August 3, 1901.]
whenever and wherever possible, avoid working in the sun, or, when duty compels them to do so, should always safeguard themselves by keep- ing their heads covered. The Royal Artillery have been in the habit of holding morning drill, but this, we understand, has on the advice of the senior army medical officer been discontinued until the weather becomes cooler These precautionary measures, however, on the part of those in authority, can have no practical result in preventing sunstroke and fever unless the men themselves treat the matter seriously and avoid running needless risks. The percentage of sickness from fever amongst the troops at present is remarkably high, and is causing no little anxiety to those in authority. We understand that there are no less than sixty cases at least in hospital at present, and that several of them are very serious,
THE DISCONTENT IN THE
POLICE FORCE,
In our issue of Saturday last the 27th ult. we published a second brief article on the discontent in the police force, in which we quoted three reasons for the discontent prevailing in the force. To-day we are in a position to give some additional reasons, as to the justice of which we leave our readers and the authorities to judge for themselves.
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One of these additional reasons is that, as the men claim, Section X of the Articles of their Agreement is not kept by the powers that bo. The Section reads" as follows:-" He will also be required to attend drill & half-hour three or four days per week until he is efficient." Now the men claim that many of them who came ont a considerable time ago were in the force in England, or non-commis- sioned officers in the army or marines, and as such had certainly to be efficient in their drill; not only that, but a number of men who came with the last batch from home were ex-drill instractors. Still the whole of them not only had to do their weekly drill, but are doing it yet. So it looks as if they will never be "efficient" enough to suit the Hongkong authorities, though we could teach them how to drill," as one former non-com. of the marines remarked. Another cause for dissatisfaction among the men at the Central Station is a certain ser- geant, who though not senior sergeant, has been passed over the head of several seniors of his rank, practically to do inspector's work. But the greatest objection the men have to his being there is his tendency, as they put it, of reporting everything he hears them say to the Chief Inspector or Captain-Superintendent, and should he overhear them discussing a grier. ance among themselves, of course it makes them marked men.
The Water Police, also, have several causes for discontent. The first is a disregard by the anthorities of the Police Regulations of 1895, -the latest out-in regard to leave from duty when detained by a case at the Court. Section 2 of the Leave Regulations reads thus :-" Men attending the Supreme Court or Police Court as witnesses for three or four hours shall be allowed one hour's leave from regular duty; for attend. ance of four or five hours, two hours' leave, for five to six hours, three hours' leave, and for more than six hours, four hours' leave." Such is the regulation, but the men say they never get the leave, and naturally are not pleased about it, especially as the land force is granted the same, though they have only six hours' duty, whereas the duration of duty of the water policeman is usually eight hours.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
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taken away since January, 1900, but the Euro-and-a-half kuota were registered. Later, pean police officer in charge of a launch is still | carrying only 20 tons, a speed of eight-and-a- responsible for its safety, though he dare not quarter knots was recorded. give an order to the coxswain, even were it to
The results of the trial gave great satisfaction to the gentle- avoid a collision. In fact they have the re- men concerned. sponsibility, but not the authority.
The men also claim that now a number of Chinese are in employ as coxswains who are not constables, and still the police officer must not interfere whether they steer well or badly, but must bear the brunt in case of accidents.
It has never before been known that a man must have three months' service on the force before he can get leave of absence from roll call, but such a rule has been inaugurated by the new inspector of the Water Police. Needless to it does not add to his popularity.
A still stronger grievance have the men of the Water Police as regards their duty on the launches. According to Section 1 of the Water Police Regulations, launches must be steered by sergeants or constables, who have passed an examination as coxswains only. The officer in charge of the launch is prohibited from inter- fering with the coxswain being only permitted to tell him were to go to. Should, however, an accident occur to the launch, as happened while P.C. Pitt, No. 71, was in charge of the launch, the officer is fined. P.C. Pitt was mulcted $8.
Moreover, formerly an European constable or sergeant passing his examination as "master of launches" and getting his certificate, received an extra allowance of 84 monthly, as he was re- ponsible for the launch. This allowance has been
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say,
The last grievance of the men of the Water Police is that a man who has only about five months' service, having previously been a chief petty officer in the navy, and was made a first- class inspector off the reel by the Captain Superintendent, has not only been put in charge of the Water Police force, though he is actually ignorant of an inspector's duties, but been put over another inspector who has thirteen years, service in the force with a clear record, and who must now teach the new man his duties. while at the same time playing only second fiddle.
There certainly seems a call for a thorongh enquiry into the causes of discontent.
TRIAL TRIP OF A NEW WATER-BOAT.
On the 30th ult. a launch left Blake Pier to convey visitors to the works at Kowloon Bay of Messrs. W. S. Bailey & Company, engineers and shipbuilders. to witness the trial trip of a new vessel for the Hongkong Steam Water-Boat Company, Ltd. There were on board Messrs. Bailey and Murphy (builders), J. W. Kew (manager of the Water-Boat Com- pany), C. T. Kew, G. W. Kew, Liao Tze San (manager of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company), Chau Siu Ki (manager of the Hongkong & Kowloon Land & Loan Company, Ltd), and the representatives of the Press.
The company first visited the works of Messrs. W. S. Bailey & Company. The amount of business that passes through the hands of this comparatively new concern is remarkable. In fifteen months of existence, the firm has built altogether fourteen vessels, and has many more orders in prospect. At the present moment there are on the stocks five vessels. One launch, destined for a firm in Nagasaki, was launched on the 30th ult, and its place on the stocks immediately taken by the frame work of another vessel of a similar description. From employing something over a hundred men at the start, the firm now finds it necessary to keep a steady staff of over four hundred men, with the probability of the number increasing as the business expands. That the business is expanding is shown in the fact that Messrs. W. S. Bailey & Company are constantly adding to a plant already almost complete.
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Leaving the works of the builders, the com- pany stepped on board the new water-boat, No. 3, and left for the trial spin on the measured mile at the Channel Rocks. The celerity with which the order for the vessel has been executed is worthy of remark; it was placed only six months ago, and even then the plans, etc., had to be drawn up and approved. However, the work was gone into with spirit, and yesterday the water-boat, engined and ready for taking up the duties for which she is intended, was handed over to the owners. The vessel is one of the largest of her class yet built by Messrs. W. S. Bailey & fo., her measurements being-length, 10 feet; beam, 20 feet; and depth, 9 feet. There are six steel bulkheads, with suitable sluices for "trim- ing" purposes. The contract carrying capacity is 160 tons of water, but the boat is quite capable of taking an additional 20 tons. The propelling power is derived from compound engines driven by a steel boiler registering a pressure of 120 pounds. Fitted on deck is a powerful Worthington pump, an American patent, capable of discharging water at the rate of 70 tons an hour. The estimated speed of the water-boat was six knots, but on the mea. sured mile, with 70 tons of water aboard, seven-
The Hongkong Steam Water-boat Company. Ltd., for whose service the new vessel is intended, was first organised some five years ago by Mr. J. W. Kew, the present manager of the firm. Ten months ago the concern was turned into a limited company. At that time they owned two steam water-boats, but finding the number insufficient to cope with the growing demands of trade, they decided to order a third boat the one whose trial
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we
have just recorded. As business in- creases it is intended to add still further to the number of vessels. The object of the company (which has the sole contract of supply- ing the vessels of His Majesty's fleet on this station) is to supply the shipping with pure, clean, fresh water. from Government filter-beds, and is superior The supply is taken to that supplied by similar Chinese companies, from the fact that families do not live aboard the Hongkong Water-boat Company's vessels to cause possible contamination of the water.
A very enjoyable tiffin was partaken of prior to the run back to Hongkong, when the following toasts were proposed: *The Builders," by Mr. Chau Siu Ki, responded to by Mr. Bailey; "The Hongkong Steam Water. boat Company. Ltd.," by Mr. Murphy, responded to by Mr. J. W. Kew; "The Visitors," by Mr. Murphy, responded to by Mr. Liao Tze San; "The Press," by Mr. Murphy, responded to by Mr. T. Petrie,
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PETITION.
The blue-book, which now appears under the title of Correspondence regarding the Sanitary Condition of Hongkong and Memorandum on Petition dated 25th June, 1901, has been awaited with no little interest in the Colony, and we propose now to give certain parts of it, dealing with the rest elsewhere. Its contents are:--The letter of the Chamber of Commerce, dated the 7th June, together with the reply of H.E. the Governor, and the Chamber's letter of the 24th June, a letter, dated the 5th July, from H.E. the Governor to Secretary of State for the Colonies respecting plague in Hongkong; numerous enclosures, including the Petition forwarded to the Secretary of State for the Colonies by the residents of the Colony, to which are appended memoranda by Hon. W. Chatham, Acting Director of Public Works, and Hon. F. H. May, Captain Superintendent of Police, designed to rebut certain of the allegations made in the Petition; a longer memorandum on the Petition, signed by Hon. J. H. Stewart Lockhart, Colonial Secretary, Hon. W. Chatham, President, and Hon. F. H. May, Vice-President of the Sanitary Board; and several smaller enclosures. We give first H.E. Sir Henry A Blake's letter of the 5th July
Government House, Hongkong, 5th July, 1901. Sir, I have the honour to forward for infor- mation particulars of the epidemic of plague with which unhappily this Colony has been visited during the present year.
2. Last year there were only one or two cases per week down to the end of March, with the exception of the three weeks ending 24th March during which no case was reported. From the 7th April the returns showed from twenty cases to ninety cases per week, the latter figure being for the week ending 30th June, when the disease subsided, the week ending on the 18th August showing 28 cases, and the following week 9. The four weeks of November were the only four consecutive weeks free from the disease; the two last weeks of the year showing each only one case.
3. As Rinderpost had been prevalent on the mainland and I have observed some my. sterious connexion between Rinderpest_and Plague, which frequently develops after Rin. derpest has been pronounced, I went early in January for the Medical Officer of Health and instructed him to send in at once his sugges- tions for dealing effectively with a possible recurrence of Plague in epidemic form during
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