October 20, 1902.]
HONGKONG.
Apart from the one fatal Chinese plague case which we have already mentioned as occurring last week, there was a case of enteric fever in the Colony, the sufferer being an Indian.
A snake about four feet in length was captured outside the Golf Club building on the 16th inst. It was apparently of a non-venomous kind, from the way in which the Chinese handled it.
We are informed that Vice-Admiral Sir Cyprian A. G. Bridge, K.C.B., has respectfully declined the offer of the local branch of the Navy League of a pri e of £50 sterling for the encouragement of gunnery in the China Squadron.
A Manila Times telegram, dated New York, 10th October, 8178:-GoLoral Pragg, who as Consul General at Havana, is persona non grata with the Cuban Government, ou account of the uncomplimentary things he said about the Cuban people in a letter to his wife, has been ordered by the President to exchange consulates with Mr. Rublee, Consul-General in Hongkong. Owing to sickness among the men of the Royal Garrison Artillery on
Stonecutters Island, one Company has been withdrawn to Victoria Barracks, from which another Com- pany was removed to Lycemoon to make room for the newcomers.
The prevalent sickness is believed to be due to the breaking of new soil in connection with the building of new barracks there.
The death took place in the Government Civil Hospital at 2.25 on the 16th inst. of Captain J. Rattenbury, formerly master of the China & Manila Steamship Co.'s vessel Diamaute and lately appointed to the Zafiro,
another steamer of the same fleet. This appointment Captain Rattenbury was unable to take up owing to the illness which regrettably ended in his death. He suffered latterly from abscess of the liver, and also had long- The funeral took standing heart disease. place at Happy Valley yesterday afternoon, and was attended by a large number of friends. Much sympathy is felt for Mrs. Rattenbury, who was in a state of collapse yesterday. as the mother of two children.
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Now that the Sanitary Department have got the better for the time being of our annual visitations of serious epidemio trouble and have consequently moro opportunity to tackle minor sanitary matters, could not the staff do some- thing to stop the dust nuisance which everyone finds so very annoying and prevalent in the central streets of the City? The coolies who are put on to sweep the hill streets clear of leaves and other litte seem to take a male. volent pride in raising great clouds of dust while effecting the minimum of labour. They simply swoop the debris from one side of the street to the other and there it lies until the next man comes alog and sweeps it back again. Anyone who has had occision go up Wyndham Street any day of late about mid-day must have experienced the unpleasantness. Enrop ans especially appear to be the favourite victims of the sweeper: when he sees one coming he goes about the dust raising with a vigour and an ardoar which would be altogether admirable ander other cir- cumstances. Could not the streets be watered before being swept?
10
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
Gurmakh Singh, described as a gam'ler, was fined $50 at the Magistracy on the 16th inst. for keeping a common gaming-honse at 153, Queen's
On the 16th inst. was a busy day with the 1st Derbyshire Regiment. About 300 rank and file left Murray Barracks at ten o'clock in the fore- noon and, headed by the baud, marched to West Point for embarkation on the transport Wakool Their passage through the town brought out a great number of interested spectators. The troops and baggage were embarked at Jardine's wharf. When the embarkation was completed, the Wakool left for Tientsin and the North, sailing about one o'clock. In the forenoon also took place the embarkation of part of a draft to the Regimont, which had arrived from Liverpool on the 8.8. Deucalion, and which consisted of Major L. S. Gor lon Cumming, Brevet-Major P. C. Rigby, Lieut. Davidson and 143 mea. The other officers who left wi h the contingent for the north are Captain L. St. H. Morley, Captain J. F. Ritchie, and Lieats. G. F. de Pledge, W. R. Frend, J. L. H. Manby, and M. B, Webb. Major Denny, D.A.A.G., was present during the embarkation.
Road East.
The reappointment of Hon. R. Shewan to be an Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council in place of Hon. T. H Whitehead is officially notified in the Gazette.
In connection with the recently formed Literary Club, Dr. J. C. Thomson lectured on Firday night n the Union Church on malaria and its relation to the mosquito.
The new Scotch Lodge at Kowloon will be consecrated and the W.M. installed with full Masonic honours on Saturday, 25th inst. The Lodge will be housed in Chater's Bungalɔw.
The number of visitors to the City Hall Library and Museum during the week ending 11th inst, was 242 non-Chinese aud 85 Chinese to the former, and 6 non-Chinese and 2,448
Chinese to the latter.
A Chinaman has been arrested by the police on a charge of causing the death of a countryman, on the 1 th inst. The facts of the case.
as recouuted to us, are extremely simple, and go to show the disastrous consequences that some- Both men were times attend a hasty blow.
assengers on the Yaumati ferry-launch ou the afternoon mentioned, but as they were strangers to each other no conversation took place between them until the launch touched at the wharf on the Victoria side of the harbour. There the prisoner, who was hand to his stepping off first, put his pocket and, turning round, accused the other mau ef robbing him. The latter denied the accusation, whereupon the first gave him a back-handed blow in the region of the stomach. The blow was given quite at raudon, apparently, and carried no great force with it, but its effect, as has been stated, was startling. The decousel dropped on the deck of the launch in a state of semi-consciousness and as all efforts to bring him round or to ascertain his identity were unavailing, two Chinese constables who were at hand had him picked up for conveyance to the hospital, on the way to which he expired. Rupture of the spleen has been certified to
have been the cause of death.
Early on the 13th inst.-to be precise, to 1.30 a.m.-an armed robbery was committed on board a junk at Samsuipo, when a gang of men fire in number overcame and robbed the occu- Two of pants of a box containing about $360, the robbers were known to the people on the junk, and when the occurrence had been reported to the police steps were taken to close the first loophole of escape that is sought by native offenders against the law-the Canton River boats. In this way the arrests of one or two were effected, although, in at least one case, with much difficulty. The prisoners were placed on a police launch, and ong of them suddenly broke away and disappeared over the side. was an expert diver apparently, for he did not reappear till quite a distance had been traversed underneath the water; even then he was seen for a moment, going out of sight again when he had had a breathing spell. Chinese constable 235, however, showed that two could take a hand in the game, and he took a header after the escaping prisoner, who was again invisible. The constable proved the better swimmer of the two, and eventually came up with his quarry,
He
who was in an exhausted condition. There was
a large wound on his forehead, cansed probably by his striking something in his flight through
the water. This, and the additional fact that
he had been swimming lard for twenty minutes, were doubtless circumstances in the lukong's favour, otherwis the prisoner might have got away. The incident was followed eagerly by an appreciative c owd of Chinese on the wharf The man is now in hospital for treatment of the wound on his forehead.
The Portuguese gunboat Diu arrived on the 12th inst. from Amoy, and the US. transport Ingalls on the 13th from Manila.
The French cruiser D'Entrecasteauz left the harbour on the 11th inst. for Kwangchauwan, and the British surveying-ship Waterwitch arrived from Weihaiwei.
MISCELLANEOUS.
311
The Chinese Imperial Court is expected to visit Pantingfu during the tenth moon.
Suen Pao-ki, Chinese Minister-designate to France, is now on his way to Paris, having reached Shanghai on the 7th inst.
Siberian plague, a kind of cattle-disease, is causing the death of thousands of beasts in Mongolia. As Mongolia supplies Russia with beef and cows for milking, Russian exports have been sent to study the outbreak.
New York capitalists, comprising the China Development Company, have just absorbed the Philippine Steamship Line, but the Philippine Transportation Company retains its local operations at their present status.
The driving competition of the Shanghai Golf Club on the 5th inst. was won by our late champion J. H. T. MacMurtrie, who drove 196 yds. 2 ft. 18 inches further than J. A. McGill. G. Ross Young won the prize for the best aggregate.
The cholera situation in the provinces is greatly improving, says the fanila Times of the 11th inst. The daily provincial report for the past 24 hours up to 8 a.m. to-day was 826 cases and 635 deaths; mortality of 64 per cents The report for the City of Manila for the past 24 hours wa: + cases and I death.
The following remark from the Kobe Chronicle certainly seems reasonable :-A Chinaman named Tseng Hsiung Kuei, who was arrested a fortuight ago for smoking opiam at his resi- dence in Moto-machi, 2-chome, Yokohama, has been sentenced by the Yokohama District Court to eighteen months' major imprisonment, while the smoking instruments have been confiscated. While in accordance with the law, the sentence seems altogether out of proportion to the gravity of the offence.
The Japanese cruiser Chitose left on the 15th❘ inst, for Japan and the Portuguese gunboat Diu for Macao.
Three warships were in dock at Kowloon, on Thurday, viz., H.M.SS. Albion and Handy, and the Portuguese gunboat Zaire.
A shocking accident resulting from the collapse of a house in course of construction in Kelawei Road, Penang, took place on the 2ud in t. The whole structure fell outwards, burying beneath the rains ten Chi amen, who had been at work on it. Four were dead when rescued and five others badly injured. There was no rain and no wind at the time, and the acident is put down to jerry-building. Hongkong visitors to Penang would feel quite
at home.
A telegram, dated New York, 11th September, says:- President Ro sevelt has disapproved the findings in the Ryan court-martial which Captain Ryan was acquitted that ficer. charged with resorting to nousual and improper methods in obtaining information from natives. He ducked the heads of the president and vice-president of Jiminez (in the Philippines) ia buckets of water to obtain information.
President Rosevelt's disapproval will not, how- er r, affect the findings.
The Shanghai Union of the 9th inst. says:- We notice that Mr H. Dixon, Acting British Postmaster at Shanghai, has left for Hongkong It is very to resame daty in that Colony. much the result of Mr. Dixon's representations that the Post Office at Shanghai has been put on a proper footing. Previous to his arrival, the daily papers and individuals were continu ally complaining about the Office, the cause of this being the disinclination of the Hongkong authorities to supply a numerically sufficient staff to run it. We trust Mr. Dixon's superiors will suitably recognise his services in having taken away the reproach from the Post Office here-a reproach not in any way due to the former officials.
Writing at the beginning of the month, the Singapore Free Press's Sandakan correspondent said: It is reported here on the best of authority that the present steamers running between here and Hougkong are to be ang- mented in the course of a month or six weeks time, when the steamer Prima will come on the ruo. She is quito a small vessel, and has been chartered principally for the shipment of tim. ber from Dutch Sebalik to Hongkong and Shanghai, via Sandakan. The Mausang and Sandakan have proved quite equal to the voluma of trade hitherto, and it is not considers | that there is room for a third boat on the line. If it comes to a question of opposition the new comer will probably come off badly, for she will find it very hard to compete with steamers backed | by such firms as Jardine, Matheson & Co. and
the Norddeutscher Lloyd.
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