THE HEALTH OF HONGKONG.
The cases of infectious disease notified last week swore. Plague 31 (25 in Victoria, 30 Chines and one Japanese) and 34 deaths; in Victoria, 31 Chinese, 5 Indian, 1 Garman, 1 Portuguese, aud 1 Japanese) and 86 deaths diphtheria 1 (European); enteric ver 15 small-pox 1 (in the Harbour, American) The plague cases, for the year, up to the end of last week, were 103 (93 Chinese, 10 other Asiatics) with 98 deaths (91 Chinese, 7 other Asiatics) Since then 28 more cases have been reported, bringing the year's total up to 131.
The following telegram has been received by the Government from H. B. M.'s Consul at Saigon "Twelve days' quarantine will be imposed on arrivals from Hongkong on account of bubonic plague!"
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
CHINA SQUADRON PRIZE-
→ FIRING.
H.M.S. Terrible arrived here last Saturday afternoon from Mirs Bay, where the annual prize-firing was carried out. The firing this year was not so successful as was the case in 1901-2-two years of phenomenal records that produced such a revolution in naval gunnery, Although the abnormal number of rounds fired and hits made have not, in this instance, been obtained as on previous occasions, yet the firing, disappointing as it must be to the " man behind the guu," who estimates success by the result ant jercentage, was not altogether unsatisfac- tory from the gunnery expert's standpoint. This is evidenced in the following summary on the firing, wherein Cap'ain Scott quaintly but tersely explains the technical causes of apparent
The following telegram has been received from the Government of Singapore:-" Hong-failure to his crew :---- kong declared to be infected with plague."
NOTICE.
With regard to the reduction of hits at the prize-firing just completed as compared with the results of last year, I accept the majority of the blame. My constitution having been boiled, or baked, whichever you like to call it. for the last three weeks, I ought to have realised that the constitution of our cordite would have been similarly affected. My endeavours to exist in this climate, I suppose, absorbed so much of my attention that I unfortunat ly did not fully appreciate that the charges you were going to use had had a three weeks' baking at about 30 deg. over the normal temperature for which your gnn-sights are calibrated, and it was not until three guns had fired that I realised that it was the cordite and not the men behind the gun who were in fault. For your information, the range table is calculated for cordite at 60 deg. F. and the charges you used were found to be at 90 deg. F. This excess of temperature over the normal materially increased the muzzle-velocity and threw all the first shots over the target: the mist and rain made it extremely difficult to estimate this distance over, and consequently many more shots were wasted.
The experiment of bringing down from Japan assistant doctors versed in plagne work has not, unfortunately, proved to be as success- ful as was anticipated, notwithstanding the laudatory comment which the more evoked from some of the home medical circles. It had been first of all proposed, of course, to get the assistant doctors from India, but this was found to be impossible owing to the comparative scarcity of these experts in that Dependency. Then it was agreed by the Sanitary Board in their dilemma to full back upon Japanese doctors, a decision that, curiously enough, was cordially welcomed by the Chinese and pro- Chinese representatives on the Board, who had all along contended that Japanese would be more acceptable among the native population and would be less liable to obstruction in the performance of their duties than the Indians. Accordingly the Japanese, seven in all, were engaged through the agency of the British Consulate-General there and were sent down not long ago to be ready to commence work during the season when plague is regarded as being epidemic. They had not been long stationed in the Colony when difficul- ties emerged, for it was found that, with perhaps one exception, they were unable to speak or write English, a fatal drawback when it is considered that after the examination of suspicious cases of death they were required to fill in in English the particulars connected with each case.
As a result of their linguistic inefficiency, there has not been that lightening of the duties of the senior sanitary inspectors which their coming was expected to bring in its train, but rather the reverse bas been the case, for each inspector had to take one of the doctors under his care in making his daily rounds and was therefore so much hampered. During the stay of the Japan ese doctors here the work of filling up the
The <fficers asked me to stop the practice, as daily returus has, we are led to understand, they could hardly see the target from the case- occupied the entire time of one of them, so that mates.. I did not do so, as we have to bear in his services for outside work have been practical-mind that we must be ready to fight an enemy ly rendered useless, although he has the best knowledge of English of the lot. Now the sanitary authorities have recognised the futility of carrying on the present system, and it has been arranged that three of the doctors be sent back to Japan Meanwhile billets will be found for the remaining four in the work of the bacteriological examination of dead rats, but so far as the original scheme is concerned, whereby the Japanese would have undertaken outside work, that may be considered to have fallen to the ground.
The Japan Mail states that arrests of jour nalists continue in connection with charges of blackmailing. It would be difficult and tedious to attempt any defailed account of these ap prehensions, and, after all, the broad fact alone is interesting In Tokyo alone over 300 house. holders have furnished conclusive proofs of hav- ing been blackmailed or threatened with black- mailing, and the police are now vigorously pro- secuting their campaign in the provinces. The Nichi Nichi Lhimbun says that many of the kmailers_regarded" their occupation as legitimate, and were persuaded that ithin the normal scope of a journalistic The unfortunate probability is that scala will escape owing to the difficulty
ing a case against them.
of esta
As soon as the change in ballistics was found out and the correct sighting promulgated, I was glad to see that the remaining 12 men who had to fire put on 51 hits out of 62 rounds, a per- centage of 82.2, and that Abraham, Beatty, Ashton Cooke, and Davidson, made " possibles.” Petty Officer Grounds still maintains his posi- tion as the best shot in the ship, with 9 rounds and 7 bits in a minute, but he is run very close by Abraham, Metcalfe, and Beatty, with 6 hits
each.
The shooting was very much slower than last year, 19 rounds less having been fired, a fact that I attribute eutiroly to the misty and rainy sta'e of the weather making the target very difficult to see.
in any weather.
Under these circumstances I think the effi- ciency of the ship as regards shooting is as good as, if not better than last year.
If we have to fight an action in the tropics, it is not our own constitutions we must think about, but the temperature of the cordite.
(Signed) PERCY SCOTT,
Captain.
It is plea ing to note that a few captains of guns displayed their accustomed form, a fact which testifies that, while Captain Scott's system is not an infallible one, it is the best method of instruction the Navy has as yet adopted. This system has made the China Squadron, to quote Mr. Arnold White's phrase, "The best squadron of the most powerful fleet in the world." We are glad to give such due prominence to men upon whom much responsi- bility will fall when the Empire needs their service behind the guu.
The gunnery officer (Lient. Grant), while not reaping like his two predecessors an abnormal percentage reward as the fruits of his labour, must be congratulated upon the general results achieved, which are still very high percentages run in naval gunnery. Captain Scott is also to be commended for persisting in carrying out the firing even at the expense of lowering his former high standards of
2
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averages in weather he ha
**** 24 1902.
out such
invariably.
respect it is hoped Lord Selborne has forcibl firing must and should be carried weathers Bisley weather produce Bisley results, but true eficiency can only be determined by shooting carried out under all atmospheric and climatic conditions. The Terrible's recent firing emphasise the relevancy of this assertion. The Rinaldo and Vestal also carried out their i prise firing last week, having umpires from the Terrible, the weather being worse, if anything, than that experienced by the Terrible.. The question of the cordite is one for experts: to deal with. The timely discovery of its erratic behaviour in a hot climate is equivalent to a new war invention. At 1,600 yards range the firing was carried out with sights lowered to 1,300 yards, and excellent results produced. Commander Wake, Lients. Ellaby, Plunkett, and Loftie were the official umpires, who, so we are informed, gave strict attention to every detail of the firing, no donbtful shot being awarded to the firer, only hits actually on the this year, bits anywhere on the target were canvas being allowed to count. Previous to registered, so that the prize-firing under the new regulations is made more difficult, and obviously more skill is required to establish big records.
BIG FIRE IN WELLINGTON STREET.
'The most serious outbreak of fire seen in the Colony since the disastrous one of 29th March last, when over forty houses in Queen's Road West were totally destroyed and damage was done to the extent of nearly a million dollars, was that which occurred early on the 19th inst., Queen's Road West again being the locality concerned. The fire commenced on the second floor, a dwelling house, at 192, Wellington Street, from causes that have not yet been ascertained, Word of the outbreak reached the Central Police Station at 1,30 a.m., and not a moment was lost by the firemen, under Mr. A. Mackie, in repairing to the scene, the direction being clearly pointed by the fierce glare that hung over Queen's Road West. But when the place was reached the miserable history of previous outbreaks repeated itself, for not a drop of fresh water, despite the rains of the past week, was obtainable, and nearly an hour was lost whilst connection was being made with the Harbour. Four bonses were by that time beyond all hope of rescue, and the flames had obtained a hold that experience was to prove would not be easily shaken off. Added to the heat and glare of the fire, the hissing of burning kerosene in one of the shops and the loud, fusilade-like reports of exploding crackers in another, were the noisy cries of the natives-men, women, and children—but whe- ther any lost their lives remains yet to be seen. So far, however, no bodies have been found nor have any reports of missing relatives been made to the police, from which it is conjectured that the affair has been unattended with casualty.
Spreading from No. 192, Wellington Street, the flames engulfed and totally destroyed four- teen shops and houses-Nos. 188, 190, 192, 194, 196 and 198, Wellington Street, Nos. 178, 180, and 182, Queen's Road Central, and Nos 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, Kan U Fong, a lane situated at the back of Wellington Street. The Fire Station in Queen's Road Central ́at one time looked to be in imminent danger, and was saved only by the same indomitable energy that prevented the con- fiagration from assuming even more serious developments. As it was, the woodwork on that side of the Station looking into Wellington Street was quite burnt away, and internal damage was also done by water. Two other houses in Queen's Road Central were very badly damaged by fire and water, di
As can readily be imagined, the task facing the firemen was a heavy one, and its burden and danger were accentuated by the falling outward of tons of burning debris. There collapses, however, were unacc dent, athough at one time Mr. narrow escape that his ankle was shaved and another a hose playing on a vital part of was buried in the falling material, the
anied by noci. okie had such
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