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MEETING OF FINANCE
COMMITTEE.
A meeting of the Finance Committee was held immediately after the Council, the COLONIAL SECRETARY in the chuir.
In the first minute the Governor recommended. the Council to vote a sum of $60 to cover the marine half salary of a second assistant surveyor for six months from the 17th August, 1901, at $100 per month
The roto was agreed to.
In the next minute the Governor recom- mended the Council to vote a sum of $500 in aid of the vote of $500 for "Medicine supplied to the New Territory."
COLONIAL SECRETARY-A large quantity of quinine was used in the New Territory, and if the experiments in this line are to continue it will be necessary to vote the money.
The vote was agreed to.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[September 28, 1901,
SECOND ENQUIRY INTO COCH
RANE STREET COLLAPSE,
The enquiry was resumed at 10 am, on Saturday, the 21st inst.
"I dearly love a fight in Court," but all of these differences ended at the door of this Court, and outside, I am sure you will agree with me, it would have been difficult to find a more genial or more generous friend. I do not propose to
Mr. F. Pearson said he was employed by Mr, go into the history of Mr. Francis's career during the years he was resident in this Colony, for that E. M. Hazeland, civil engineer, as clerk of has already been done, but I don't think it is
works and general assistant. He had formerly too much to say that there are few in this world been an overseer in the Public Works Depart- who have had a more varied career. More, ment, and whilst so employed was au inspector than twenty years ago Mr. Francis was a of buildings. He left the P. W. D. at the end soldier. He then joined the legal profession and of June last year, and joined Mr. Hazeland the became a member of one of the leading firms of month following. When he was in the P.W.D.. solicitors in this Colony, afterwards becoming the staff engaged under the Building Ordinance an eminent barrister in the Colony. Gentle-consisted of Mr. Tooker, Mr. Hazeland, and men. that in my opinion was a record of which himself. The first thing witness did in connec
tion with No. 32, Cochrane Street last year was any man should be proud, because it was all
to examine the walls of the house, at the request done by his own unaided talents. In many other directions also Mr. Francis was of great of Mr. Hazeland. He kept no diary or record assistance in the Colony, but as they are not of his work, and could not tell the exact date of connected with our profession I do no propose the examination. It was, however, somewhere to enter into that subject at all. It simply about the commencement of November last. now remains to ask you to join us in expressing Mr. Hazeland said the owner wanted to raise our sincere sorrow and regret at the loss to the the house by the addition of another story, and Colony and the legal profession in the Colony told witness to examine the walls to see if they ...$ 9,000.00 sustained by the sudden death of Mr. Francis.
were in accordance with the Building Ordin- A few days ago he left us apparently in good ance, Mr. Hazeland did not tell him to cut 2,500,00
health, and now lie is gone. Gentlemen, I will into the walls or to examine the foundations, 15,000.00 also ask you to join us in offering our condol-nor did he say what extra weight was to be put
ences to the unhappy lady who in this terrible
on the walls. Witness found the walls all right $26,500.00 and unexpected manner has been bereaved at by looking at them, and saw they were in once of a husband and companion in life. accordance with the Building Ordinance. This Mr: POLLOCK, who spoke with evident feel he judged by measuring their thickness. No cracks could be seen. The houses were occupied at the time, but witness did not move any of the property of the tenants in the course of his inspection; he could examine the walls without moving anything, even those in the blacksmith's shop without disturbing the sheet iron that,
Witness went into rested against the walls. the next house and examined the wall at the same spot to make sure."
In the next minute the Governor recom- mended the Council to vote a sum of $26,500 in aid of the following votes:—`
PUBLIC WORKS, ANNUALLY RECURRENT EXPENDITURE.
1. Maintenance of Buildings
2. Miscellaneous Services
PUBLIC WORKS, EXTRAORDINARY.
3. Survey of New Territory
Total,
The vote was agreed to: In the last minute the Governor recommending, replied-My Lords, on behalf of the mem ed the Council fo vote a sum of $50,000, being a Government grant in aid of the Queen Victoria Memorial Fund.
The vote was agreed to. This was all the business.
THE DEATH OF MR. FRANCIS,
REFERENCES IN SUPREME COURT.
A full sitting was held in the Supreme Court at ten o'clock on the 25th inst. for the pur pose of expressing the
SOPPOW and con. ilolences of the legal profession in the Colony at the sudden death of Mr. J. J. Francis, K. at Yokohama ou the morning of the 2nd inst. Their Honours A. (1. Wise (Acting Chief Justice)
and T. Sercombe Smith (Acting Paisne Judge) presided, and beneath them gal Messrs. J. W. Norton Kyshe (Registrar), J. W. Jones (Acting Deputy Registrar), C. J. Xavier (Acting Regis trar and Accountant), and L. d'Almada e Castro (Clerk). The members of both branches of the profession present were:-Hou. II. E. Pollock. KC. (Acting Attorney-General), Mr. F. A. Hazeland (Police Magistrate), Mr. E. 11. Sharp, Mr. E. Robinson, Hon. Dr. Ho Kai (barristers at-law), Mr. (!, A. D. Melbourne (Chief Clerk, Magistracy), Mr. II. II. J. Gompertz (Member, Land Court). Mr. F. B. L. Bowley (Crown Solicitor), and Messrs. J. Hastings, G. C. C. Master, H. Hursthonse, C. D. Wilkinson, J. S. Harston, E. J. Grist, K, W. Mounsey, F. X. d'Almada e Castro, O. D. Thomson, J. F. Reece, H. F. R. Brayne, E. A. Bouner. I. K. Holmes, J. Hays, F. B. Deacon, V. II. Deacon, N. H. Dennys, Pontifex, and Wei Ou.
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bers of the legal profession in this Colony, I - would desire to express our most hearty "on- currence in the eloquent tributa your Lordship has just paid our deceased friend, Mr. Francis. We would also desire to associate ourselves with your Lordships in the expression of sym pathy and condolence which you have expressed with his widow upon the sudden loss which has befallen her. My Lords, when I first appeared as a barrister in this Court, over thirteen years ago, I was acting as a junior to our départed friend. At that time he orempied à pre-eminent position amongst the Bar in this, Colony, and that pre-eminent position he con tinned to occupy until his sad and sudden death a few days ago. My Lords, not only in the legal profession was the deceased gentleman conspicnons, but he also rendered distinguished public services this Colony, and I think that the work which he said out with his usual vigour and thoroughness as Chairman of the Permanent Committee of the Sanitury Board
the first plagne epidemic of 1894 will not readily be forgotten by those who have the sanitary welfare of this Colouy at heart. It is hardly too much to say, my Lords, that for the last fifteen years the deceased gentleman was prominently identified with every matter of important public interest in this Colony, and the China Association, the Navy League, and the Hongkong Odd Volumes Society will all have cause to regret his loss. As secretary of the two latter bodies. 1 was brought into very frequent and close contact with "Mr. Francis, and I found him on every occasion a most able and willing helper in the work of these bodies. Doubtless your Lordships will allow me to men- Acting Chiet Justice WISE, at the first sound
tion, in connection with the private life of the of whose voice all present rose to their feet,deceased, a fact which is perhaps not sufficiently said- Mr. Pollock and gentlemen of hotli branches of the profession, my learned brother and I have called you here because we felt that the sad news which reached the Colony lust Sunday morning could not be passed over without some expression on our part of the great loss sustained by ourselves and by the members of the legal profession, of which the late Mr. Francis was such a conspicuous ornament. so happens that there are not many members of the profession now resident in Hongkong who had a longer acquaintance with Mr. Francis than myself. When I first began to practise here he was the first to welcome me, to en- courage me, and to advise me to continue to practise at the Bar, advice which, for reasons
On the 18th inst, at H.B.M.'s Supreme Court, of my own, I did not take. In subsequent years his advice and experience were always at Shanghai, F. G. Keeling, proprietor of the St. my disposal, and I invariably profited by them. George's Hotel, for unjustifiably assaulting and wounding a Chi naman with a hoe, was sen- Afterwards, when I had the honour to take a seat on this Bench, I found his legal knowledge tenced by His Honour Chief Justice Wilkinson 1 and attainments and his experience of the to three months' imprisonment with hard labour.
There are
The assault took place in the neighbourhood of Colony of great assistance to me.
The accused many of us who have had differences of opinion Jessfield on the 15th July. with Mr. Francis, for as he once said to me,' pleaded that he acted in self-defence.
It
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well known-namely, that he had on many occa- sions performed acts of charity in a quiet and un-¡ ostentatious manner, and I think, my Lords, there must be many persons now in this Colony to whom the sad news of his death will have come, home with a very keen sense of personal loss, and I would venture to predict, my Lords, that when the striking, though somewhat transient, triumphs of the advocate are forgotten, the kind deeds which the deceased gentleman has per- formed will ever remain green in the lives and hearts of those who benefited by them, a lasting memorial to him, which will not be effaced.
The Court then adjonrned sine die.
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Mr. Bowley Can you see through a `rick wali?
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Witness I cannot.
Did you remove any of the whitewash or dirt to examine them ?—I did not.
Did you use a plumb line at all? No, I could see without à plumb line that the walls were straight. There was no indication of any crushing and the walls appeared to be plumb.
As a matter of fact, it was not possible to see
the whole of these party walls from the ground floor to the coping-Oh no, because the floors
were in the way.
How long did the inspection of No. 31 take you? About twenty minutes.
Did yon report to Mr. Hazeland about these walls? — Yes.
In writing or verbally?-Verbally.
Did you afterward make an inspection of No. 4 with the same object? Yes, three or
four weeks later.
Was this inspection similar to that of No. 327-Exactly similar.
And you reported on No 34 in the same way, I suppose?—I d'd. I told Mr. Hazeland the walls were in accordance with the Building Ordinance.
Yon are familiar with the Ordinance ?-Yes, ratber.
Witness said he knew there were certain stipulations about examining the foundations.
And how could you tell the foundations were all right without examining them ?—I could not tell.
Witness explained that when he was in the a plan of P.W.D., when an architect sen additions or alterations, the foundations were never shown, nor were they ever. required by the P.W.D. to be shown. Witness said he was familiar with the amended provisions of Section 10 of the Ordinance requiring walls to be solid, properly bonded, and substantially put together with good material.
A
And how could you tell the walls complied with that section without opening them?-I could not tell.
Is it not the rule that the lower story must not be built of blue brick, unless allowed by the Surveyor General ?—No, it is never required, when alterations or additions are being made, that the bricks of the ground floor should be of red brick.
As a matter of fact this wall was blue brick throughout P-Yes.
His Worship What is your opinion of the
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.