July 5, 1902.]
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NORTHERN NOTES, -
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
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CORRESPONDENCE.
The following items are from the P. & T.[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the
Times of the 21st June:-
The local Coronation celebration fand that week stood at a sum of over $17,500.
An attempt was being made to perpetuate the Siege dinner. The dinner was to take place on the 23rd and was reserved to those who were present in the Port in June, 1900,
The output of the Chinese Engineering and Mining Company for the week ending May 31st was 17,000 tons, while the sales for the same period were 16,500 tons.
Private adrices from Peking state that the reports current among the natives in the Capital about the Tientsin sanitary methods to the are" horrible" and are terribly “li hai Chinese mind. So far there seems to be no case of the scourge in Peking.
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The names of the competitors in the final rounds for the Coronation (Rifle Shooting) Cops are as follows:-Tientsin, Captain Swifte, Staff Sergeant Scott: Peking, Mr. Eastes of the Legation and Captain Sutherland, 2nd R.W.F.: Tongshan, Mr. Wills: Shanhaikwan, Lieut, Nicholay.
Admiral Rogers in command of the United States Asiatic squadron passed through Tientsin on Wednesday on his way to Peking to have & conferen e with the U.S. Minister, His flagship, the New York, was the flagship of the late Admiral Samson at the battle of Santi go: the vessel is now outside the Bar at Taku.
The American schooner Marild, Captain Street, on her way from Port Gamble to Takn with a cargo of lumber for Messrs.
W. Forbes and Co. of Tientsin passed through a very large quantity of float ing pumice stone in Lat 26 12 N. and
The Long 138 38 E.
crew picked up quite a quantity of the stone. In view of re- cent history, the origin of this pumice would be most interesting knowledge. Was it submarine or aerial (hurled through the air from some volcanic focus) The locality of the find is 580 miles south of Yokohama and about 180 miles east of the Bonin Group, on the parallel of the Great Loo Choo. Sulphur Island in the Volcano Group is only about 150 miles distant. General de Wogack left Tientsin on furlough by the 10.15 a.m. train on the morning of the 14th inst. There was ample testimony to the universal esteem and affectionate regard in which the gallant officer is held in the very large number of ladies, soldiers and civilian We residents who went over to see him off. have not seen such a demonstration at the Railway Station since Count Waldersee left. The commanding officers of the foreign con- tingents were down, and the French kindly sent their band over to do honour to the de- parting guest. The General with his usual courtesy took a personal farewell of every one present and was greatly affected by the demon stration. Hearty cheers were raised as the train steamed slowly out.
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opinions expressed by our correspondents.]
THE CHINESE AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH BILL.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS.'
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Hongkong, 30th June, SIR.-I have read with much interest the leader in your issue of the 25th inst., and would ask you to kindly allow mo space to give an explanation in re the term Foreign Commu- pity," as also to make some endeavour to reply to your interrogatives in re the Public Health In doing this, I wish it and Buildings Bill. to be clearly understood that I do not pretend in any way to put forward the views of the Chinese or anybody else, but simply my own; as I have been interested in, and closely connected with landed property for a number of years and have watched with keen interest the effects of every legislative enactment affecting private rights, and vested interests in real estate. I was present at the meeting of the Chinese Commercial Union and was asked to take notes of the proceedings and the discussion which followed. And, considering the subject matter one of the most important measures that have ever been brought before the public-for I will prove without doubt later, that the effects of this Bill in its present shape would seriously prejudice both the interests of the landlords concerned and the general welfare of the Colony -I prepared a condensed report of the meeting and sent one copy to your paper and another to the China Mail.
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Now, sir, about Foreign Community." In justice to the Chairman of that meeting. I mist state that the expression actually used by him was European Community," and it being within my knowledge that Europeans and non- Europeans apart from Chinese, had been dis- cussing the question of a Petition to the Govern ment about this Bill, I, inadvertently, used the However, word "Foreign" in a general sense as including all those who were non-Chinese. as you are pleased to state in your leader, the really important point is not an error in be attached in certain description but the possibility that too much importance official circles to the apparent opposition to the new Bill. [We did not use the word In reply to what 'apparent"-Ed. "D.P.]. you say, that "those who met at the Chinese Commercial Union's premises on the 19th inst. will not, we think, object to the statement that they represent the Chinese landlord class nor yet can they take exception to the criticism that they do not represent the Chinese com-
that known punity in Hongkong as a whole," I would
it be
advertisements, particularly describing the objects of the meeting, were inserted in all the Chinese news- papers, and expresses were liberally circulated One June 15th, General Sucillon, the Com-inviting the Chinese general public (members manding Officer of the French Contingent, left for home, taking the train for Chingwangtao, where he was to embark for Japan. The Commanders of the other forces sent over guards of honour to the station. The gallant General with that courteous punctilio which has governed all his relation with his colleagues, reviewed these guards and passed his compli- ments on their efficiency. There was a large assembly of officers of all nationalities to wish the popular officer bon voyage; and the demon stration of the previons morning w s repeated as the train steamed away. The band was again in attendance and played a series of French national airs.
Our contemporary's city correspondent writes:-That native officials are arriving in Tientsin so as to be on the spot to take over at an early date.-An Imperial palace is to be built at Paoting outside the South Gate: foreign contractor may get the work.-Up to date the deaths from cholera namber about 200. out of 800 cases.-The estimates for the new
Peking University buildings reach Tls. 1,130,000,
Latest advices from Ichang 'report H.M.SS. Britomart and Snipe still there, but the latter was expected soon to leave for Tungting Lake on survey work.
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and non-members of the Union) to attend, the desire being to obtain the feeling of the commercial section as well as the landlords, and, to make the meeting as representative as possible. I venture to add that no greater
effort in this direction could have been made.
With regard to your statement:--" Whatever dislike to the Bill is expressed by them or non- Chinese landlords must be considered in the light of the fact that their personal and pecuniary interests are affected by the new proposals." Certainly. Your statement, if the Bill is passed in its present form, will prove to be only too true, by the following showing: Those who have recently purchased properties at the ruling high market rates, such properties being in strict accord with all the requirements of the Sanitary and other Government Regula. tions, may be called upon suddenly to submit to such alterations as will entail a heavy, outlay, enormously reducing the value of those pro- perties and in some instances showing almost total loss. Such cases, and there are many others, can only be met by a fair and reasonable compensation.
As to your interrogatory, "Do the best in- | terests of the landlord class necessarily conflict with measures aiming at the improvement of the public health?" Certainly, if those measures are arbitrary. On the other hand,
other
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the true interests of the landlord class will be best served, if the Colony is put into a perfectly healthy state, by fair measures. I think it is right in objecting to such measures as do not grapple with the difficulty in its entirety-once for all.
To
It is true that compensation is recommended by the Sanitary Experts for resumption of a few blocks of insanitary buildings; while others, equally insanitary, are left to the mercy of certain provisions in the proposed Bill: these will have to nadergo, sooner or later, material compulsory alterations, reducing their provision being made to the owners for a fair value to almost nil, without any previons It is this and reasonable compensation. apparent arbitrary feature in the Bill which has disturbed the feelings generally of those directly concerned, and of very many others, who take a sincere interest in the Colony's welfare. In this new Bill, Section 149 and its sub- sections deal with the cubicle question. comply with the provisions of this section and sub sections it might be necessary to convert some houses into semi-detached houses, so that each cubicle or room would have windows open- ing into the external air. In cases of this sort, it would only be possible to build two houses where three now exist, and for any owner of one single house, this alteration would be impossible. It will be seen that no provision -Sections 175 and 177 deal with open spaces has been made for loss of land in cases like these. in the rear and around existing buildings, when such buildings have to be re-erected. Hers again owners woull find, in the re-construction of their buildings, the space originally occu- pied by the main building greatly reduced, worthless: for los of land entailed by these and in many cases the re-erection would be sections no provision whatever is made for compensation. Such houses as dealt with by these sections wherever they exist must, at the present time, be insanitary, otherwise, the The only special provision for their class. Sanitary experts would not have made this. alternative here is that owners of this class of houses must endeavour to keep up their stability as long as possible, as nothing short of prompt resumption would, in the interests of proper sanitation, meet the case.
Sections 181 and 182 deal with buildings, those built over the entrance of streets. This fronting streets less than 15 feet in width and class of buildings will not be allowed to be re- erected (unless with the consent of the Governor in Council). No compensation is offered to the owners for the enforcements of these regulations. Fancy the loss. If any of these building are, to stand any longer? to-day, insanitary, why should they be allowed
Sections 185 and its sub-sections deal with the height of existing and future buildingst some houses three st ries in hioght are a present fronting on to narrow streets. When or even two stories. will be reduced by one these houses have to be re-erected their height No provision has been made to compensate owners for this class of property in the, great extent to which they will have to suffer.
now are
The above views are based on my own inter- and I shall be glad to learn should my inter- pretation of the different sections of the Billy Mind you, the buildings that are affected by the above quoted pretation be found incorrect. sections and sub-sections have all been built in strict conformity with the then existing regula
in fill accord with tions and and Public Health Ordinances. Now, Mr." the requirements of the present Building
had become possessed of property in the Editor, how would you feel suppose you year 1824 and from time to time since that year had been called upon to submit to all sorts of alterations necessitated by the ten Ordinances, more or less, affecting property which have been passed into law since that year? How would you like it, if your property, subjected to the provisions of this Bill, in its present shape, were to have to further undergo such alterationsin without any chance of compensation whatever structure as would reduce your income materially
My further argument, besides those expressed in my letter which appeared in your issue of the 14th inst, is this:-If any buildings in insanitary condition, situated in narrow lanes and streets or anywhere else, are allowed to re- main, diseases of endemic character must always be with us, and until such portions of the city
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.