December 15, 1900.]
"Sister Lodges and Visitors.” Proposed by the W.8.W., Bro. Dickie. "They are welcome all, for these be they with
whom we'd fain consort.
"
--Henry VIII. Responded to by Bro. Lacy Johnson;
Messrs Mancell & Smart.
"The Hongkong and South China Masonic Benevolence Fund Corporation." Proposed by Wor. Bro. J. W. Kinghorn,
P.M.
46
48
Acknowledged by the oldest Trustee of the Fund present, W. Bro. Anderson. P.M. To do good for its own sake was the life- long object of the brothers."
–Nicholas Nickleby.
"The Newly Installed Master." Proposed by Wor. Bro. J. Lochead, I.P.M. The rank is but] the gaines stamp, the
man's the gowd for a' that."
-Burns. Song "The King's Minstrel" Bro. Alec. Marsh,
"" Our Absent Brethren." Proposed by Wor. Bro. W. Farmer, P.M. Though lost to sight, to memory_dear."
-Old Song. "Friends all! Though they be not here, yet will we drink long life and health to them." Ɛong..."I Wonder Why" Bro. R. Stephenson.
"The wives, sisters, daughters, and sweethearts of Masons."
Proposed by the W.J.W., Bro, J. A. Tarrant. Reply by the youngest Mason present, Bro. J. H. Longhurst.
"When affliction wring the brow-a ministering angel thou."
Selected... Bro. Husted.
Banjo Solo
"All poor and distressed Masons." Proposed by the 8. D. Jewitt in the absence of the Tyler and drunk in solemn silence. “Eh, but the mon's doon—let's e'en"gang an' help him."
"
~~Old Mortality.
Comrades good night; go home and say : 'My dear, I was the first who came away,'
Byron.
CANTON.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.]
"
Canton 9th December.
THE ACTING VICEROY PAYS A CALL.
On Saturday, the 8th inst., shortly after 3 p.m., H.E. the Acting Viceroy Tak Šow made an official call upon the Commander of the U.S.S. Monterey, in a flower-boat towed by a Chinese gunboat, the usual salute being fired. It was about 5 p.m. when he left.
A MILITARY OUTRAGE.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
NEWCHWANGA.;
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.
477
plenty of samshu, make him drunk, take him away and lock him up, so as to exact a ransom to pay for another feast. For without him to perform the ceremony of knocking at the door of the bridal chair, the bride who is her- metically shut up and well barricaded in the
Newchwang, 16th November, chair, in which she can hardly breathe, is` not
THE RUSSIAN OCCUPATION. allowed to get out, and there she may remain
The Russian occupation of the port of New- for hours. Now there was a wedding in the chwang is generally accepted as necessitated by family of Lee in Honam a few days ago. Shortly the Boxer rising and the turbulence of the before the arrival of the bridal chair with the native population, but there is another inter- bride in it, the bridegroom mysteriously dis-pretation patent to those who have been in a appeared. Search was made everywhere, servants position to watch every movement of the local and amahs sent round to look for him in the officials. From the outset the Russian autho- opium-divans, restaurants, convonts, monas-rities seemed to assure the aggressive, and in terios, houses of ill-fame, etc. Rewards were every way to seek to weaken the control of the offered to whoever should bring him back. native officials. We were fortunate in having Some started a theory that he had thrown him at this port a Taotai who saw the folly of at self into the river to avoid a distasteful marri- tempting to oust the foreigner, and who in age; others that he had turned priest; and others consequence kept a tight hand over his soldiers,' that he was kidnapped by robbers, and taken to maintaining perfect order on the native town Chutaoshan. But the fact of the matter was and immediate vicinity in spite of various that he went into a gambling-house, played, and, mandates from the Monkden Viceroy to kill all having lost a few hundred dollars which he could foreigners. not pay, was kept by the gambling-housekeeper closely imprisoned in a small dark room until his relatives came to pay for his loss at the game. Meanwhile the bride was shut up in the bridal chair for hours, covered with a red thick veil which covered her from head to waist, to lament her fate.
[FROM THE" CHUNG NGOI SAN_po."]
THE FIRST AGGRESSION.
This control was exercised perfectly in every respect until the morning of the 26th July, when the Russians attacked a stockade, situated two miles outside the city, in which some seven to eight hundred soldiers were located during the day. These soldiers, who formed part of the Tao- tai's guard, and were employed in patrolling the town at night and keeping order amongst the many rowdies to be found in all cities, were given an hour in which to vacate the stockade, which they occupied with the full cognisance' Liu Yung-fu, the Black Flag General, has and consent of the Treaty Consuls; very arrived in Canton from the North with his naturally they demurred at leaving by the order soldiers to the number of three thousand. The of foreign soldiers, from whom the Taotai had Acting Viceroy ordered him to send two thousand informed them they had nothing to fear so long to Waichow, the scene of the late rebellion, five as they did not assume the aggressive, in ac- hundred to Sai-chia, and five hundred to Chu-cordance with the assurance he himself had tau shan. The Acting Viceroy has refused to grant the necessary leave to Liu, who wished to return home.
THE BLACK FLAGS.
THE LEKIN FARM.
The Namhoi and the Pun-yu magistrates are now forcing the leading merchants of the seventy-two guilds, under the order of the Viceroy, to pay up arrears of rent (to the amount of $500,000) for the lekin farm during the preceding half year. The mer. chants plead that, as owing to the northern crisis business has been very dull and the proceeds of the lekin taxes thereby greatly diminished, they are unable to comply with the request. It is said that if the Viceroy refuses to write off the sum, the merchants will petition the Emperor. The control of the lekin taxes returned into the hands of the mandarins at the beginning of this month.
received from the Treaty Consuls. On szpiry of the hour the Russians opened fire with their field-pieces, surrounding the stockade so as to ' drive the Chinese into the native town, after accomplishing which they opened rifle-fire at long range upon that portion of the native city in which the Taotai's Yamên was situated, killing 10 Chinese, 2 Russians being wounded by the return fire of the nativa troops.
A CROP OF PROTESTS.
The Russians then, withdrew to the Russian settlement some three-quarters of a mile distant from the port, leaving the foreign settlement with its amall guard to bear the brunt of any attack on the part of the justly infuriated native soldiery, which attack was not made solely through the exertions of the Taotai This action of the Russian military authorities" was strongly protested against by the Treaty Consuls, the Russian Consul, Mr. Ostrovesk- As copper cash is very dear, the Government how, now Civil Administrator, fully endorsing bas opened an office in front of the prefectural the censure of the other Consuls, to whom the Yamen for the exchange of cents newly coined explanation was given that the colonel in in the mint. Only 40,000 pieces are to be ex-charge had misunderstood his orders, which were changed every day, and each person is allowed to obtain two dollars' worth a day.
COINING CASH.
AN OUTBREAK SUPPRESSED.
Some days ago a rebellion broke out in the Yanfa district, in the prefecture of Shao-Chow, under a leader named Lau Ku-pau, who had about 1,500 followers. The local Taotai, hearing of tha ontbreak, promptly marched to the scene with a good number of soldiers, capturing twenty-eight rebels and dispersing the rest. Lau Ku-pau made good his escapo and has hidden himself in the mountain fastnesses with a number of his fol. lowers.
Some time last week two Chinese soldiers in uniform took passages on board the passenger boat On Lee, towed by steam-launch from Can- ton to Fatshan. When one of the boatmen went round to collect the passage money, and asked them to pay, they said they were soldiers and insisted upon a certain reduction, to which the boatman refused to accede, as of late there have been many rascals who palm themselves off as soldiers and wearing uniforms attempt to defraud the passenger boats in this manner. He added that if they refused to pay their full passage money he would take off their clothing and keep it as a guarantee for payment. Seeing that they were no match against a number of crew, the soldiers left on board two pairs of old shoes, promising to call the next day to pay their passage and redeem the articles. Sure enough, they came the following day, and bring- with them ten or more soldiers set upon the captain of the boat, the money-collector and a few of the crew, and assaulted and wounded|sions; but fortunately escaped, so as to be able them and then decamped.
CONTRETEMPS AT A WEDDING.
According to marriage etiquette in Canton (there being different etiquettes in different districts and provinces), on the day of wedding the bridegroom sits at the table to take dinner with his guests two or three hours before the arrival of the bride, and the guests generally do their best to force the bridegroom to drink
Lieut. James Archibald Charteris Forsyth, R.A., son of our well known Colombo merchant, says the Ceylon Observer, has had a lively time since he was sent out with his Battery (15th Royal Garrison) to South Africa. He took part in the march to Johannesburg and Pretoria and came under fire on several occa-
to go to China when called on to accompany the second division of his Battery which was short of officers. The troopship steamed direct to Singapore and thence on to Hongkong and Weihaiwei. Soyoung an officer as Lient. Forsyth, adds our contemporary, is in luck's way, to be brought into service in two such distant fields as South Africa and China within three years of obtaining his commission.
to attack a fort or stockade several miles dis- tant on the road to Kaichow. In the mean- time the Taotai, who also received no satisfactory explanation, lost almost entirely the control he had hitherto bad over his soldiers, and the
LES
Boxer" element numbering before 50 to 60 men suddenly swelled to 400. The Treaty Consuls had to request an increased guard from the Russians in consequence, and matters wero in fair trim for the next move.
THE SECOND MOVE..
On the first or second day of August the Russian Consul informed the Taotai that the gunboat Olvajny would fire a salute on the 4th In honour of some Imperial celebration, Throne Day, Coronation Day, or similar festivity, and that the guns would be loaded with blank cartridge only. This was all that was necessary to inflame the "Boxer" contingents. They reminded the soldiers of the previous breach of faith on the part of the Russians, declared the guns would be trained on the native town, and · Bo worked matters that the soldiers joined in. with them and promised to follow up their attack on the Foreign Settlement on the morn- ing of the 4th August. The Taotai, who tried, when acquainted with their intentions, to dissuade them, had to fly for his life, accompanied by a few faithful soldiers, and the attack was mado and repelled, the Chinese rifle fire growing so hot as to necessitate the bombardment of the town by the Russian gunboat Ofvojny.
ཆེན
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