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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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[February 10, 1900.
Having successfully passed this Charybdis, | to Mr. A. C. Cross, the soting Commissioner | The whole country has felt the squeeze that the there remains to be negotiated the Scylla of a of Customs at Samshui since June 1898. He long months of blockade has caused and, in British gunboat.
has been able in his official relations to combine many places, the prices have reached a ridiculous the suaviter in modo with the fortiter in re in range. In spite of the tremendous losses caus- He is most likely under banked fires and a peculiarly happy manner, and socially he has ed by the insurrection there seems to be a large thus unable to follow, and, moreover, the Cap-acquired a well-deserved reputation for hos. amount of money in circulation, and goods of tain on board by the regulations, has to satisfy pilality and good fellowship. He goes to every description find rendy buyers. himself as to whether the launch is actually Yoohow, the newly opened port in Hunan in the hands of pirates or not. - By the time he where I believe, the intruding and unnecessary has settled this point she is far away. When a foreigner is regarded much in the same light convenient spot is reached the tow is slipped, as the Yorkshire man regarded the passing the booty (which has meanwhile been carefully stranger, when he advised a friend of whom he collected by the party on the passenger-boat) has enquired the visitor's identity and received is transferred to the launch, and tracks are made an evasive answer ' to 'eave 'alf a brick at 'im. up a creek to the pirate village. Here pirates As the new Yochow Commissioner is a man of and cargo are landed before an admiring crowd, no small stature and the possessor of a move- and the launch, being of no further use, is able fist, it is to be hoped the natives of Hunan allowed. to return. Can anything be more will not follow this bad example. beautifully simple ?
Talking of China "braves" reminds me of an amusing spectacle which may be witnessed any evening at one of the West River ports. It having been found necessary to protect the Custom House against piratical attack, a guard of soldiers is deputed to keep the watch on the front verandah. They usually arrive about sun- down-four men and a white dog. The first two carry bedding and cooking utensils of a portable description, the rear guard bear rifles, neatly labelled with the owner's name in red paper and adorned, as to the barrel, with pendant pork chops. Pipes and a drum complete the outfit. The bedding having been disposed in a suitable corner and the cooking arrangements being found in order, the drum is beaten with skilful rattantando for the space of three minutes; the guard light their pipes and settle themselves to discuss the market price of rice and other food- stuffs in relation to their pay, preparatory to turning in, and the white dog takes up a com- manding position on the front steps where it must be conceded-he maintains a most efficient watch,
A local wag was cruel enough, on last New Year's Eve, when the younger members of the *community were celebrating the auspicious oc- casion by a torchlight procession with gong ac companiment, to blow a fog-horn in the ear of one of the sleeping guards (Cerebens having previously been propitiated) and violently beat the aforesaid gong in the passive face of another. It is said Chinese have no nerves, but these two by their actions falsified the dictum. I have seldom seen people so startled.
manner.
At a fire in the Spring of last year this same guard distinguished themselves in no mean
Reinforced by their comrades from the city and fully armed, they successfully guarded the entrance of the Custom House (which was not on fire) against all comers, while some squirted water into the spectators' faces with toy syringes procured from the local fire department, and others ran hither and thither with bowls of water, with which they impartially deluged the smoking timbers. Thanks to their efforts, ably seconded by a landing party from a British gunboat, the fire was got under and a general conflagration averted.
The mention of gunboats leads me to record a serions loss the West River has recently sustained, owing to the involuntary collision of Torpedo Boat No. 36 with a sunken rock in the River. The sympathy of all who know him gees out to Mr. Macgill is this mi fortune, for which he was by no means respon. sible. He has successfully run the fast little craft for the last four months up and down the tortuous channels of the West River, and besides keeping her in a spiok and span condition sufficient to satisfy the most censorious dock yard official, he has, by his manly and cheerful presence endeared himself to all with whom he has come in contact. As long as the British Nary can train and turn out warrant officers of his stamp we may rest assured that the back- bone is solid to the core and that, come what may, our first line of defence will not be found wanting. Here's to yon, Misther Macgill!
And as I have become personal, I may as well go one step farther, and mention another Irishman who is shortly to leave us. I allude
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THE LATE MR. NORONHA. Much regret will be felt not only by the Portuguese communities of Hongkong, Macao, and the China Ports, but by Europeans of all nationalities and Chinese in Hongkong at the death of Mr. Delfino Noronha, printer and publisher. Especially will old residents feel Borrow at the final departure of an old friend, one who daring a business career of half a cen tury in Hongkong earned the bigbest respect from generations of residents. No man ever was more straightforward in business and social life, and no one ever was of a more gen- erous disposition. Mr. Noronha's charities, both public and private, were many and were never done in view of any reward. The writer of this note has known Mr. Noronha for thirty years and has good reasons for believing that what he gave to the poor and the assistance he rendered to his compatriots and other in diff. culties far exceeded what was known to the general public.
Mr. Norouba commenced business as a work- ing printer at Oswald's Terrace, Wellington Street, which was then the business centre of the town, some time in the forties. Some years later the printing of the Government Gazette, which had previously been issued in connection with a bi-weekly paper called The Friend of China, was given to him, and with the help of his sons he built up the existing well-known business of Noronha & Co. At the death of Mr. Carvalho, printer and Consul for Portugal at Shanghai, Mr. Noronha took over his busi. ness and one of his sons took charge but the firm subsequently retired from Shanghai. Mr. Noronha removed sometime in the serenties to
two large houses at the corner of Pottinger Street, opposite the Central Police Station, burned down at the fire of Christmas, 1878, and such was his generosity that he devoted one of them almost entirely to the entertainment of his friends when they paid visits to the Colony.
The funeral took place on the afternoon of the 7th inst, and was very numerously attended, amongst them we noticed Mr. Romano, the Hon. J. H. Stewart Lockhart, Mr. J. J. Francis all the Roman Catho ic clergy and several leading members of the Portuguese community.
NEWS FROM THE PHILIPPINES.
SOUTHERN PARTS ARE OPENED. HEMP AND TOBACCO CROPS FIND AN OUTLET.
THE FRIARS-THE PLAGUE.
Manila, 29th January. [FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.] The ports of the southern islands are being rapidly opened and the river and bay at Manila
are crowded with numerous steamers and sail- ing vessels. Commercial circles are more active than they have been for months, as all the houses are trying their best to get shares in the high prices that exist at every newly-open ed port. As soon as the unusual demands are supplied, the prices naturally decrease and the best pickings" become exhausted. Thus every sort of ship is being grabbed up, and ancient and obsolete craft once again take their places with the modern carriers. Many of the natives and especially the Chinese provincials make their way along the coasts in sailing vessels to Manila, where they take on their cargos of odds and ends, and hurry back to the unimport 'ant coast towns where large vessels do not call.
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During the coming week it is expected that several ports on the nothern coast of Mindanao will be opened to trado; order will be main- tained by the 40th, Volunteer Regiment which is now getting ready to embark.” It is strange that this island, that Spaniards and foreigners repeatedly said would cause a great amount of trouble, has turned out to be one of the most pacifle in the entire archipelago, and all indica. tions point to an uninterrupted continuance of these relations.
General Kobbe's expedition has been very successful, and the hemp districts of Albay, Sorsogon and also the islands of Samar and Leyte have been opened after months of isola- tion.
Troops of the 47th and 43rd regiments are garrisoning this part of country, and though there are quite a number of armed insurrectos in the vicinity, their operations will be confined to petty attacks of small bands whose extinction will simply be a matter of time.
THE RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY. Apparently the particulars of the demonstra. tion at the Chappelle reception have been spread Iroadcast throughout the island, for petitions are arriving every day from outlying towns, addressed to Otis and Chappelle, asking for the expulsion of the friars, and begging to be spared tue tyr. anny of the old regime. Attempts have been made by some of the newspapers to shade over the disgraceful scenes and attribute them to the misbehaviour of a lot of hoodlums and low class natives; but these distorted efforts have done more to augment the trouble than to relieve it.
The plague is being well handled and cases are not increasing at a rate to cause alarm, in taot to residouts of Hongkong the existence of a similar visit would not cause more than passing comment. The sanitary department is particularly active in the cleaning of the walled city, and old broken or choked up drains and unflushed cesspools are receiving a cleaning that is far beyond the comprehension of the Spanish residents. Native inspectors have unearthed a most astonishing number of leprosy cases hid. den away in all parts of the town. In hiding the sick the Filipinos are almost as cunning as the Chinese, and it requires natives to discover the numerous places of concealment. The last three weeks fortunately have been cool with strong sea breezes, and under these conditions the health of the city has been fairly easily
controlled.
RENEWED REBELLION IN SWATOW.
[FROM OUR Correspondent.]
Canton, 7th February, 1900. News has reached Canton to the effect that in the district of Po-ning, Swatow, the people of several hundreds of villages have again rose in rebellion. They have gathered together a large number of bad characters, local banditti, and men of the secret societies, and incited them to fake up arms against the Government. The native authorities there are afraid to cope with them because of their large numbers, and have despatched a request to the Viceroy of Canton General Wong-kam-Fak is a native of Swatow, to send troops to repress the rebellion. ·Â¤
and well acquainted with all the districts and the habits and customs of the people there, H.E. the Viceroy Li Hung Chang has ordered him to take a large number of troops and proceed in the gunboat Chan To to the districts to quell the disturbance. Several civil officials will go
with him to assist in the trial of offenders with full power to behead any one of them on the spot necessary.
The corpse of Mr. Stepfner, lats chief mate of the barque Aurora, whose mysterious disap- pearance was recorded at Bangkok on the 18th alt, was discovered floating in the river at Bangkolem a week later.
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