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the French garrison at Langson, where Com mandant Delmotte and the officers had prepared a dinner to 100 persons for their reception. The hospitality shown individually by all these officials was on a par with that of the Govern- ment, which, as is well known, offered free passages from any part of the world and free fodging to all official delegattes of Governments and Institutions,
"What rendered the first Oriental Congress still more interesting was the presence of members associated with the early (though not very remote) history of French colonisation in Tonkin. There was the striking figure of Jean Dupuis, the pioneer in the heroic period; there was the nephew of Francis Garnier who gave his life for this now flourishing French Colony; and there was the Italian Consul-General of Hongkong, Cav. Volpicelli, whose advent in Tonkin, in 1885, had put an end to the war, and had inaugurated the era of pacification. At all the fetes, enthusiastic toasts to Jean Dupuis were made and his heroic exploits remembered. The grey-headed pioneer was much touched by, the universal remembrance of his past actions. His modesty is equal to his former daring and enterprise, and it was evident he
Was surprised at the general admiration for deeds which to him bad come quite naturally.
"A happy coincidence close the Congress of Orientalists on the 8th December, the 73rd birthday of Jean Dupuis, and the occasion was celebrated by some of the old residents of Hanoi by the presentation, in the Hanoi Hotel, of a work of art to the venerable pioneer, whose name, as was aptly remarked, was the first
French one heard on the banks of the Red River."
A BRAVE CONSTABLE. A parade was held at the Central Police Station on the 5th inst. in connection with the presentation by H.E. the Governor, Sir H. A. Blake, G.C.M.G., of the Royal Humane Society's medal and the Belilios star (the latter carrying with it a donation of $25) to P.C. Counsell, who, at the risk of his own life, saved five Chinese from drowning during the typhoon on the 18th July last. Their junk had been bat- tered to pieces against masses of floating wreckage, and the people were clinging to the sinking boat, in imminent peril of going down with it, when P.C. Counsell, carying with him a buoy and life-line, went to their assistance and saved all five. The parade was under com- mand of Mr. F. J. Badeley, Captain Superin- tendent of Police, and the ceremony, which included the presentation of the S. John's Ambulance Society's certificate to seven mem- bera of the Force, was witness d by Lady Blake, Mrs. F. J. Badeley, Hon. F. H. May, C.M.G., Commandant Pritchard, H.K.V.C., and Captain Arbuthnot, A.D.C.
Addressing P.C. Counsell, HIS EXCEL- LENCY said-Constable Counsell, I have come
here to-day to perform a very pleasing duty indeed, and that is to present you with two medals which you have most richly earned. On 18th July last, during a typhoon, you were on duty in Yaumati with a Chinese constable. A typhoon was blowing, and anybody who has seen a typhoon in this barbour knows what a
scene of destruction there is at the Prays wall. You saw a junk being des troyed and the occupants fang into the water, and you determined to save them if you possibly could. You sent the Chinese constable for assistance, but you did not wait for his return, and you yourself, having got a rope, ventured upon that seething mass of wreckage, and, alone and unaided, you saved five people who would otherwise have perished. Now, there are several kinds of courage. There is the courage that carries men forward in the atások and the steadfast courage of resistance. The bravery that carries men to the front in the rush and swirl and excitement of the fight is a bravery that is common to all persons, and there are very few cases where men have been found deliberately flinching. But there is a still higher form of courage, and that is the courage in which a man is prepared to sacrifios his life, if it be necessary, to preserve the lives of his fellow-creatures. You, Constable Couu- sell, have given a bright example of that courage, which was recognised by H.E. Major-
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
General Guscoigne when the case came before him, and he forwarded your name to England, to the great central body of the Royal Humane Society, with a recommendation that you should be awarded the medal of the Society, which is never given except in exceptional inst noes, where men have risked their lives for the purpose of securing the safety of others. The local Society, the Belilios Society, have also awarded you the Belilios star. It is a great pleas- ure to me, on this occasion, to pin upon your breast this medal of the Royal Humane Society, that will always be a reminder to you of the bravo deed you have done, and, hope, be an incentive to the other men here to perform their duty likewise if the occasion should ever
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occur.
HIS EXCELLENCY then pinned the medal on Constable Counsell's right breast, and, shaking hands with him, said-I most heartily wish you long life to wear it.
After receiving the Belilios star and the $25 accompanying the decoration, Constable Counsell saluted and returned to his place
n the ranks.
The following members of the Force were then presented by His Excellency with the certificate of the 8. John's Ambulance Society: Sergeant Garrod, Lanc-Sergeant Brown, Lance-Sergeant Adlington, P. C. Pitt, P. C. Reid, P.C. Davis, and P.C. Caygile.
{
[January 12, 1903. this to the Force, and congratulate those men who have now got their certificats, and I hope it will be my pleasant duty before long to dis- tribute more certificates for efficiency amongst the men of the Hongkong Police Force.
This concluded His Excellency's remarks, and the parade was shortly afterwards dismissed.
ÍNDIAN CONSTABLE RUNS AMUCK!
The turning out of the patrol at Hung- hom Police Station at ten o'clock on the 7th inst. Was marked by a tragic occurrence. Three Indians under a sergeant of the same nationality formed the patrol, which had no sooner started out than one of the constables, drawing his revolver, fired at and wounded a comrade in the lower part of the body; another shot embedded itself in the
butt
of the man's carbine, which the would-be murderer sized and disappeared on the hillside amongst the bushes. Nothing was heard or seen of him for a little, but he round the had evidently worked his way hillside in the direction of the station, for from This a spot above it shots began to come. sniping was continued at intervals, fortunately with ut casualty, and then the party of police who were stalking him succeeded in surrounding the madman, whom they tried to induce to surrender. The reply to this was a shout that he was going to kill himself, and following it came two more shots, then silence.
On approaching the spot the sur- rounding party found the man dead, with two ballet wounds in the abdomen. Enquiries showed that the dead man and the Indian whom he first fired at had bad a quarrel earlier in the evening, and be revenged himself in the tragic manner indicated. The wounded man is not dangerously hurt.
DEATH OF A HONGKONG
BARRISTER.
The legal profession of the Colony has lost an able member in the person of Mr. Francis Oswald Edlin, barrister-at-law, who died at the Peak Hospital on Friday, 2nd inst., at noon, and was buried in the Happy Valley on Saturday afternoon. The cironmstances attend. ing Mr. Edlin's death are peculiarly sad. Coming to Hongkong with a fine record of service in other parts of the Empire, he was regarded as a welcome acquisition to the circle of advocates practising here, and ad- mitted to the Bar on Saturday, 15th ult., the Attorney-General, Sir Henry 8. Berkeley, introducing him to the Chief Justice, Sir W. Maigh Goodman. On the same day he went to the Peak Hospital suffering from abscess of the liver, and succumbed to the disease on Friday, after undergoing an operation. The funeral cortege, which passed the Monument, was a large one, and included Sir W. Meigh Goodman, Sir Henry 8. Berkeley. Hon. Dr. Ho Kai, Hon. Murray Ramsey, and Messrs. J. W. Norton Kyshe, A. Seth, H. H. Gompertz, Morgan Philips, E. H. Sbarp, C. A. D. Mel- bourne, N. Ferrers, and D. Law,
Adressing the parade, HIS EXCELLENCY COD- tinued-With referenc to these certificates of the S. John's Ambulance Society, I wish to extend the scope of the Society in Hong- kong, especially amongst the police. I hope we shall be able to spread the Society in the Colony; it is one of the most admirable and most useful so ieties at present existing, and its object the most praiseworthy-that of giving first-aid to the wounded. I may tell you that of all the men who served in the South African war, none gave better and great- er service, or more valuable, than the men of the S. John's Ambulance Society, two thousand of whom were sent out by the Society to South Africa. I myself was present when the medal for the war was awarded to a number of these men by His Majesty the King, and I was also present at the opening of the Memorial in S. John's Church by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, in memory of those who fell during the war. I earnestly advise the men of the Police Force, both Europeans and, if we can induce them, Indians and Chinese, to go trobngh this course, and I intend to try to obtain the adhesion of a large number of people outside the Force. I may tell you that in England not only are the members of the Police Force so trained, but almost every man in the employ of the great railway companies has gone through the training. The consequence is that when an accident occurs there is hardly an instance that one or two men who know exactly what to do fail to come forward to the assistance of the injured. I was present at the competition for the shield given by the railway companies every year, and a most interesting competition it was. The meu, six or eight to a squad, were formed up, and some boys, each bearing on & card ou his back a description of the injury he was supposed to be suffering from, were placed be The deceased gentleman was the son of Sir fore them. Every man then took possession of Peter Edlin, for many years Chief Magistrate his patient for the time being, aw the injury at the Old Bailey, in London, and was admitted he was supposed to be suffering from, and there a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Judicature and then proceeded to treat him, under the in March, 1882. being called to the Bar, Middle supervision of a medical doctor. The shield was Temple, in 1890. Going abroad, he held the awarded to the best team. I should like to have appointments of Queen's Advocate_of Lugos an annual competition of this kind here, for and Attorney-General of Fiji. For eight it gives a great interest to the work and months he was Aoting Chief Justics of Lagos- assists in perfecting the training. In the and subsequently, shortly after his arrival in case of an accident the first ten or fifteen Fiji, noted as Chief Justice. During the time minutes might make the difference of life Mr. Edlin was in Lagos he was appointed by and death, especially here, in this harbour, in Sir Henry McCallum, KC.M.G. (the present connection with the apparently drowned, where, Governor of Natal), Chairman of a Commis, if the proper course has been taken, it means, assion to enquire into the trade of the Colony, I say, very often the difference between life and and on one occasion he administered the death. I therefore hope that all the Europeans Government of Lagos as Deputy for the in the Force, and, if possible, as many of the Governor. Mr. Edlin also held the appoint- other men as can be made to understand, will go
ment of District Commissioner of the Gold though this course. I hear that Dr. Bell has Coast and was Crown Prosecutor on two bean kind enough to go through it with the occasions and Acting Puisne Judge. men up to the present, and I think there will be no difficulty in securing the assistance of the other medical men of the Colony, because in a matter of this kind I find that the medical men are always ready to come forward. I commend
Mr Buck, widow of the late U.S. Minister to Japan, eturned to the States in the P.M. s.s. her. Kored, taking the remains of her husband with
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