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36
of cholera. It is not known how or where he contracted the disease.
We understand that the French authorities promptly closed the house in Rus du Chemin de Fer where the case ocurred last week. The British Military authorities have taken the precaution of making all the villages in the neighbourhood of Tientsin out of bounds. The latest returns of the T.P.G. show a total number of nearly 700 cases with a mortality of about 85. per cent. The medical officers have noted an increasing number of light attacks in the cases latterly admitted to Hospital.
CORRESPONDENCE.
We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.]
MOSES V. KNIGHT.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS.'
Hongkong, 4th July. S18,-It is always difficult for the general public to gather, from the report in the papers of any proceedings in Court, what the real facts are and how the judgment may possibly affect them or their interests; the statement of the facts is so often mixed up with arguments on points of law, and discussions between the Counsel and the Bench, that the mind of the ordinary reader is thrown into confusion and either he does not understand the facts at all or he misunderstands them. As the above case is an important and far-reaching one, affecting all those who are interested in property in the Colony, the reasons stated above must be my apology for attempting, as succinctly and shortly as I can, to lay the facts before the public unencumbered by legal argument.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
The greater part of MacGregor Street was built in 1897. The street consists of a row of Chinese houses looking, on the one side on to MacGregor Street, a private street; and on the other side, on to Albany Street, a public road 30 feet wide. Each floor of these houses consists of one room only extending practically from one street to the other but on the Albany Street side of each house there is a verandah, half of which forms the cook house for each Boor. Certificates under the old Public Health Ordinance were granted for all these houses, on completion, that they complied with the pro- visions of the Ordinance. At the end of 1901 three more houses were built on to those already existing; save that one
corner house, these three houses of exactly the same dimension and design as all the old ones. The Sanitary Board granted this year their certificate that these new houses were in compliance with the new Public Health
8
`Ordinance.
was
were
new
Early in April this year the owners of one of the old houses were summoned because they had not provided an open space in the rear by open- ing up half the verandah up to the roof as required by the new Ordinance and because they had not a backyard of 50 square feet at the back, the only circumstance entitling them to be freed from the necessity of opening up the verandahs. Curiously enough the certificate that the new houses complied with Ordinance was not given till about a fortnight after the summons had been taken out in respect of one of the old houses on the grounds that it did not comply with the Ordinance. It was urged in reply that though they had no backyard of 50 square feet they had Albany Street behind them of far more than 50 square feet in area which more than answered the purposes of a backyard; that the Board had granted a certificate that the new houses, precisely similar in situation, complied with the Ordinance; that if, instead of being an old house, it had been a new honse, and had had a private lane at the back of 6 feet wide it would come within the Ordinance, whereas this house had a public street behind it of 30 feet wide; that for the Sanitary Board to call on опе man to alter a house so as to obtain for it more light and air when a certificate had been given that an exactly similar house had light and air enough was to rather reduce things to an absurdity, especially when the house to be altered had a 30 foot road behind it and the Or- dinançe provided, later on, that a new house
I
[July 14, 1902.
severe-
with a 6 foot lane behind it had plenty light in the price of coffee it will be a and air; and finally that the object of the Ör-struggle to keep going till the rubber trees dinance being to provide light, air and ventila- begin to bear. In view of the present difficul- tien an amply sufficient supply of those essentials ties, Mr. Larken has generously offered to was assured by the 30 feet wide road at the draw only about $50 a month in cash on account back, even if the house did not comply with the of bis salary, leaving the balance at his strict letter of the law and had not a backyard credit. As you are aware, Mr. Larken already in the ordinary rense. Their Lordships decided, receives one-third of his salary in shaces. Your however, that these reasons were not sufficient General Managers hare again foregone their and that the house must come within the letter fees. During the year, on Mr. Larken's advice, of the Ordinance whether in fact it came, or
we sold Gambier plantations, which stood in your more than came, within the spirit and intention books at 83,261, to Chinese for $2,000, a good or whether it did not; a point on which their price in his opinion. Mr. Larken gives his views Lordships gave no decision. The verandah has on this matter very fully in bis report, which now to be altered to admit more light and air is printed in the accounts now before you, so in order to suit the law, whereas, as has been it is unnecessary for me to refer to it further. stated, if the house wore new instead of old and I do not think I can usefully add anything to had a lane of 6 feet at the back instead of a what I have already said. Our prospects are gone road of 30 feet it would under the Ordinance into very fully by Mr. Larken in his report, have light and air enough.
which you have no doubt read, but it may interest you to hear that we have lately received a letter from one of our principal shareholders, who, within the last few months, paid a visit to our plantations, and his letter can be seen by any shareholder who wishes to see it. His opinion is, and he speaks from experience of planting in the Straits, that if we are patient and can carry on until our rubber trees give results we shall make our undertaking a pro- fitable one. If there is anything farther I can explain in connection with the Report and Statement of Accounts I shall be pleased to do so.
There being no questions, The CHAIRMAN moved the a7option of the report and accounts.
In the course of the case His Lordship the Chief Justice referred to "greedy landlords." I cannot help thinking His Lordship must have, for the moment, cverlooked the facts that the landlords have been an immense benefit to the Colony; that if it had not been for the landlords and their schemes of development the town of Victoria might, at this day, be still a collection of old and crowded houses as it once was; that we should have no Praya Extension; none of those lofty and handsome suites of new offices on it, which are gradually rendering the architecture of the Colony both pleasing and impressive; and that we should now, where rows on rows of houses stand, have nothing but vacant lots awaiting a purchaser and affording a striking comment on the energy and ambition of the inhabitants of the Colony. The land- lords, in initiating and carrying out all these schemes of development, may, and no doubt did, have an eye to their own interests as well as to the interests of the public. And who can blame them? and if, while looking out for themselves they looked out for the Can we take the benefits they give us with one public too, can they fairly be called "greedy"? hand and smite them on the face with the other for benefiting themselves when giving them to us. Should we not rather accept the benefits, and they are undoubted, which accrue to us from their schemes of development and allow them ungrudgingly to reap for them- selves whatever profit they can from them P-Yours, etc.,
JUSTICE.
TEBRAU PLANTING CO., LD.
The sixth ordinary general meeting of the Tebrau Planting Co., Ld., was held on the 7th inst. in the Company's Offices, 38 and 40, Queen's Road Central. Mr. Hart Buck presided, and there were also present Messrs J. A. Jupp, A. P. Nobbs, J. S. Hagen, W. D. Sutton, Wong Mow Lam and J. L. Cotter (secretary).
The SEC ETARY having read the notice calling the meeting,
consent
The CHAIRMAN said-Gentlemen, The re- port and accounts having been in your hands for some days, I will with your pursue the usual course and take them as read. At the close of the last general meeting, you will no doubt remember we held a private meet- ing of shareholders to decide what was to be done, as the Company's funds were practically at an end, and money was needed to carry on. It was unanimously decided by those share holders present that they would not subscribe further capital and the General Managers were requested to write Mr. Larken to this effect, offering the property to the Singapore shareholders should they care to take it over. Fortunately, Mr. Larken was able to arrange a mortgage with a friend on perties of $10,000 at 6 per cent. for 5 years, which appears in the accounts. Mr. Larken hoped that this would prove suffi- cient to tide us over the present bad times and keep us going until the rubber trees came into bearing, from which source we anticipate a handsome return in the course of the next two years. As it is, the coffee crop was a disap- pointment, and the price being so low we did not get the assistance we anticipated from this quarter. Consequently, our funds have diminished very rapidly, and unless we see an improvement
the pro-
:
Mr J. S. HAGEN seconded and the motion was agreed to.
The CHAIRMAN-The only other business is the appointment of auditor for the ensuing year. I beg to propose that Mr. W. Hutton Potts be re-appointed.
Mr. J. A. JUPP seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
The CHAIRMAN That is all the business of the meeting, gentlemen. Thank you for your
attendance.
HONGKONG ELECTRIC CO., LD.
holders in the above Company was held at the The 13th ordinary yearly meeting of share- offices, 4, Queen's Buildings, at 12.30 p.m. on the
8th inst.
The Hon. C. 8. Sharp (Chairman) presided, and the others present were the Hon. C. W. Dickson and Mr. G. H. Medhurst (Directors), Captain Clark, Messrs. R. C. Wilcox, T. H. Reid, C. G. Mackie, A. R. Ezekiel, J. W. C. Bonnar, B. J. Barlow, E. W. Terry, R. R. Robert, J. C. Peter, G, de Champeaux, A. O. Baptiste, A. G. Wood, Leung Shui Lun, and W. H. Wickham (Manager).
The notice calling the meeting having been read,
The CHAIRMAN said-Gentlemen, as the report and accounts have been in your hands for some time, and have no doubt been carefully studied, I
your concurrence that propose with we take them as read, You will no doubt have
observed that the Working Account is issued in a rather more condensed form this year, and this has been done as your Directors have thought it desirable for several reasons not to go so much into detail as hitherto in the published acco nts, although we shall, of course, be glad to give farther information to any shareholders- who may desire same, if they will call at the i am pleased to say that Company's offices. notwithstanding some adverse conditions ex- perienced in the course of the past year, the results of the year's working show continued progress. The use of the current for light and power has been extending, and we have also been reaping the benefit of some of the considerable ontlays which have been incurred of recent years for the purpose of superseding our first plant by more powerful and up to date, and therefore cheaper producing, machinery. I may say that the necessity for this is one we constantly keep most prominently before us, and it is for this purpose that we consider as absolutely necessary the considerable annual writing-off from Plant Account, for which we have been making annual provision for some years past. It may, perhaps, seem to some shareholders that the provision set apart for such depreciation is unduly heavy, but in regard to this I would
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