place their produce at a paying figure. There is still great confidence for the future, as evidenced by the addition of 18,000 spindles in three of the For- sign-owned mills; and looking to the facts that raw material and labour are close at hand, and
There are also two Chinese owned and managed Match factories in operation, turning ont between of boxes, per day. These are phosphorus Mat them some 80 cases, containing each 100 gross ches, sold in the shops at 290 cash per gross. The material for their manufacturo has all to be imported; and that they can compete at all with the Japanese-made article is probably due to the fact that, being partly officially-owned, inland taxation. they receive tender treatment in the matter of
In other branches, judging from published reports, local enterprise is doing well. Our docks sufficient, and our tags and cargo-boats are kept are fully employed, our wharves are scarcely busy. The opening of the Shanghai-Woosung Railway in September but betokened advent of other lines in our neighbourhood, for the which the country is being surveyed and plans prepared. Steam traffic in inland waters was declared in April to be open to Chinese and Foreigners; and although the applicability of alisation, it is obvious that its value as a stimulus this concession is as yet only in course of re- to Foreign trade must in the future be very great-provided, however, that the proposed revision of the Foreign trade Tariff be suffici- ently liberal to meet and compensate the pro- vinces for the inevitable loss of inland revenue. A fair number of launches have already engaged in inlaud passenger traffic,
་
On the 16th July a riot occurred in the French Concession in connexion, with what is
during which some rioters were killed. now known as the Ningpo Joss House case, A strike among all the Ningpo shops and work- men ensued, and at one time industrial Shang- hai was threatened with a general strike of a very serious character. Happily, however, wiser counsels prevailed, and, after a few days' strike, all concerued resumed work and Shang- bai returned to its bee-like, feverish activity.
Prince Henry of Prussia visited Shanghai in April, and in November unveiled the Iltis memorial monument on the Bund.
At the
[May 20, 1809. Yangtze River, there need be no apprehension concerning the permanency of the port, though such transitional periods as have occurred this year may cause temporary embarrassment. Several surveys have been made by the Coast Inspector's Department during the year. These include those of the Tsungming Bank, the Kintoan Flats, the Outer Woosung Bar, the Inner Woosung Bar, the Huangpu from the upper harbour limits to Tungkadoo Dook, and the Soochow Creek as far up as the Sinza Bridge. The Huangpu continues to show signs of deterioration. The most seriops the channels on either side of Gongh Island, `a feature is the tendency to an equalisation of process which, if continued, must sooner or later cause a grave decrease in depth. The lighting of the North Channel was commenced during the year and the new fourth order group-fashing light at Drink-water Point. was exhibited for the first time in Angust. Thẻ: operations for the removal of the wreck of the Birkhall, which were taken in hand by the Customs in the autumn of 1897, are now dom- ploted."
THE SHIPBuilding INDUSTRY AT
SHANGHAI,
LAUNCH OF A STEAMER FOR THE WEST RIVER TRADE.
Shanghai, 13th May. This afternoon a new steamer, built by Messrs. S. C. Farnham and Co. Ltd. to the order of Messrs. Butterfield and Swire, was very success- fully launched from that. firm's Cosmopolitan Dock. The new vessel, which is to be known as the Wuchou is intended for the West her builders have consistently kept in view River trade, the requirements of which throughout her construction. Judging from for what she is intended, namely, as her appearance she seems admirally adapted commodious, powerful, light-draught, and towage work. She is not intended as a cargo very handy vessel for carrying passengers and
carrier. It is a matter of congratulation for by the Old Dock people by tender in the open Shanghai to know that the contract was obtained
that in point of price Shanghai is able to give market. against the Hongkong builders, and the neighbouring Colony good odds and beat
her at the finish.
3
The Wuchou, which is built of mild steel is 148 feet in length, 28 feet. beam, and 85 feet deep. Her tonnage is 300. Her twin screws are driven by a pair of com- pound surface-condensing engines, also built by Farnham & Co., and her boiler works up to a pressure of 120 lbs. to the square inch. The launch was carried out without a hitch very punctually at the appointed time, when Mr. G. C. Bois, who was accom- panied by Mr. R. Inglis (of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson) broke the customery bottle of cham pague over her bows, as she moved from her cradle into the Whangpoo. Her success was afterwards drunk and also that of her builders; who were represented by Messrs. Twenty- man, Peebles, von Rucker, and Groundwater and the ceremony concluded, those who went down to see it spent a very instructive and profitable half hour in looking round at the vast amount of other work which the builders have in hand at the Cosmopolitan dock.
No less than six river steamers are at present in course of construction in Shanghai, all in the hauds of S. C. Farnham & Co., Ltd. The first two are being built to the order of Arnhold, Teh laing or Chang On, with a length of 238 Karberg & Co., and they will be similar to the
feet. Four others are being built to the order Three of the latter are alike, but one is a stern- of Messrs. Melchers & Co., all for river work. wheeler intending to ply between Ichang and Hankow. We also learn that the Japanese are about to give orders for the construction of similar to the Yun Wo, namely 240 feet in three steamers for the Yangtsze, and very length and 40 feet beam, but the orders have not yet been placed.-China Gazette.
The approaches to the port have claimed full
the following notes supplied by the Coast Ins- share of attention, as may be gathered front pector: "During the year changes of more than usual magnitude and rapidity have taken place at those localities which form, as it were. the nodes for silt deposit, namely, the Kiutonu Flats and the Tsungming Bank. former a new channel across the flats opened, the ebb tide then being divided into three principal branches instead of two as for- merly. A period existed in December when the depths in all three channels were equalised, resulting in a maximum depth of 15 feet only at low water. This equilibrium has now been evercome, and the newly-formed channel is rapidly scouring out. At the Tsungming Bank the usual channel showed such signs of deterioration as to point to the opening of
this was the case, a new 26-feet channel having another elsewhere. An examination proved that cut its way through the bank. This channel now forms the deepest approach to Shanghai. These are object lessons which teach that so long as the Tsangming Island forms the northern edge of the principal outlet of the ' Co.-Mercury.
The Shanghai Engineering, Shipbuilding and Dock Co. have just been entrusted with an order to build two large steamers for the Tion- tsiu-Shanghai trade of the China Merchants
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.