508
WATER RETURN.
LEVEL AND STORAGE oF WATER IN RESER- VOIRS ON THE 1ST DECEMBER.
LEVEL. 1900.
1901. Below overflow. Below overflow. Tytam
5 ft. 1 in. 29 ft. 53 in. in. 0 ft. 7 in. 21 ft. 0 Pokfulam
in. Wongnaicheong 17 ft. 9 in. 31 ft. ↓
STORAGE GALLONS.
Tytam
Pokfulam
1901.
1900. 342,520,000 181,645,000 22,500,000 3,458,000
64,740,000
Wongnaicheong 11,585,000
Total 418,845,000 207,60.3,000 CONSUMPTION OF WATER IN THE CITY OF VICTORIA AND HILL DISTRICT DURING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, 1901.
1900.
1901.
Consumption...104,075,000 87,566,000 gallons Estimated popu-
209,000 211,400
166
lation?... Consumption per head per day
13.8 gallons The intermittent system of supply was intro- duced on the 11th November. CONSUMPTION OF WATER IN KOWLOON PEN- INSULA DURING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.
1900.
28,700
9.9
1901.
Consumption... 8,527,000 10,273,000 gallons Estimated popu-
lation
53,250 Consumption per
head per day
6.4 gallons The population has been obtained from the latest Census Returns, aided by Returns kindly supplied by the Military and Naval Authorities. The Government Analyst reports that the water is of excellent quality.
W. CHATHAM,
Water Authority.
A NORT BORNEO RACE, The Muruts of North Borneo appear to be a curious race, to judge from an account given in the British North Borneo Herald, They are small in stature, by nature clothed in light brown skin; their hair is jet black; a flat nose and an anything but flat stomach are other characteristics. They pull out their eyelashes and grind their tooth down to the gums.
Of their customs-wall. the etiquette of a drinking bout may be described. Tapei, their common drink, is drunk from the larg jars in which it is made. A leaf pierced with holes is placed over the mouth of the jar. Through this leaf a slender bamboo pipe passes, reaching near- ly to the bottom of the jar. The perforated leaf is filled with water, which takes the place of the liquid sucked up the bamboo by the drinker. The owner of the jar of tipei asks the most important man present to drink, an invitation which is cordially accepted. The host then fills the leaf with water, takes a little suck to see that the tab3 is working properly and then sits down to entertain his gast while he drinks. It is his duty to see that his guest does not pull up the tube, as the strongest liquor is at the bottom of the jar; and the height of politeness is to firmly press down the tube the guest tries to escape drunkenness by avoiding the strong liquor below. A small basin is placed above the jar, in which are cut lemons, saltfish, chilli-pepper, and other things } calculated to excite thirst. When the guest has finished his drink he signifies the same by put ting his finger on the leaf, and showing the tip to his host. If the finger is dry, the host tests the leaf himself. poking his fingers into the crevices to try and find a little moisture. Should he discover enough to wet the tip of his finger; the guest must continue drinking. On completely emptying the leaf of water, the guest must in turn fill up the leaf for his host. must guard the tube jealously, and must see that be| drinks until the leaf is dry. The drinking-bont usually lasts three days.
The Muruts are nominally polygamists; but in practice each man has but one wife, the exceptions being few and mostly confined to the chiefs. The price of a wife is regulated by the price of her mother; one hundred Mexican dollars or its equivalent in buffaloes or jars being commonly paid to the father. In Borneo,
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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various kinds of large earthenware jars, stand- ing two and three feet high, and in many cases of great antiquity, are highly prized.
There are several kinds of musical instruments, both wind and string. Of the former, the two most curious are a nose-flute, resembling | our flute in all points, but which is played by breathing into it through the nostrils instead of with the mouth, the notes produced being very soft and pleasant; and the mouth organ, made of the hard shell of a pumpkin like vegetable, into which are let bamboos pierced with holes at various heights, to act as organpipes. Of the stringed instruments, one is a rough kind of guitar, while another, made of bamboo, is cylind- rical in shape, and the strings which are supported by bridges, are strips of bamboo raised from the body of the instrument.
HONGKONG.
The Supreme Court goes into vacation on Tuesday, the 24th instant, and will resume on Thursday, the 2nd proximo.
Vice-Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge, K.C.B., paid a visit of inspection on the 18th inst. to the Army Ordnance offices, the arsenal, and the magazines.
The dwelling-house at 101, Wanchai Road was on the 17th inst. completely destroyed by fire. The Fire Brigade and two Naval Brigades turned out and prevented the spread of the flames.
It was reported on the 17th inst. by the police that a destructive fire bad occurred the previous evening at the village of Ap Lin, Cheungshawan. The outbreak originated in the kitchen of a mat-shed and spread rapidly, in all about 70 mat-sheds and two stone houses being destroyed. The damage is The Fire Brigade turned out. estimated at $8,000, and is not covered by insurance.
The first plague case since the close of the epidemic this year is reported in the return for the week ended the 14th inst. The victim was a Portuguese sister in the Italian Convent. We very much regret to state that there was a The only other fatal termination to the case. instance of communicable disease in the Colony was one of enteric ferer on the s.s. Achilles, imported from Foochow,
The race for the Brokers' Cup (light gigs) which was left undecided on the last day of the Regatta was rowed off on Saturday and was won by the following crew in the Terrible :- Bow, A. Humphreys; stroke, A. A. Alyes; cox, S. A. Seth. Only two boats competed. A mile race between the Water Police (Chinese) and the Harbour-master's Chinese crow was won by the latter,
On the 16th inst. at his sale room Mr. Geo. P. Lammert sold by auction four lots of valuable leasehold property known as Nos. 1 and 3, Lower Castle Road, No 31, Welli.gton Street and No. 322, Queen's Road Central. The first lot was knocked down to Mr. Soares for $16,400, while the second fetched a better price, $16.800, the purchaser being Mr. A. H. M. da Silva who bought it on behalf of Mr. Li Kin Jong. The other two lots were disposed of to Mr. J. Edwards and Mr. Rumjahn for $12,000 and $16.200 respectively.
The arrest warrant which has during the last week or two fluttered at the mast head of, the sunken Norwegian steamer Skramstad has now been removed, and operations for her salvage have been commenced by the Dock Company. The amount to be paid for raising her is said to be $35,000. Arising out of the triple collision which caused the vessel to founder several actions are presently pending, but very probably these will be consolidated when they are actually brought before the Court, so that one hearing may serve for all.
The return of deaths in the Colony during October last, just published in the Gazette, shows that 31 members of the European and foreign community (23 civilians, 5 from the Army), and 541 Chinese died during that month, 151 deaths were due to chest affections nd 82 (5 European) to malaria. No 2 district claimed 148 of the Chinese deaths. The principal rates in the diffe ent registration death districts were:-British and foreign civil com. munity 33.4 per 1,000 per annum; Chinese, Victoris, laud 26.5, harbour 21.0; Chinese, whole Colony, land 243, boat 20,5, land and boat 23.8; whole civil community 24.1.
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[December 21, 1901.
A Chinaman fell down between the s.s. Malacca and the side of the wharf at Kowloon on the 16th inst. and was drowned.
71
In the monthly carbine competition of“ A Machine Gun Co., held on the 15th inst., Gunner E. A. Irving scored his first win on both the No. 1 and No. 3 Cups. Gunner Brown won the No. 2 Cup outright and Lieut. Nicholson and Gunners Irving and Emmett each won
a spoon.
The need for the establishment of the Land Court in the New Territory is becoming urgent, writes a correspondent Already several cases for recovery of reut have been brought in the Summary Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and it seems as though there will be a perfect flood of such cases within the next few weeks. Chinese landlords experience difficulty in getting rents from their tenants, who offer as an excuse that they have already paid Crown rent and are not going to pay twice over; and as a result of these disputes recourse is had to the Court. settlement of the New Territory proceeds, no doubt these cases will become less frequent; in the meantime some mitigation of the annoy ance might be effected by exacting the Crown rent not from the tenant, but from the superior of the property, leaving it to him to collect it from the leaseholder.
As the civil
The Annual Installation Meeting of the Perseverance Lodge of Hongkong, No. 1165 E.C., was held on the 16th inst., the 16th inst., when Bro. W. H. Wickham was installed as Worshipful Master for the ensuing year. The ceremony was most impressively performed by the R. W. District Grand Master, the Hon. U. P. Chater, C.M.G. assisted by the Deputy District Grand Master, Wor. Bro. E. C. Bay, and the Officers of the District Grand Lodge. Wor. Bro. Wickham invested his officers for the ensuing year as follows:-L.P.M., Wor. Bro. T. F. Hough; S.W., Bro. A. W. Bewley; J.W., Bro. E. H. Hinds; Chaplain, Bro. the Rev. A. J. Dexter; Treasurer, Bro. A. R. Lowe; Secretary, Bro. W. A. Sims; 8.D., Bro. C. A. D. Melbourne; J.D., Bro. E. H. Sharp; D.C., Bro. T. M. Wakefield; Organist, Bro. A. G. Ward; I.G., Bro. F. G. Motton; Stenards, Bros. E. A. Bonner and J. J. O'Neill; and Tyler, Bro. J. Marshall. Excellency R. W. Bro. Sir Henry A. Blake, G.C.M.G, Past District Grand Master of Jamaica, honoured the Lodge with his pre- Bence and was received by the W.M. and Brethren with the honours due to his distin- After the Lodge was closed, guished rank. the Brethren sat down to a banquet, when the were duly usual loyal and masonic toasts honoured.
His
A daring robbery was reported last week from the Hongong Hotel. A Mr. Immal, who has been for some eighteen months past a storekeeper in one of the outlying military depots in Manila, arrived in Hongkong by the Zafiro at the end of last week to join the Gaelic Until the Gaelic should sail he for Australia. took a room at the Hotel, sharing it along with a young man whose acquaintance he had made Last Friday morning Mr. on the passage. Immal went to take his bath, leaving his purse, containing over $1,000 in notes, postal orders, drafts, and gold, underneath bis pillow. His Whon Mr. Immal companion was in bed. returned the young man had gone, but his tag and umbrella remained. Mr. Immal found his He went later to the purse all right, as he at first supposed, for it was as bulky as ever. office of the Paci c Mail to book his passage and on opening his purse discovered to his dismay that it contained nothing but newspaper cuttings
The police were at once informed and the man was very smartly captured by Detective Sergeant Kerr and was at the Police Court on Monday sentenced to six months' imprisonment. His name is William B. Neal, and he states that he is 29 years of age and a clerk by profession His capture was effected on the a.s. Gaelic, by which he had booked a first-class passage to All the avenues of escape from the Australia. Colony were being carefully watched by the police. When Neal went on board the steamer the captain gave a preconcerted signal and the police went off to arrest him. They discovered him hiding behind a trunk below his bunk. The stolen money was found stowed away underneath the lining of his cap. Neal is an Australian.
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