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22nd, the Regiment took up position on the site of Whitfield Barracks. For a long period after that the regimental records tell of nothing but hard work and dill which were attended by the best possible results in the direction of the perfecting of the corps. A band having | been recruited from Iaia by Lieut. Berger, colours were presented to the Regiment and on the 13th April, 1894, the trooping ceremony took place on the Cricket Ground. On 29th October of the same year Lient.-Colonel Barrow resigned the command, and it was assumed by Major Faithfull, who retained it until 29th October, 1897, when he was succeeded by Major Retallick, and Captain W. R. Little of the Indian Staff Corps was appointed second in command. During these intervening years, the Regiment had been gradually under its able officers, attaining to that high state of efficiency which was 80 strikingly exemplified in the stirring times that were to follow.
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It was in connection with the taking over of the New Territory that tle Hongkong Regiment first saw active service. Un the 15th April, 1899, Captain Berger with three Jemadars and 122 rank and file marched to Taipo to form a camp, preparatory to the boisting of the British dag on the acquisition of the hinterland. On arrival it was seen that the hills in the neighbourhood were held by Chinese, estimated at 120 strong, beut apparently on opposing the advance of the troops. When a little over 1,000 yards distant the British troops were subjected to artillery fire, and as they continued to stand on the defensive, the Chinese made an advance upon them with rifles. A few long distance volleys checked the approach of the Chinese, who after wards contented themselves with mortar fire, happily ineffectual. In view of what had happened, Lieut-Colonel Retallick arrived at Taip on the 16th with 300 troops of his em mand. On the 17th at p.m. very heavy hostile fire was heard from the direction of Chung-uk. tsun. Captain Berger with 250 men of the H.K.R. had already gone to a neighbouring hill to dislodge the enemy, who had taken up position with guns on the crest and had been firing at the camp at 2,500 yards range. His force, which was closely followed by a reserve under Lieut. Barrett, shou became hotly engag. ed, and did the work splendidly. The enemy were forced to retire, and but for the fact that addition guns which had been sent forward under Captain Simmofus, R.A., took a wron turn, their defeat would have been crushiu. As it was, the H.K. Regiment followed up the retreating foe with great bravery and tenacity and inflicted serious loss upon them. Captain Berger's force captured three guus and utterly routed the Chinese. On the 18th hostilities were renewed at Sheng Tsun. The H.KR. force of about 400 med, under the command of Captain Berger, and directed by Colonel The O'Gorman, were attacked by the Chinese to the number of about 2,600; they gallantly ropulsed the attack and utterly routed the enemy. This was the end of armed resistance ou the part of the Chinese to the British occupation of the New Territory. As the country got settled the force of the Hongkong Regiment there was gradually reduced and they returned to Kowloon.
the
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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During the recent troubles in North China, the good soldierly qualities of the Hongkong Regiment were again put to a test, from which they emerged with flying colours. They took
Tientsin and the relief of part in resultant fighting in that neighbourhood, the march on Peking to the relief of the Legations and the subsequent operations against the Chinese brigands. These services were highly extolled by General O'Moore Creagh, G.O.C. In all 828 rank and file of the Regiment went North when the trouble broke out, the English officers being Lieut.-Colonel Retallick, Com- mandant; Captain Berger, second in command; Captains Rowcroft, Anderson, and Campbell; Lieuts. Moberly, Barrett, and Wallace. Thirteen native officers also were present, and Lieut. Pye 5th I.H., Lieut. Hutchison, 22nd B.I., and Lieut. Radkin, 3)th B.I., were attached to the Regiment for field service. Major Little was on sick leave in England when the corps was ordered North. He sailed for China at once and reached Tientsia on 23rd March, 1901, with a draft of 97 men, but unfortunately died there a few months later. On all sides the highest
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[October 25, 1902.
praise was accorded the Hongkong Regiment | the Sé, and slowly wended its way to the Guis during these operations. Lieut.olonel Reta! chapel at the summit of the hill, followed by a lick, Captain Rowe oft, Captain Berger. | large conco irse of people, consisting mostly of Subadar Major Sirdar Khan, and Subadar Jan the military element; as it appr ached its destination. the Gui fort fired a salute. Mohammd were honourably mentioned
The service at the chapel was short, the despatches.
sermon for the occasion being preached by The Rev. Father Games. In the erouing the fair and illuminations were continued, and at 9 o'clock there was a grand pyro technic display, the fireworks having bean The Avenida specially ordered from Canton. was thronged with a cosmopolitan crowd, inclu- ding the Acting Governor and purty, the elite of Macao society and visitors from Hongkong. The Chinese as usual predominated, the chief attractio for them being the fireworks. The ban 1 of the Police Force was in attendance on bath nights, and the strains of music discoursed by it helped to enliven the p. oceedings consider. ably. Altogether the show was a huge success B3 far as appearance goes; financially we understand that the procceeds wers not up to the expectations of the promoters. The uot proceeds of the Fair will not go to the fund as originally intended, but will be handed to the Sisters Cannossiauas of Macao for the benefit of the poor orphans under their charge.
The news of the coming disbandment of the Hongkong Regment came with surprise to those outside military circles. As the day approached when the Regiment had to bid farewell to the Colony from which it took its name, one heard not ing but expressions of regret that such a magnificent corps should loss its embodiment. But it is useless to cavil | at the ways of the military authorities. Their fiat bad gone forth. Hongkong has witnessed few such impressive spectacles as that which took place at Happy Valley on the 10th inst.. when the Regiment, after inspection by the Governar, H.E. Sir Henry A. Dlake, G.C.M.G., went through the ceremony of trooping the colours preparatory to their departure. On the following Sunday, the 12th, the colours were deposited with all decorum in S. John's Cathedral | in presence of a large and representative assembly. The officers of the Regiment at present are Major E. L. C. Berger, Commandant: Captain E. C. Rowcroft, D.8.0., Captains P. G. Ander- son and G. W. ('ampbell, Lieut. and Adjutant H S. Moberly, Lients. E. C. L. Wallace and W. II. Bingham.
FESTIVAL AT MACAO.
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THE AMOY FIRE.
The N.-C. Daily News correspondent writes from Amoy on the 7th October:
From an early hour Thursday morning all was bustle at the quarters of the Regimeut at Kowloon. The baggage had been sent on board the Arratoon. Apcar on the previous day, so that Amoy has been visited by many calamities nothing remained Thursday but the embarka during this year-plague, cholera, drought, tion of the meu themselves and their more dengue fever, &c.-but the climax has come in immediate effects. This was effected without the terrible fire which devastated the bulk of bitch. The men were marched to the Police the business portion of the city on Friday Inst, Pier, accompanied by the band and pipers of the October 3rd." Oddly enough a small fire began Kowloon Garrison regiments, and thence were
about 8.30a.m. on the island of Kulangsu in conveyed in launches to the Arratoon Apear, carpenter's yard, but, luckily, this did not which lay out in the channel opposite the Canton extened to any other building, and was extin- wharf. The vess I cast off from her buoy inguished in a few hours, not before destroying the afternoon and steamed away for the South. wood, however, to the value of $1,000. As fires are an uncommon thing here, everybody was more than astonished to see smoke rising from the centre of Amoy city very soon after It began The feast of Our Lady of Guia is a time-honour-
the Kulangsu fire had begun to blaze. ed fixture among the Portuguese, especially so
close to one of the principal temples of the city, the Koau Te Bio, and is said to have been caused among the Portuguese garrison, who make it a rule to celebrate the annual feast in striking by the cooks in a cake-shop overturning the pan fashion. This year, owing to the presence of an a free fight, and then throwing lighted larger force in Macao than usual, the efforts to "charcoal about, which of course soon set fire to keep up this old custom have been exceptional, Heighbouring piper and woodwork. Anyway, About a mouth or two ag invitations were they little know the immense damage that was to be done before the fire they so thoughtlessly issued by a committee formed for this purpose t›
For it is calculated that all the Portuguese ladies of Macao and Hong, kindled was put out.
some 1600 houses have been burnt, and that, kong to co-operate with the committee in the getting up of an open-air Fancy Fair, the pro-, too, in the very best part of the business section ceeds of which are to go towards a fund for the of the city, behind the foreign hongs. Indeed, annual celebration of the feast. For one reason
these have not altogether escaped, for Messrs. or another the invitations were not responded Douglas Lapraik & Co., and Messrs. Jardine, to by a large majority, and the proposed Matheson & Co., have had their premises
poiut
burut, while portions of the Chinese Custom of falling
House, and other adjacent premises were through; but exing to the untiring efforts of
1 be office seriously damaged.
of our the committee this was averted, and it was carried through last Saturday and Sunday, newspaper, the Amoy Gazette, where all the local Expresses are printed, was the 18th and 19th inst. Favoured by fiue
be some weather, a large number of Hongkong residents burnt out, and fear it will
It went over by the Heungshan on Saturday time before the next issue is printed.
would be impossible to enumerate the many important Chinese hongs that were destroyed nor is it easy to calculate the amount of the damage in dollars, but nothing is more evident than that Amoy will feel the extent of the blow for a good while to come.
Fair
was
the on
to attend the fair and the feast. The steamer Chukong also made an excursion trip later on Hotel accommodation at Macao in the day.
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was taxed to the utmost, the two principal h tels being full, while the recently started Hotel Internacional." pleasantly situated on the Praia Gravde, wys full of guests from Hongkong.
On Saturday evening the Fair was opened at the Arenida Vasco de Gama which was tastefully decorated with flags and banners and brilliantly illuminated with Japanese lanterns and fairy lamps, the effects of which were very pleasin. The zig-zag road leading up to the Guia lighthouse, fort, and chapel was also nicely lit up, the moon leading its help to make the scene a beautiful one; in fact ali Macao,
$0 quiet, was ordinarily
cu fite for the occasion, even the ricksha-coolies seeming on
the alert to secure double fares. The
pro-
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gramme for Sunday consisted of a solemn high; mass at 9.30 at the Sé Cathedral, in which the whole of the Macao clergy took part. It was well attended; among the congregation there were I. E. the Acting Governor, Dr. Lello, his aide-de-camp, and the naval and military officers. At 4.30 in the afternoon the procession of our Lady of Guia started from
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Unfortunately, it has not occurred without loss of life, for the Captain of the s.8. Wenchow, Captain Fife, who gallantly, but too carelessly, tried to save certain buildings, was caught by a falling wall, and crushed beneath the raius before it was possible to rescue him. He was buried in the Amoy Cemetery on Kulangsu Saturday afternoon, with due honours on
4th October.
And it is already known that a good many Chinese, both women and men, have perished, some from inability to get away, others from being too venturesome in searching among the debris of their houses. Several men who tried to rob were also, quite rightly, shot when in the act of plying their nefarious work.
There is only one way of looking at the fire in the light of a blessing, and that is, if it will only have burnt up the germs of the plague that have filled Amoy for some years past. Que remembers how the Great Plague of London
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