186
may be very much larger! Now, it is but tea that is affected, to-morrow it may be some- thing else. And if the principle were gener. ́ally applied trade in the island, save with Japan, might be made a practical impossibil. ity! It is to the interest of the island that such a state of things should come to pass We cannot think so. We are are aware American' takes the bulk of the crop pro- duced in the island, and that a large part of this is shipped by way of Japan but that does not affect the matter one whit. If the shipments to other countries were but a single catty even. the Japanese Government would have no right to discriminate against the route of easiest or most convenient shipment, or to place the shippers to these countries, having claim to most favoured nation treatment, at any dis- advantage as regards shippers to other countries. Encourage the Japanese Mercantile Marine all you will, we would like to see it grow, and wish it well,—but let it be done without doing harm to established interests and without dis- priminating against any route or in favour of any. In a word, do not pat on any duties, which, under any pretext, bring about resulte which are contrary to the equality of treatment, and equal freedom of trade, contemplated by the Treaties, as the results produced by this new duty law, for such, must, of" necessity, we take it, be deemed ultra vires, as being contrary to the spirit and
are
intentions of the Treaties. The new duties, operation until August 4th, and we will hope as we have said above, are not to come into
that on reflection and reconsideration the Go- vernment will determine, before that date, not to enforce them, and in the meantime we would advise that representations in the matter should be made in the proper quarters to bring about this result. It might, we think be well for all the parties interested Shipping Companies. merchants, and others, both foreign and Chinese to join together and take naited action in the matter.-The Formosan,
|
•TEE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
our contemporary who is, or was, Private Secre tary to Marquis Ito, would probably know what grains of truth there are in the above telegraphic despatch from Peking. It is scarcely likely that Marquis Ito would go to Peking to assist the Government, though he might be willing to give advice from Tokyo.-Hiogo News.
CANON NOTES.
*
[EROM THE CHUNG NOOI BAN PO"] No conflict has as yet taken place between the Imperial troops and the Saichin brigauds. The latter retire into the hills and pay no atten- tiou to the Imperial troops, who have not made any attempt to root them out. The Namboi Magistrate has paid several visits to the place but nothing has been done to cope with the robbers. The military officers, being blamed by the civil authorities for failing to suppress people who have been previously convicted of the brigands, are trying to arrest beggars or theft, etc, and intend to bring them before the civil anthorities as the real offenders. days ago a military officer named Kwan sent who had once committed theft. They seized him some soldiers to effect the capture of a lakong and were dragging him to the military officer when the people, seeing the unjust action of the soldiers, stopped them and set free the cap-
tive.
Several
| August 19, 1899. At the Magistracy on Wednesday the occupier the ground floor at No. 5, Arsenal Street, was fined $50 for selling intoxicating liquors with- out a license.
.
The stamp revenue last month was $29,423, being a decrease of $4,087 on the amount col- lected in the correspon-ling month of 1898. There were increases under twenty headings, amounting in the aggregate to $5,752, and de- creases under seventeen headings amounting to $9,840, of which $8,921 falls under the single head of probate.
At the Magistracy on I1th Aug. the Chinaman highway robberies again came up. The charge who is under arrest for being concerned in three of robbing and assaulting Miss May Carroll on April 29th was heard the other day and yester- day the charge of robbing and assauling Mrs. Fasterski was gone into. It was proved that Mrs. Fastowski picked defendant out of a num ber of others as the man who assaulted and rob. bed her. Defendant was committed to take bis: trial on all three charges.
The trial trip of the Hoikang took place on Tuesday afternoon. The Hoikang is a single screw steam lauuch built by Ngai Sun & Com- Bailey, Consulting Engineer, to the order of pany under the superintendence of Mr. W. 8.
the Macao Salt Farm. Her dimensions are:- Length 80 feet; beam 15 feet; draft 8 feet; and
Kwok-ching. robber leaders, went to black-gines; diameter of cylinders 10 and 20 inches Some days ago Foo Tsan-hoi, An San, and fitted with compound surface condensing en- constructed to carry 80 tons of salt. She is
mail the rich citizens. When they got to the ont between the claus of Lai and Pun, they and owners, both of whom were represented at village of Taiti, where a clan fight had broken respectively, and a stroke of 14 inches. The trial proved highly satisfactory to both builders met twenty people belonging to clan of Pun, the trial. who thought that the visitors were coming to
On Monday a man came down from Canton the assistance of the Lai people and fired at them. The fire was returned and the encounter sight-seeing expedition found his way to the. to Hongkong for the first time and while on a lasted about half-an-hour, resulting in the kill-Magistracy while the cases were being heard. ing of Kwok Ching, a robber leader, and lour Noticing something bulky in the pocket of people of the Lai clau.
another spectator, and suspecting that it was money, he could not resist the temptation to become possessed of it. He accordingly drew ont a razar, cut off the pocket, and extracted a roll containing $10 in 20 cent pieces. Missing the money the owner turned round, and saw the mau from Canton with the roll between · his
On the 8th inst. a steam lanuch named the Wing Sang, raaning between Macao and Sask- ki, was attacked by about forty robbers who had boarded the launch as passengers. Some of the THE CHINESE COMMISSIONERS TO robbers came on board at Yungki and others at
JAPAN.
Messrs. Liu and Chin, the Chinese Commer-
cial Commissioners, about whom some of the Tokyo journals wrote in terms of disparage ment, are evidently beyond the reach of the aspersions cast by these newspapers upon their status and reputation in China. They have had the honour of being received in andience by the Emperor, and have now been entertained by a number of the leading business men of Tokyo in the Kamessi restaurant at Yanagi- bashi-Japan Mail.
Whilst the suggestion has been made in Japan that these delegates are here on a political mission, and their visit. it seems, has excited "considerable attention in foreign diplomatic `circles," the Japan Times tells us that the mis- alon is a strictly commercial one, and our con- temporary gives the following English transla tion of the Imperial Commission:-
|
Kweichow, places at which the launch called en route. After they had robbed the passengers and secured the valuables from the launch,
they forced the master to steam to a place named Tohoichow, where they all landed.
A big fire broke out on the 5th instant at 3 a.m. in a bamboo-ware shop, in Wongsai, in Canton Forty houses were burnt to the ground.
The fire was not stopped till 7 a.m.
HONGKONG.
There were 1,380 visitors to the City Hall Museum last week, of whom 168 were Europeans.
In addition to plague the only cases of com- manicable disease reported last week were one of enteric fever and one of puerperal fever.
The General Agents of the Great Eastern and Caledonian Gold Miuing Co., Limited, Messrs. Lutgens, Einstmann & Co., have re- ceived the following telegram from the Mines:-
Commenced to stamp on new ore."
12
A. marriage has been arranged between Mr. Walter Lloyd, R.W.F., second son of Mr. Thomas Lloyd, of Minard Castle, Argyllshire, N.B., and Miss Phyllis Powell. second daughter of Commodore Francis Powell, C.B., R.N.
It is notified in the Gazette that H.E, the
Governor has been pleased to appoint Acting Battery Sergeant-Major G. L. Duncan to be a Lieutenant in "C" Machine Gau Company of the Volunteer Corps, supernumerary to the establishment, with effect from the 25th May.
We hereby order Liu Hsaiu-shun and Ching Kasng to proceed to Japan and investigate commercial matters. By representations of Prince Ching I-koang, We learn that they have conferred and discussed with the Japanese Consul General at Shanghai concerning tradal relations between Our Empire and Japan, thereby acquiring detailed information on the subject, Commerce is the basis of the wealth and strength of Our Empire, and it is Our duty to do our utmost to promote commerce, and safeguard the general welfare of the people. We therefore order Liu Hsiau-shun, Expectant
At about half past one on Monday aftern on a Taofai and Second Grade of Button, and Ching Kuang, Expectant Secretary, to meet Masuno-two-storeyed house in Chung Wo lane, off Brid- gea Street, gave way, but as none of the suke Odagiri, Japanese Consul-General at Shanghai, and proceeding to Japan, to institute occupants happened to be in at the time no one was hurt. In the first instance the roof personal and minute inquiries, and make such arrangement as may seem desirable. It will collapsed probably through the joists being probably be possible in this way to promote the eaten away by white.ants. internal and foreign trade of the country. We look forward to the result of the mission with much expectancy..
Given through Prince Ching I-koang, the 23rd day of the 4th mouth of Kuang Shu."
Our contemporary tells us that the ideas of the Commissioners with regard to increasing the commercial relations between the two countries ** appear to be rather vague, and in
ecta unpractical”
The Editor of
The head fireman of the Changsha was charged on remand before Mr. Gompertz on 11th Aug. aiding and abetting three persons to storawwy with on board the steamship Chagshan with intent to obtain a passage thereon without the consent of the China Navigation Company, the owners of the said Changsha, and without the consent of Thomas Moore, the master of the Changsha, He pleaded guilty, and was fined $500, the alternative being six months' imprisonment.
legs. He at once seized him and handed him Gompertz sentenced the man to three months' over to Sergeant Ritchie. On Tuesday Mr. = .
haid labour.
The following returns of the average amount of Bank notes in circulation and of specie in reserve in Hongkong, during the month ended 31st July, 1899, as certified by the Managers of the respective Banks, are published :-
Banks.
Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, Hongkong and Shanghai Bank- ing Corporation National Bank of
China, Limited,
Average Specie in
amount.
$2,053,858
reserve.
$1,500,000
7,245,418
5,000,000
448,800
150,000
Total $9,748,076 $6,650,000 The meteorological returns for July are published in Saturday's Gazette. It was gen- erally remarked during the month that the weather was the most trying that had been experienced for many years, aud a comparison of the thermometrical readings with the fifteen years' observations given in the Observatory's last annual report shows this opinion to have been well founded, all the means being higher- than the average. Thus the mean temperature for the month was 82.9, while the fifteen years' average -is 81.6. The mean of the daily readings was. 87.9, while the maximum
years' fifteen
average
is 86.2, and the mean minimum was 79.2 as against an aver- age of 78.0. The absolute maximum, however, falls short of the record, being 91.5, while as high as 94 has been recorded. The absolute minimum was 74.7, as against 72 1, the lowest point recorded in July in fifteen years. We are being compensated for the heat of July, however, by a phenomenally cool August. There were 229.4 hours of sunshine during July, giving an average of 74 hours a day, as against the fifteen- years' average of 197.6 for the month, on rather less than 61 hours a day. The rainfall was? 10.25 inches, as against an average of 14.21 in-
ches,
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