Page
August 25, 1902.]
FOOCHOW.
From the Foochow Echo of the 9th inst. (which comes out in a special illuminated cover and with a poem in honour of the Coronation) we take the following items :—
It is affirmed that at the explosion that took placa a fortnight go only three barrels of gunpowder ignited and that only five lives were lost. Officially the accident was regarded as of small importance.
The programme for the celebration of the coronation to-day at Kuliang includes a service at the church at 10.30 am.. a picnic and children's sports in the afternoon, and fireworks and music in the evening.
Ou Thursday evening about 6 o'clock a fire broke cut in East Street in the city, beyond the White Pagoda, and seventy houses were des troyed. The Min Magistrate and General Eung were promptly a band with their soldiers and prevented looting. The origin of the fire is unknown.
The competition for the Monthly Cup took place en Green Island last Wednesday. Quite a number of ladies appeared on the scene. Some of them, notwithstanding the marshy state of the ground, entered into the "pick up the pieces
part of the performance with great spirit. The winner of the event (Mr. G. W. Pearson) is shewing such steady improvement
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in his shooting that be bids fair to be a tower of strength to the Club. He is being pressed hard by the new member (Mr. W. G. MacVicar) who was only two birds behind Messrs. Fraser and Graham retired at the tenth and Mr. Rickett at the fifteenth round.
NORTHERN NOTES. The following items are from the P. &. T. Times of the 9th inst.
There is some prospect of the incoming Administration taking over the whole native personnel of the existing police force, some 1.8 0 in all. We hope this posicy will be carried out as the citizens contemplate with anything but equanimity the dismissal of so large a body of trained men who know so much.
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The s.s. Min was the first big vessel, if she deserves such an epithet, to pass through the apper cutting. On her downstream voyage on Tuesday, she took the new channel and nego. tiated it with all the facility in the world. On Wednesday a two-loat with lighters came up stream through it, so we may now regard the channel as part and parcel of the fairway of the Pei Ho, although the dredgers have not quite yet finished their work.
The last news from Shushi is that the copious, indeed torrential, rains which visited Peking and the Western Hills last week ex- tended over the central and Southern parts of Shansi and Chilli. At Hwai Lu the rainfall
was enormous and is estimated roughly at eight or nine inches for the week. The autumn cre are however not yet sown ; the summer harvest is so poor as to be of little account, and the food outlook is very depressing.
Our city correspondent states that the city thieves have been busy of late trying the cash shops; they are clearly of opinion that there will be a sort of interregoum in the harding over of the administration, in which lies their opportunity.
The Imperial government has intimated that it will visit with severe punishment any laxity of the cfficials in forwarding petitious to the Throne, or memorials for the improvement of public affairs. The same edict urges the pro- vincial Viceroys and Governors to do their i ntmest to secure such memorials.
The Kobe Chronicle has an article very strongly censuring the management of Chifoo School in connection with the death of thirteen boys tiere firm either cholera or ptomaine poisoning, and says ihat the lives of the children have been sacrificed to the superstitious observance of Sunday." This remark of course refers to the usual practice at the school of preparing Sunday's food on Saturday, in order that the Chinese servants might go to church on Sunday morning. "Christian," writing in the N.-C. Laily News, also makes a protest though in very different language, against this unwise practice.
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
CORRESPONDENCE.
[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.]
THE HONGKONG & WHAMPOA
DOCK CO., LD.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE
it DAILY PRESS.
Hongkong. 15th August.
147
year-a half year we are told we may never see again. On sound business principles, the moče usually adopted for future guidance is to take an average pericd, and such a period has been the one which has just come to a close. Accepting this p riod as our guide, who but a lunatic would propose a vast ontlay for more extensive accommodation, knowing, as he must know, that during the whole of the period we have taken as our guide our docks were almo: t half empty? But stay, we have as yet been reckoning without our host. We have so far viewed our chances while still in the possession of a clear field. What; a' out the opposition? An opposition, be it remen bered, not bypothe sition that is very real indeed, and an accom- tical, or forming, or threatened, but an oppo- plished hard fact, right under our very nose. and with a practical monopoly of docking, we if then, having no opposition to contend with
can barely keep our docks half full, what amount of work, or rather what portion
of
SIR, That great philosopher of the
age. Herbert Spencer, las, in a recent work, laid down the following maxim: "Do not suppose things are going right till it is proved they are going wrong, but rather suppose they are going wrong till it is proved they are going right."
With this maxim before us, let us see how it affects the position of the shareholders in the Hongkong & Whampoa Dock Co. in regard to the proposal for a new dock, soou to b: submitted to an extraordinary meeting. The reasons advanced by the advocates of this scheme are
our present work, are we to expect, firstly, that it is necessary that
when that powerful opposition, now slowly one should always be "abreast of the times, that is to say,
but surely raising its head. actually com to posses a bigger dock capable of taking in
mences operations? Under such conditions- larger vessols, which may come our way when
it would be sheer madness, not less than suicidal, such vessels are built, as also, to serve as un
to carry through the scheme contemplated, adjunct to our present dock accommodation in
and one is forced to tie corclusion that the ereut of that being fully occupied. The
its advocates must be blind. No, I repeat, second reason advanced is that we should pre-long p. ssed. Time was when it would have been our opportunity for building a now dock has pare to meet the powerful opposition of our neighbours.
considered a sound policy, bat in the face of two powerful oppositions, can there be two opinions?
There now remains the general principle that it is consistent with sound business rules to be abreast of the times." True, but to be abreast of the times, everything depends on cerned, circumstances have altered since it was circumstances. As far as our project is con-
Times change and projects
Before discussing the merits or demerits of the reasons stated above, the principal point to be considered is what the undertaking is likely to cost us. If we accept the estimate given by fairly reliable authorities, the total cost will not fall short of four million dollars.
As, however, estimates are proverbially unreli- able, and generally err
ou the wrong side. another million may fairly be added to the figures ready given, bringing the total outlay in roun figures to five millions. On this basis then, we shall have to make an extra revenue on the following scale :--
1
6 per cent, interest on five
millions
16 per centi depreciation...
$30,000
800,000
$1,100,000
The last figure may appear somewhat exag- gerat d. but when it i considered that our present decks with all the tremendous improve ùents effected in them during so many years. nced 16 per cent. allowance for depreciation tide directors report for lest half year of 1901 and first of this year) surely the new dock at its inception would require at least an equal amount of trimming down in its book value. It is thus seen, that this pet scheme requires $1,10000 a year to be just barely kept up. Will the new dock make this amount by itself?
Going into the question of providing larger acermin dation for big ves els that are likely to that the object of the great shipping combine Le built in the future, we must not forget is to expressly put a stop to thất ruineus com- petition of building larger and larger ships. which had hitherto pracailed among the steam ship lines of the Atlantic. For the present therefore, the limit in size has been reached, at all events for some time. That being so, our present Kowlodu dock seems amply big for all practical purposes. By only lengthening the No. 1 dock, we shall able to accommodate the very largest mercantile steamers afloat.
first mooted.
must change with them."
Witness recently a local shipping company, which launched out in an ambitious scheme of increasing both its capital and tonnage, regard - ' less of all warning, and which had hitherto done ext emely well, but now finds itself in a deuce of a quandary, and is found ring in deeper mud.
It will probably Le argued t at if the scheme. is so extremely unsuitable, how is it that it possesses some strong advocates? The answer is self-evident, There are some shareholders
who have speci interests, and would un- doubtedly derive benefit, were the scheme proceeded with, such, for instance, as those who could supply materials for building purposes, &c. One important factor in connection with the opposition i had almost forgotten to men- tion.
So far, we have only touched that question in its bearing on the amount of work that may be lost to us, but were we to increase our capital to the enormous extent proposed, we should be compelled to make a regular fight with our opponents, in which case there will be involving a frittering away of a vast amount of a cut-throat competition for a few years.
British capital until one or both sides are landed in a bankruptcy court.
Against such ent-throat work the Times in a leading article on the shipping combine" dwelt specially on the advantages gained by that combination, because it becomes the meaas of saving British capital from being frittered away in useless competition. We have thus the warning of an undoubted authority before us, which we should certainly take to heart.
As to having the new dąck serve as an adjunct, I need on's point out what the directors themselves have to shy on this head to show how abeard it would be to carry cut any extension of our present accommodation. In their last report, the directors particularly point out that the first half of 1901 was excep. tionally good and that we may take our pr sent scale of work as our proper basis.sp. culation or manipulation. Now it is not mureasonable to jask, during that period of fat kiue, on how many occasions were our docks employed to their fullest capacity? We might also go further and say. granting that they were so full. was it at any time necessary to reject work, and how often? As far as I know, they were never so full that they could not have accepted further work, even when through someone's blunder the Munchen was allowed to slip through our hands. It would, however, be the height of folly to take as an example an exceptional half
However, putting aside all that has been said, in any scheme that is set before the shareholders, it is most important that the interests of those widows or orphaus, whose all in all is invested in these shares, should be carefully guarded. This poor class can not afford to have their sole means of subsistence, tossed about in the uncerts in seas of combined
Other arguments can be produced ad in- finitum, but I have already trespassed too much on your valuable space. I will sum up in one word, I would respectfully urge upon the general body of shareholders that when the scheme is laid before them for discussion they should insist upon receiving absolute and positive. assurance that the proposed new dock shall not, now or at any future time, constitute a burden on the resources or revenue of the present establishment; that it must stand by itself and be capable of paying its own way. These
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