*
330
TONKIN NOTES.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.]
Hanoi, 10th October.
M. DOUMER GETS A COOL RECEPTION. Governor-General Doumer arrived in Hanoi from Haiphong at 5 p.m. on the 4th inst. He met with a very cool reception, being welcomed only by the civil and military authorities assembled by order. M. Doumer will stop here some six or eight days.
SIAMESE VIOLATE THE FRENCH FRONTIER.
The Independance Tonkinoise has just re- ceived a despatch from the Laos country, announcing a violation of the frontier by four well-armed Siamese contingents under their officers, who are in pursuit of some Siamese officials who have fled into French territory with the taxes they have collected in their several districts. Considerable excitement has been aroused in Tonkin by the publication of the news, especially in Hanoi.
Latest details to hand at 6 p.m., when this letter leaves Hanoi, are that M. Gagnoscaux, Government Commissioner, has despatched a body of the milice laotienne to capture the invading bands, one of which is already taken and with its leader imprisoned at a place whose name has not reached as yet. The Governor General is dissatisfied with the progress of affairs, and is sending telegram after telegram to the Laos country.
Further news will follow.
CORRESPONDENCE.
[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondeats.]
THE SCALE OF WEIGHT IN HONGKONG RACING.
LL
TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESS."
11th October. SIB-It has been decided to alter the scale of weight for inches for walers running at the next Hongkong race meeting to 2 lbs. per ☀ inch, and if the owners of griffins are satisfied it may be argued that criticism is useless and impertinent. I dare say it is, but still it is criticism, and as far as I can bear there was too little of that the other day, when the révolutionary measure was decided upon. sorry the change has been made, as I should have liked to see another meeting under last year's rule, or such a modification of it as would conveniently have adopted itself to frace tions of an inch-say 1 lb. per inch, instead of the 2 lbs. which has been made the standard. The following are my reason18 :-
I am
In drawing conclusions as to weight for inches from the 1901 running, all ponies under 14.1 may as well be eliminated from the returns except Rheingold (14.0), and Imperial Rose (13.3), these being the only two which carried their scheduled weight for inches in any race. Th's was, of course, due to a scarcity of light-weight jockeys.
Out of the nine waler races at the last meet-
ing in which starters were supposed to carry weight for inches with or without a penalty,
H. M.
14 1 won 4 (including the Hongkong Derby) 14 2
2 14.3
nil
15 0 3 (including the Waler Champion) Considering that there were only three of them entered, this looks well for the 15-hand horses, and probably gave rise to the generalisa- tion that everything went in favour of big horses, therefore the weight for inches was all
wrong.
Let us pass that for what it is worth, simply remarking that Rheingold (14.0) beat Glory, the winner of the Waler Champions, in the Derby, and there is little doubt that, had he run, the Waler Champions would have been won by Kismet (14.1).
Now let us take the Waler Handicaps, six in number, in which I may mention that 13.3
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
always carried over-weight, owing to the im- possibility of finding light-weight jockeys :—
H. M.
13 3 won
nil
14 0 14 1
I
11
17
14 2
3 1
14 3
15 0
nil
[October 21, 1801.
It
re-organisation of the Legislative Council. is preposterous to suppose that H.E. the Gover- nor, backed up as usual by Mr. Chater, can play ducks and drakes with public revenue intended to be spent on the advancement of the Colony, whilst the other Unofficial Members sit by and gaze on, silent or indifferent. One cannot fail 1 (the Jockey Cup) to be impressed with the fact that matters
seem always to be as nicely "cooked
88 the Council is nicely packed. To represent the ratepayers we have three barkers, two of whom come from one office; the biggest landowner and householders in the place; and a merchant, who is also a big landlord. Such constitute the Unofficials who are elected-not by the people→→→ to represent the ratepayers, check official extra-
munity! vagance, and guard the civil rights of the com-
Let these figures speak for themselves.
On the whole I think the results of the last meeting by no means stultify last year's stewards to such an extent as some members of the sporting community seem to think, and I shall take the liberty of altering a remark by Veteran in your issue of to-day, to "any man that it is the fittest horse which wins oftener who has had any experience of racing knows than any other, and not the biggest."
obtain here.
Reference was issue of the 4th inst. to the rules of racing made by Veteran in your in the Straits and India. the Straits except that I have not seen any I say nothing about but horse races there, as contrasted with our galloway races, but the conditions of racing in India are utterly different from those that In India subscription griffins are unknown. If a man buys a horse to race, he knows the rules he has to race under and he kong owners simply toss up for their horses, can pay any price he likes for it. In Hong- all of which cost the same and are shipped as being to some extent of equal value for racing who wins the smallest will not get one that can purposes, and there is no certainty that the man.
beat all the rest at even weight.
-In India too the average distance run is much less than in Hongkong. I recently looked up some Indian papers and found that at the last Poona Meeting, 20 races (as consecutive as the papers I could find allowed me to make them) averaged 5 4/5 furlongs as against an average of 7 3/5 furlongs for the waler races at the last meeting in Hongkong, and I may mention that the weight carried by the winners of these 20 races at Poona average 8st. 131b., the lowest being 78t. 91b. and the highest 10st. 2lb. The heaviest weight carried by a waler was 9st. 11lb. Yours, etc).
ONLOOKER.
THE SUBSCRIPTION TO THE MEMORIAL.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS,”
17th October.. SIB,-I see from a notice in your paper that a meeting is to be held in connection with the Fund to erect a memorial in London to Her late Majesty Queen Victoria, and H.E. the Governor has consented to be present.
As a subscriber to the said Fund I shall be glad to learn, with many others, H.E's explanation as to why he did not state, when he initiated the public subscription list, his intention after that list was closed to vote $50,000 of the colonial funds as an addition to such subscription ?
I think this explanation is due to the community because there is no doubt that, had the public been aware that Colonial funds would be used to supplement their subscriptions, they would either have declined to subscribe or would have reduced the amount of their subscription.
It may also not be out of place to remark that the amount sent from this Colony is enormous, compared with the reasonable sum given by Singapore (810,000); and in face of the heavy expenditure the Colony is is bound to be put to in connection with the Sanitary Com- mission and its recommendations, the Council had no right to vote such a sum.
In spite of the carefully prepared speeches at the super-loyal Council meeting when this sum was voted, the action of the members of the Council was distinctly unrepresentative. The community had already given very material evidence of its reverence for Her late Majesty, and needed not the extravagance of H.E. and Council to accentuate it. The sum voted— without reference to the subscribers to the public fund-could have been expended on many things in this ill-run Colony and been a permanent tribute of respect to Queen Victoria. The action of H.E the Governor and the ready acquiescence of the majority of the Unofficials would show that the next thing to be accomplished in the way of reform is the
I am afraid I have wandered from the ori-
silence, whilst the subscriptions were being ginal point, but H.E.'s explanation as to his
awaited by many. collected, concerning the vote which followed is
The explanation of the action of the Unoffi- cials, the Hon. C. P. Chater's in particular, in acquiescing in this vote will likewise be read with interest.
Singapore gave $10,000; Hongkong readily subscribed $80,600, which was not enough in H.E.'s loyal opinion, who increased it with the consent () of the Unofficials by $50,000.—Yours, etc.,
A SUBSCRIBER.
CANTON INSURANCE OFFICE, LTD.
The twentieth annual general meeting of the above company was held on the 17th inst., at the offices of the general agents, Messrs. Jardine, Matheson and Co., the Hon. J. J. Bell Irving in the chair: There were present: The Hon. C. P. Chater, C.M.G.,, Messrs. H. P. White and F. Maitland (consulting committee); Messrs. E. Georg, G. C. Anderson, V. A. C. Hawkins, J. Hastings, E. C. Emmett, A. G. Morris, J. M. G. Pereira, J. Barton, K. McK. Ross, Hon. J. Tharburn, R. C. Wilcox, J. Orange, Ho Fook, Lo Chung Shan, Cheung Sam, Ho im Tong, Chen Sam, B. Byramjee, W. A. nikshank, S. A. Joseph, J. Goosmann, and Gro. T. Veitch (secretary).
The SECRETARY read the notice convening the meeting, after which the CHAIRMAN addressed the shareholders as follows :-
Gentlemen, if you approve we will adopt the usual custom and take the report and accounts as read. It is with much pleasure the General Agents and Consulting Com- mittee meet you with a favourable report of the out-turn of the 1900 working; it is such that, in addition to a 2 per cent. increase in the dividend and the carrying for ward of an amount in excess of the previous year, we are also able to recommend the strengthening of the reserve to the extent of $50,000 in which I feel sure you will concur. That fund will then amount to $1,200,000. There is an item in accounts which perhaps requires explanation: I refer to our holding of United States Bonds. These Bonds have been written down from $450,000 to $400,000, which is practically par, so that there will be no further appropriations necessary on this ac count, the securities being intended as a per- manent investment and necessary to hold in order to allow of our underwriting on the Pacific Coast. Their market value at the pre- sent time is roughly $193,000 Mexican more than what they now stand at in, our books. The amount invested in mortgages is larger than formerly, and brings in an average rate of interest of over 7 per cent, per annum, and satisfied that in every our surveyors are instance there is ample margin against the advances made. As regards the current year's working to 30th September, losses have been somewhat heavier than last year, but the balance at credit stands as $509,591, and I am pleased to say that the further losses incurred since the publication of the report have been important. If any shareholder desires further information I shall be glad to give it.
un-
There being no questions, the CHAIRMAN moved that the report and accounts as presented be adopted.
Mr. V. A. C. HAWKINS seconded the motion with a few complimentary remarks on the
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.