June 2, 1900.]
DISCIPLINE WITH AN UNFORTUNATE RESULT. A A certain Mr. Wong who has been to Amer- ica, and knows something of foreign drilling, was appointed commandant of the native army by the Viceroy, having under his command 500 soldiers. He was pretty strict and meant to keep discipline firmly. He spoke English in drilling and taught his soldiers to handle a rifle and to march. Whit he was on the parade ground at the north gate on the 21 stult. one of the soldiers could not held laughing, whereon he lost his temper. and grasping the scafard of his sword tung it at the soldier. The after running away, he ordered him to be caught and brought before him to be punished by bainbooing for breach of discipline. The soldier shouted out save life and abused the coramaudant. Com- mandant Wong heeen far more and more ex- cited and angry took a swont end was going to kill him. The soldier lavt lis sofisans, and they also got rited and wonted as size and punish Woner for os.
Just as they were on the posat a rateing a ret Won become so frighten that lo duetded to legco by the back door te sive his own life!
*
PURE WATER FOR CANTON.
·Permission has been granted in I. Li Hung-chang to Mr. Ho Sow hai and aches of Hongkong to estaWish watywork. in Cutou and to supply the erty aris
with pure water Con Change in. ti. id that promoters are polme to start a jelt stock company on limite 1 lin.lity paine out this enet ufons exterjales paying concern.
the
Sin uld be a
THE DRAZ 6. BOATS PESTOVAT
The 1st of June next being the dust of the dragon-houts, all the offcial samen and Customs will be closed and a general jutte le li lay ob- served. A few days presiorly to this it is usnal for hosts of 50 ta 10 yards long evel and manned by 129 to 174 persons, generally half naked coolies and hawkers beating druzas and gongs, to paddle about and exercise in the river preparatory to the event. As a rule Sower-boats would raise their price of hiring frota : few dollars up to 120 or were sach for a day and a night; and the weathy people do ir clothes in their boats on that gala day, may to rie with each other in showing of, and spending money. They give prizes of silver medals, silk- flags, wine, roast pigs and ducks to the dragon- boats. With this feast is connected the following legend: Wat yun was a privy counseller of Prince Hwai of the state of Cho., B.C. 314, and stood high in his favour, antil onsted from his position by a jealous rival who unjustly denounced him to the sovereign. Finding lis counsel disregarded, and the condition of his country becoming desperate, this disgraced mini- ster resolved to bid farewell to life, and taking
himself to the bank of the river Mi Lo, after revealing his distress and final resolution to a fisherman whom he encountered, clasped a stone to his bosom and plunge beneath the waters. This suicide took place ca the 5th day of the 5th moon, and in commemoration of the statesman's death, the people of Cho were accustomed on that day to hold an animal festival, when offerings of rice were cust into the river, to propitiate. it was said, the water- spirits, as was done whey attempts were made to recover his body. This festivel is generally celebrated in the southern part of China, under the name of the feast of dragon-boats, and a peculiar description of rice pudding or dump- ing enveloped in the leaves of a water-plant is laten in commemoration of the event.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
CORRESPONDENCE.
[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.]
THE POST OFFICE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE
44 DAILY PRESS.
Kowloon Institute, 23rd May, 1900. Sir. With your kind permission I should like to fill a small space in the colums of your valuable, paper with a protest against the man- ner in which our Government post offices in this colony are at present regulated.
Yesterday I went to the registry department of the General Post Office, and inquired for a re- gistered letter, which I had reason to expect. The Portuguess clerks (there were three) could not make head or tail of my name, even when had written it down on a sheet of paper. At length, one, slightly better informed than the rest, got hold of it correctly, and brought over a book which I presume has the names and addresses of all the parties who have registered covers lying in the office for them. This very right spocinjen of the British Government clerk promptly turned the index to the letter R, which happens to be the the initial of my christian name. It was only when I took the hook myself that I got to know that there was a letter, which had been in that office for five days, altliongh every day I had either gone or sent down to the same office for it, and had each day been told that there was none, I then went round to the Poste Restante department and had to stand for exactly nineteen minutes before. the Port- uguese clerks inside decided to stop smoking and telling each other funny stories. and attend to
The Russian minister at Peking, according to a recent letter from that city, gave a grand banquet on the evening of the 11th instant at the Pussian Legation, to which were invited nearly all the Ministers of the Tsungli Yamen, only those--one or two-who were known to be friendly to Great Britian being absent from the function. It is reported that the banquet was held to rejoice over the completion of a secret understanding between the two empires in anticipation of certain movements of other Foreign Powers re the Boxer agitations." This explanation comes from reliable Chinese sources at Peking, who also state that the alleged secret understanding between Russia and China has made the former Power paramount at Peking, for the present at any rate.-N.-C.Daily News,'
their duties.
People here tell me they employ Portuguese because they are cheaper and because they don't get drunk, and neglect their duties like Britishors or Americans. I think it is about time for this sort of thing to cease. Let the office be filled by Portuguese if nececessary, but make them understand that they must attend to their duties, and be able to speak and write English, which several in the registry department cannot do.-- Yours, etc.,
CIVIL SERVICE.
HOW THE PLAGUE SPREADS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS."
SIR. When walking along Pokfulum Road, near the forts on Thursday last with my wife which the limbs of the corpse elevated the lid we were passed by coolies carrying a dead box by at least three inches, exposing the gruesome contents to view, and also by an ambulance con- taining a second corpse in which the curtain was only half-drawn, also exhibiting the body. Ahead of us were a number of school children.
The procession was in charge of a lukong. and though I am unaware whether the contents of ambulance and box were plague corpses, it is disgraceful that such burdens should be carried on public roads so exposed. If the men had died from plague then it is easy to under- stand why the disease spreads. succumbed to other and non-infectious causes it If they had is presumably someone's duty to see that such remains are decently covered and unobtrusively removed.
I have also passed many plague baskets and have seldom seen one that has been effectively
NEWCOMER.
closed. Yours, etc.,
Hongkong, 26th May, 1900.
MISSIONARIES IN CHINA.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE “DAILY PRESS. kindly for his obliging explanation, and for the Sir.-Will you permit me to thank VERITAS references to Shanghai papers. As I remarked in my previous letter, it is known and acknow- ledged that Catholic missionaries apply to authorities, native and foreign, for the redress of grievances. Nor is it a secret that local man. darins, even of the higher grades, are, in à cer- tain sense, in dread of the missionaries. That is, they dislike nothing more than that affairs should be carried over their heads to higher mandarins, or to foreign consuls. On the other hand, it must be admitted that this salutary fear is not incompatible with a certain esteem and
38
friendship, sometimes evidently sincere, which the mandarins frequently manifest towards the missionaries with whom they come in contract. It must also be admitted, I believe, that mis- sionaries may sometimes have been imposed upon by insincere neophytes, so that injustices. may have been committed, in some rare cases, in the name of justice. But a whole system, or course of action, cannot be condemned on ac- count of a few occasional abuses.
May 24th, 1900.
JUSTITIA.
THE POST OFFICE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE " DAILY PRESS.
Hongkong, 28th May, 1900. SIR. With reference to the correspondence paper of to-day's date, over the nom-de-plume re Post Office' which appeared in your CIVIL SERVICE. I would ask the writer in the disclose his name so that the necessary enquiries interest of the Service to be manly enough to might be made to avoid, if what was stated is trio and not greatly exaggerated, similar
occurences in the future.
I cannot, however, refrain from pointing out what is known to every officer in the Civil Ser- instead of ventilating his grievances in the pa vice, that the proper course to be pursued was, pers, to have made the complaint in the first in- utmost, as he has the power by ordinance, to Stance to the P.M.G. who, I am sure, will do his punish the culprit.I am, sir, yours etc.,
ANOTHER CIVIL SERVICE."
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS.
Hongkong, 28th May." with CIVII. SERVICE in the inconveniences he SIR.-I for one very much sympathize, indeed, suffered, as ventilated in your valued paper of Monday; but would, should you kindly allow me to occupy a little space in your next issue, suggest that instead of the advice "Let the office be filled by Portuguese if necessary, but make them understand that they must attend to their duties and be able to speak and write English," it would have been better had he sub- mitted to the Honourable the Secretary of State the suggestion that British Government European clerks' pay should be at the lowest $60 per mensem, instead of $30 as it is re- asoning in support of this suggestion that at the latter rate intelligent clerks are nowhere obtainable.-Yours faithfully,
GENERAL CONVENIENCE.
OLIVERS FREEHOLD AND QUEEN MINES, LIMITED.
!
Messrs. John D. Humphreys and Son, the report of work done in connection with Olivers general managers, have received the following Freehold Mines during the month of April, 1000:-
By referring to the accompanying drawing will see clearly that most of work done has been and Mining and Ore Transport Report, you development work and it has been impossible to keep the 20 head of the Battery going on small and in other places large but of a non- payable ore, due to the lode in places becoming payable character.
Stopes over 100 feet Level-The three stopes above the 100 feet level produce at present but a small quantity of ore, as the lode is small and very much broken up as we are now entering the oxidized zone. The indications of being in the close proximity of a more defined chute of ore are most encouraging.
Stope No. 2 South over 150 ft. Level. This chute of ore is going up strong and it is from sent to the Battery has been obtained. this stope that the greater portion of the ore
No. 7 Drive. This is being driven to enable me to stope out the payable ore between this new level and the No. 4 Level.
26th of the month the chute of ore in this level No. 6 Level I regret to report that on the cnt out, only a few small bunches of quartz remaining in the face; these carried traces of gold by pan prospect. At the present time there is still a small vein of quartz hugging the anging wall, prospecting traces of gold only.
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