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At the Magistracy on the 5th inst. the master of a licensed kerosene junk anchored at the kero- sene godown on the night of the 30th ult. was charged with allowing fires on board. The Ordinance says that no fires are to be kindled on board a junk containing a cargo of kerosene or any other dangerous goods. In this case joss-sticks were being burned on board, though the timbers were plentifully smeared with oil, many of the tins having been damaged in tran- sit and leaking badly. A fine of $25 was im- posed.
At the Harbour Master's Office on the 3rd inst. an'enquiry was held into the circumstances con- nected with the collision between the launch Facuum, To Wa Tai master, certificate No. 500, and the launch Lee Hing, Leung Mo master, certificate No 593. To Wa Tai, master of the Va- cuum said: "On Wednesday, the 29th August, at 12.30 p.m. I left Jardine's Wharf to go to Douglass Wharf, and I saw the Lee Hing on my port bow, 100 yards off. I blew my whistle, | but she took no notice and came straight on. When about one boat's length off I went astern. The bows of the two boats struck each other. The Lee Hing was still going ahead at time of coll- ision."-Leung Mo, master of the Lee Hing, said: "At 12.35 I was going across from Yaumati to Victoria. On approaching the wharf I saw the Vacuum on my starboard bow about 100 yards off. I blew my whistle and eased down my engines, and when about one boat's length of went full speed astern. There were two sam- pans and other craft in my way."--Leung Wa, godown-keeper, was on board the Vacuum at the time of collision, and corroborrated the evidence of the first witness.Decision:- Leung Mo should have reversed engines sooner and thus avoided collision. To Wa Tai contributed to collision by not continuing on his course and speed. Both certificates were suspended for one month.
A summons taken out by Inspector Dungan against Mr. J. W. Bolles, of the Standard Oil Company, was heard at the Magistracy on Tues- day, the defendant being charged that he “un- lawfully did solder kerosine tins contrary to the conditions of your license to store kerosine." and further that he
unlawfully did store damaged kerosine cases contrary to the coudi- tions of your license to store kerosine." Mr. Looker, who appeared for the defence, pleaded guilty to the first charge and not guilty to the second. Inspector Duncan said that
at one a.m. on the 1st inst. he visited the Standard Oil Company's godown at Kennedy- town and saw a large number of kerosine tins stored in the open--In reply to Mr. Looker the Inspector said the kerosine tins were stored in the space between two sheds. The tins were leaking. He did not know whether they had been soldered. The godown was swim- ming in oil. There were two sheds. The two sheds were full up.. He did not see the oil oozing out of the tins. At this point Mr. Looker withdrew his plea of guilty to the first charge. Mr. Winberg, manager of the Stan- dard Oil Company's godowns at West Point. said there were sunken spaces there for solder ing tins. There were two sunken spaces with a wale two feet deep and one foot above the go. down. Damaged cases were taken to the sunken spaces They were soldered there. The tin was placed on the wale and the solderer stood inside the pit. After a tin had been soldered it was put in the open space. It was then no onger leaking. The tins were then stored in the godown. Some 800 or 1,000 tins were sol- dered per day. When they were brought from the ship they were placed in the pit. There was just sufficient room in the pit for the sol- derers to do their work. There was, as a general rule, no oil in the bottom of the pit. In this case the tins were piled up in the pít, and in conse- quence the pit was flooded almost up to the level. There was no room in the pit to solder, and if
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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On the 1st instant Lo Hai, a chair coolie in the employ of Mr. J. B. Scott, of Watson's Dispensary, took a clit down to the shop for his master. While waiting he stood near a case containing Loxes of cigars, and Mr. J. S. Hagen saw him take a couple of boxes out and roll them up in a piece of cloth. He gave him into custody, and on the 3rd the man
was sentenced to a month's hard labour.
Mr. Hazeland gave his decision in the cubicle case on Tuesday It will be remembered that several summonses were issued by the Sanitary Board in respect of certain premises in High Street and Third Street. Evidence was given by Sanitary Inspector L. C. Brett to the effect that on his visiting the premises in question on the night of the 23rd July he found from four to six persons sleeping in cubicles on the ground floor. Mr. Hayes, for the defence, contended in the first case that these premises were not do- mestic buildings within the meaning of the Ordinance, but stores, and that there wore no more persons sleeping on the ground floors than were allowed by the Ordinance as caretakers, He further contended that what the Inspector had described as cubicles were not cubicles within the meaning of the Ordinance. His Worship reserved his decision until he had visited the premises. He now said he had visited the premises, and he was of opinion that the summonses must be dismissed. The cubicles were certainly cubicles within the de- finition of section 4 of the Ordinance, but some- thing more was required. He must be satisfied that they were domestic buildings. The Ordin- ance defined a domestic building as follows:-
which was two.
The expression domestic building means any human habitation or building where. persons pass the night, but shall not include any human habitation or building where caretakers not ex- ceeding two in number pass the night." He must be satisfied before he could convict that more than two persons passed the night in any of these buildings. He was quite satisfied that there was accommodation for more than two in any of them. That being so, he was of opinion that they did not come within the definition "domestic buildings," and would therefore dis- miss the cases.
At the Magistracy on Thursday afternoon Mr. Hazeland resumed his enquiry into a charge of robbery with arms preferred against five men. The robbery, which took place on the 28th July at lung Chan Tsing, near Kowloon City, was of a serious character, inasmuch as an old man over 60 years of age was attacked by the robbers. who cut and slashed him in a
inhuman mest
manner. As the result of the treatment he received he has been confined
[September 8, 1000.
On Thursday morning Mr. Hazeland adjourn- ed the court in order that he might take the de- position of a man who was lying at the Tung Wah Hospital in a dying condition. The man alleged that he had been attacked by a couple of Chinese lukongs in the Wanchai district.
Rozario, of the Madras Regiment now in Hongkong, was in a shop in Market treet on Wednesday when a Chinaman pushed against him and took some money-$1.40-out of his pocket. The solder seized him and handed him over to the police. On Thursday the man was sentenced to a month's hard labour.
The residents of Queen's Road West were awakened at about one o'clock on the 1st inst. by a number of Chinese women, who were shouting and singing at the top of their voices. A Chinese constable spoiled their fun by taking them into custody. Later in the day they were taken before Mr. Hazeland, who fined
each of them $3.
For refusing to accept a legal fare two rick- shaw coolies wore on Thursday fined $3 each, or 14 days. Ahmet Ramjahn said that on Wednes- day night he wanted to engage defendants' rickshaws, which were standing in Queen's Road opposite the entrance to the Hongkong Hotel, but the defendants refused to accept him. He accordingly gave them into custody.
At the offices of the Public Works Department on the 3rd inst. Mr. G. J. W. King offered for competition by auction several lots of Crown land. Inland lot 1614, situate at Taipingshan was bought by Messrs. Chan Cheuk Fan and Lan Chin Ting for $35,488. It is proposed to utilise the site for semi-European dwelling & Inland Lot 1615, situate at Morrison Hill Gap, was knocked down to Mr. Pang Shan Chun, for Mr. Ho Tung, for $391. Three lots above Pokfolum Conduit were also put up, and were disposed of as follows:-Inland Lot 1545, sold to Mr. G. N. Carvalho for $6,500; Inland Lot 1546, sold to Mr. H. Bathurst for $7.000; Inland Lot 1547, sold to Mr. Paul Jordan for $4,380 (for European dwellings).
H. Kite, a Lance-sergeant in the R.W F was charged at the Magistracy on the 3rd inst with being drunk and assaulting a rickshaw coo- lie named Mok Sam.- The complainant said that on Saturday midnight he was at the Praya en- trance to the Hongkong Hotel. He had taken a fure to the hotel and was waiting. The defen. dant, without saying a word, gave him a blow
on the cheek with his clenched fist. He also gave him a kick on the stern and several on the hack. He called out and an European constable came. The defendant still had hold of him.- A Chinaman employed at Jardine's Sugar Re- to hospital ever since. It appears that at mid-finery said he saw the defendant holding the night on the date in question the old man happened to open his door. The robbers, who had evidently been on the watch, rushed for ward and because he disputed their entrer ce in- to his house they attacked him most savagely. One of his thumbs was cut off, he was pashed about the arm. his face was cut open, and in fact he received such injuries that it is a won der he survived. Leaving the man unconscious they passed into the house and awakened the man's married daughter. One of the ruffians
knife holding
over her head, said he would cut her unless she took off her silvor bangle. She obeyed, and another asked her for the key to her box. She said she had lost it. They tried to burst the box opeu, but not succeeding they commenced to ransack the
premises, and ultimately decamped with property to the value of $30. It appears that while the robbers were rummaging about the house the
complainant by the quene and hitting him. ▲ Chinese constable said he also saw the defendant holding the complainant. by the queue, but he did not see him strike him.-Lance-Sergeant Sim said that on hearing a police-whistle he went towards the Praya and saw the defen. dant walking up Pedder Street with the com- plainant, who was bleeding at the mouth, follow- ing him. The defendant was under the influence of liquor-William Wilkinson, of the Garrison Police, who was called by the defondant, said he was standing outside the Hongkong Hotel on Saturday night when he saw the defendant try to engage à ricksh w. The coolie ran away and the defendant ran after him and tried to make him take him to the Barracks. He did not see the defendant strike the complainant.-Another evidence. The defendant said that at about member of the Garrison Police gave similar half-past 11 on Saturday night he came out of the Criterion Hotel. Outside the hotel old man who had been attacked called out to his
were about 12 rickshaws unemployed. He nephew, who was sleeping in a mat-shed some 50. or 60 feet away. The nephew went into the asked several to take him to the Bar- house and he was at once seized by the racks but they refused. He got into the As complainant's rickshaw and the man ran away. brought him back. He wanted to give him in He ran after him, caught hold of his quene and
charge, but Private Wilkinson said the best thing to do would be to let the man go. He accordingly let the man go, and then the ser- geant came to him and told him he would have to go to the Police Station for assaulting the rickshaw coolie. As to being drunk he could not have been very drunk or else he could not have run 150 yards after the coolie and caught him-The charge of drunkenness was dismissed, but for assaulting the rickshaw coolie the defendant was fined $5, or 14 days.
robbers, who asked him who he
was.
he made no reply two of the robbers took there had been room the men would have had to him to the mat-shed and fastened him up. stand in two feet of oil, which they refused to do. One of the robbers threatened to cut him with The soldering was done in the open space. There a knife while the other took off his trousers. were tins piled up in the open space, but they When the robbers, had gone the matter was re- were good tins. The whole of the open spaceported to the Kowloon (ity Police Station. was swimming with oil. On being cross- examined witness said the cases arrived by the Sarawak, now, over at Stonecutters. They had never had a case of such excessive leakage before. Mr. Looker having addressed the court for the defence, His Worship said he would reserve his decision.
Sergeant Clark visited the house, attended to the old man's injuries and had him removed to the hospital. In the meantime word of the robbery had been sent round to the other police stations, and within a few hours five men were arrested with some of the stolen property in their possession. The hearing was adjourned.
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