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and then converted into a public bath-house. with accommodation for about forty baths.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[October 7, 1901.
Dr. CLARK—No; that will be left to the the present crisis, it was known that trouble committee.
was brewing, and the direction from which Hon. A. W. Brewin minuted: If the The PRESIDENT-I think we are quite it was expected to come was very shrewdly nuisance caused by the gases is at times unjustified in leaving the matter to the com- guessed at. Of late, however, the tension - bearable, that caused by the smoke will no doubt mittee Dr. Clark has spoken of. I would had become so acute that the Basel mis- be very great.".
suggest the Acting Captain Superintendentsionaries at Piang-thong, Mr. Ebert and Mr. of Police, the Medical Officer of Health, and Maier, determined to take their wives to a Mr. Lau Chu Pak as a committee.
place of safety, as warning had been received from friendly Chinese that the members of the Sam-hap-wei (Triad Society) were now in open revolt, and would probably make Piang-thong and the mission station their first objective.
Dr. CLARK moved according to the terms of his minute, and was seconded by the PRESI
DENT.
The motion was carried. Mr. CHATHAM did not vote.
PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES.
Reports of the analyses of the public water! supplies for the month of September were laid on the table. The Government Analyst, Mr. F. Browne, found that the water was of excellent quality. WITHDRAWAL OF QUARANTINE REGULATIONS, Lotters were laid on the table from H. B. M. Consuls at Saigon and Batavia relative to the withdrawal of quarantine regulations against arrivals from Hongkong at these ports.
MEASURES TO PREVENT CONTAGIOUS DISEASE.
In a minute to the Acting Captain Superin tendent of Police asking him if he could spare a sufficient number of Indian constables to prevent the conveyance of furniture. etc., from one district undergoing disinfection to another. Dr. Clark stated his intention of asking the Board to deal first with all that part of the City east of Garden Road and Murray Road, and at the same time, if possible, all that part of the city west of Eastern Street.
Dr. Clark further minuted :-"
I think that the Board should now request the authority of
the Government to incur the necessary expen diture involved in this cleansing and disinfec- tion. I also recommend that eight sappers be asked for from the military authorities, with two European police to supervise them, and that work should commence as soon as possible
both at East Point and at West Point,"
Mr. Lau Chu Pak minuted :—"Can't this cleansing and disinfection be carried out quietly. The stationing of police iu the streets will unnecessarily frighten the people."
The PRESIDENT said this matter of cleansing was a difficult matter to accomplish and we
would wish to do it with as little discomfort as
non
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This was agreed to. -
Dr. CLARK-I beg to move that the Board define that part of the City which lies west of Eastern Street, and also that part east of Garden Road, as the districts to be first dealt with by this committee under these bye-laws.
Mr. BADELEY seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
NO PLAGUE IN TAINAN,
A letter, dated 21st September, 1901, from H. D. M. Consul at Tainan, to the effect that there had been no reported case of bubonic plugno in that district since 1st September,
was laid on the table.
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Dr. CLARK moved that the Board recom- mend the Governor in Council to withdraw the restrictions against arrivals from Formosa.
The PRESIDENT seconded, and the motion was carried.
PREVENTION OF SPITTING.
Correspondence was laid on the table relative to the provention of spitting by the Chinese, especially in public places. To achieve this end, or at least to do something towards lessen ing the very real ovil involved, 1,000 copies of the following notice have been printed in Chinese and issued :—" As without a doubt
consumption is spread by means of the sputum, people are advised not to spit, especially in public places where men mostly congregate."
The PRESIDENT explained that his object in bringing this matter before the Government was to make clear the extent to which phthisis really does exist in this Colony. The annual death-rate for phthisis in this Colony is 3.1 per 1,000 living, against 1.40 per 1,000 in England, another proof of the overcrowded and insanitary way in which the Chinese live. It was a well-known fact that consumption was spread by indiscriminate spitting: the sputum from a consumptive patient is loaded with tubercle bacilli, and when the sputum dries the bacilli are disseminated in the air and are the main cause of the spread of pulmonary tuber- caló is, and it was to a certain extent to minimise the danger that he recommended the notices to be printed.
MORTALITY IN MACAO.
The mortality returns for Macao for the weeks ended September 15th and 22nd show that in the former week the deaths numbered 49 and in the latter 55.
A boat was procured, and the two mission aries with their wives set a course down the Hinne River for the neighbouring station at Kiaying-chow. Having got the ladies to a place of safety, it was the intention of Mr. Ebert and Mr. Maier to return on horseback to Piang-thong, and with this object they had previously sent their horses on to Kiaying-chow. When the little party of fugitives reached the latter place they learnt to their dismay from Mr. Schultz, the missionary in charge there, that the rebels had attacked and burnt the mission station at Piang-thong, and that it was consequently altogether impossible to return to that place with safety. Mr. Ebert's party de- termined to go on to Swatow, and, taking with them Mrs. Schultz, whose husband elected to stay in Kiaying-chow, not deeming it necess- ary to leave the station jus then, they proceeded on their way, still following the river, and ultimately reached Swatow in safety, where, after informing the German Consul of the state of affairs, they embarked in the steamer Huiching for Hongkong, which, as already stated, they reached on Tuesday morn- ing. None of the little party is the worse for the trying experience.
bers of the Basel Mission stations in the So far as is at present known, all the mem- Kwangtung Province are safe. Mr. Kutter, of the Lo-kong station, is known to have escaped on horseback. This station is eighty Chinese leagues north of Piang-thong, and is the most exposed of all. Grave fears were at first enter- tained regarding Mr. Katter's safety, and as time went on without bringing tidings of him, these fears became almost a certainty that disaster had overtaken him. Now it is known that Mr. Kutter, who had to flee for his life, is safe. The rising had assumed general pro- portions throughout the Kwangtang Province, and when the news reached Lo-kon it was almost too late for Mr. Kutter to escape. Be- side himself, the only other resident at the mis- sion station was a Chinese convert. Taking a horse each, the two mounted and galloped from the place. They turned their faces to- wards the Piang-thong mission station, of the disaster to which they had probably not learnt --an ignorance of matters that came near to costing them dear. On the way they encounter- ed a band of the rebels, and drew rein to keep the fact of their presence concealed. The rebels, however, were so engrossed in the dis tribution of their spoil that the missionary and his companion did not find it difficult to make a detour and to continue unobserved on their way. They reached Piang-thong some time after Mr. Ebert and his party had gone, and found the station burnt to the ground. After learning from
possible to the inhabitants, and although he quite agreed with Mr. Lau Chu Pak, it was necessary for the welfare of the Colony that some such steps should be taken now that plague was epidemic. As to the good that would be done by this general cleansing, to anyone who visited the various Chinese tenement houses and saw the filthy state they were in it must be evident that the benefit would be very great indeed. It will not do to be too optimistic regarding the effect of this general cleansing, seeing how difficult it is to thoroughly accomplish this dealing with a race like the Chinese. With reference to the police cordon men-. tioned by Mr. Lan Chu Pak, it was not-i a cordon in the way he supposed, but only a few policemen stationed-down Garden Road to prevent the Chinese moving their goods and chattels from the east end of the City to the west end. A sub-committee of the Board had considered the matter, and had presented a report giving instructions as to how the cleans- ing should be carried on. The report had been circulated, and it now remained for the Board TRÍAD REBELS IN KWANGTUNG.tative sources that the members of the mission
to adopt the instructions, if they were ap proved.
Mr. LAU CHU PAK-I have not seen this report. Anyway, the present staff of the Board is so small that it could not cope with the work, if it has to be done within a certain time. I do not wish to put any obstacles in the way, but I would suggest that the Board should be lenient in its measures.
Dr. CLARK moved that the Board request the authority of the Government to incur the necessary expenditure involved in the work. He continued-I do not know whe- ther it is necessary to take. it separately, but I also had it in my mind to move that the Board appoint a small committee to arrange the necessary details in connection with the work. Perhaps Mr. Lau Chu Pak might be willing to serve on that committee.
Mr. BADELEY seconded. Mr.BREWIN-We don't ask the Government for any specific sum ?
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MORTALIFY STATISTICS FOR THE COLONY,
The mortality statistics for the Colony for the week ended 21st September show a total death-rate of 236 per 1.000, against 278 in the previous week and 246 in the corresponding week of last year.
This was all the business.
NARROW ESCAPES OF MISSIONARIES.
As we were onabled to report on the 1st inst., through the courtesy of the Rev. G. Gussmann, of the German Basel Mission, Bonham Road, the Mission's station at Piang-thong, near Hsing-ning City, in the north-east portion of the Kwangtang Province, has been burned down by Triad rebels. Details were then wanting, but it was known that the missionaries at that particular station were safe, and had arrived at Kiaying-chow,
On the 1st inst., on enquiring at the Basel Mission for further information, our representa tive was introduced to the Rev. Mr. Ebert, of the Piang-thong Mission station, who, with his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Maier, and Mrs. Schultz, whose husband is stationed at Kiaying-chow, arrived in the Colony on the 1st inst. in the steamer Haiching from Swatow, which they reached from Kiaying-chow after escaping from Piang- thong by river. Mr. Ebert's story of this latest phase of Triad Society outlawry is
Dr. CLARK-No, we can't do that. Mr. BREWIN-Haye yon estimated what it interesting. is likely to be?
For months past, long before affairs reached
had escaped without harm to Kiaying-chow, Mr. Kutter and the convert continued their flight to Sun-pee, on the other side of the Hinnen River, where the population generally is quiet and not ill-disposed to foreigners. The last news of Mr. Kutter was that he and his companion had left Sun-pee and were on the way to Chung-lok, in which district are four of the Basel Mission stations, and it is con- fidently expected that they reached one of these stations safely.
After leaving Piang-thong, the rebels attacked Hinnen City, situated a little way off, but were repulsed by the inhabitants. Their loss is variously estimated at from ten to one hundred killed and as many captured, but Mr. Ebert says the most reliable report gives the rebels' casualties as ten killed and four captured. The losses, if any, sustained 'by the inhabi tants of the city are not stated. After this defeat the rebels were supposed to have separated and concealed themselves in the hills, but their forces were quickly re- organised and a move was made against Shak-ma, a town in the line of march.
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