June 1, 1903.]
A. S. WATSON & CO. LD,
ANNUAL MEETING.
On the 28th alt. the eighteenth annual ordina y general meeting of shareholders in Messrs. A. 8. Watson & Co. Ld., was held at the offices of the Company, Queen's Road Central. Mr. Hart Buck (Chairman) presided, and there were also present Messrs. J. H. Lewis and R. C.Wilcox (Consulting Committee), Capt, Clark, Messrs. J. R. Michael, E. J. Moses, J. A, Tarrant and AH Mancell (Secret ry).
The CHAIRMAN said-Centlemen, the report and statement of accounts have been in your hands since the 20th instant, so with your per- mission I will as usual consider them as read. The accounts put before you do not, I think, require much explanation. You will notice that our stock-in-trade are practically the same as last year, also that local and general liabili- ties have increased $4,000 whilst bills pay able have decra:sed $56,509.21. The apparent discrepancy of a mortgage of $25,000, on the remaining portion of Kow on Inland Lot No. 550, which property stands in the accounts at 819,870.36 is explained by the fact that the balance of payments to the contra-tor were not due until 1903 when they were met. This pro- perty has been valued at more than $40,000, Exchange has naturally lessened our profits for 19.2 and from the sime cause our working expenses are much larger where these are on a sterling basis, the increase in wages alone amounting to £15,000 over the previous year. I stated at our last annual meeting that it required much care and foresight to keep our necessary purchases within the buying power of the business with its existing available capital, and this condition of affairs becomes more marked as the expansion of the business continues, although we do not anticipate that it will be necessary to ask you for any im- mediate increase of the existing capital. So far, the returns this year show a satisfactory increase over the same period of last yer Our new seratel water factory in Des Voeux Road is now working, and we expect that our annual meeting next year will be held in our new reclamation premises which are well ad- vanced. There is no doubt these changes in premises will prove beneficial to the working of
the business. Messrs. W. Parfitt and R. C Wilcox have been invited to join the Consult- ing Committee, the former gentleman during the absence of Mr. Ell Osborne from the Colony These appointments require your confirmation at this meeting. If any shareholder would like any further information in connection with the report and statement of accounts now before you, I shall be pleased to give it.
Mr. J. R. MICHAEL Some of the share holders have been asking if the accounts could not be made up a little earlier than five months
after the end of the year
The CHAIRMAN We have our returns from various parts of China to come in, and it is impossible really to have them made up earlier
There being no further questions, The CHAIRMAN proposed, and Mr. MICHAEL seconded, the adoption of the report and accounts.
The motion was agreed to.
Capt CLARK pr. posed, Mr. E. J. Moses seconded, and it was agreed, that the appoint- ment of Messrs. Parfitt aud Wilcox to the Consulting Committee be confirmed,
The CHAIEMAN proposed the re-election of Mr. F. Maitland as auditor, observing that Mr. W. H. Potts would be i vited to assist Mr. Maitland next year.
Mr. J. H. LEWIS seconded the motion, which which was unanimonsly agreed to,
The CHAIRMAN-That is all the business of the meeting, gentlemen Thank you for your attendance. Dividend warrants will be ready at 11 a.m. to-morrow (Friday).
The Singapore papers report the arrival of Detective. Sergt. Frayna from Hongkong per 8.8. Aratoon Apcar having in custody H. Brooks, ex-steward of the Lincolnshire, who was arrested on a warrant on the allegation of the theft on board the vessel of £55, the property of Capt. A. G. Clark, the Master, on the 25th of October last. It is alleged that the money was obtained by breaking open a box in the Captain's cabin.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
TUNGKUN MEDICAL MISSION- ARY HOSPITAL.
1902 of the Tungkun Medical Missionary We are in receipt of the annual report for Hospital in connection with the Rhenish Missionary Society. We make the following extracts :-
trials. It has not only had to suffer from South China has gone through a year full of plague, cholera and dengue fever, but also from unceasing village wars and a prolonged of June, July and August, and out of a hundred drought. Dengue prevailed during the months left one or two to look after the suffering ones. In the hospital, patients, servants, students, medical staff, including Europeans, children even a few days' old, all paid their tribute to that painful, disabling disease. After three to five days, the acute attack being over, comes during which the ankles, knees, wrists and a time of convalescence, of months duration, elbows remain painful and swollen. We know of no case which terminated fatally.
Plague on the contrary has claimed many vic- time: in the yamen itself four cases proved fatal, one of them being the grandson of the mandarin. The latter was much alarmed, and every day sent his chair to obtain medical advice. He wanted to remove early all doubtful cases. and arrest the spread of the disease; at last he sent away his wife and children to a friend living outside the town, and he remained alone in his ill fated yamen.
Cholera had one victim on our station, the wife of our Evangelist, Chan Chuk Shang
The persistent drought caused loss of lives, and this in a curious way; the water-buffaloes, enraged at not being able to bathe in the ponds, as they are used to do after their day's work, made their guardians responsible for the want of water, goring them in a frightful manner. Once we had four such cases in one ward, later came one which proved fatal. Repeatedly fast days were ordered by the mandarin.
Epidemics and village wars are reasons enough
to account for the somewhat smaller number of n-patients, 91 less than last year; the number of out-patients has increased, becere divided the work at the consultat us; of us seeing the male patients, the other the female patients
and children.
We registered 22,101 visits, 6.601 new and 15,500 return visits, which gives us an average days. Sick folks were seen in the villages of of 154 patients for each of the 143 consultation Long Han, Kang Pui, Tai Peng, and also in Hongkong.
opium poisoning; 24 were saved, 7 men and 17 women. Three men were dead before we came, and two women could not be revived.
We have been called 29 times to treat cases of
who had fallen sick at their respective stations, Three times in the year, missionary brethren, applied to us. We also occasionally treated
German marines of the S.M.S. Shamien. 449 male and 175 female, patients, were admitted to the wards, each of them staying on an average 274 days. 1,588 large and small operations were performed.
Eleven patients received baptism, 2 of them being baptised with their families.
The income during the year was $8,085.78, or $968.30 in excess of the expenditure.
MUTINY ON A BRITISH SHIP.
A Manila contemporary reports that Lascars on the British ship Albanga mutinied and attempted to take the life of Captain Peterson and the chief engineer. Twenty-eight of the crew were brought ashore and. lodged in the San Fernando police station. The British Consul will try the men for insubordination and the serious crime of mutiny.
On the morning of the 16th inst. at eight o'clock the crew of the steamer refused duty in a body and when ordered back to work they attacked the chief engineer with mall ing pins and grate bars. The men had virtually run a-muck. The chief engineer, who received the first mad on-rush, succeeded in lay ing several of the men out, when Captain Peterson, the ship officers and Customs Inspec tor William came to his assistance. The rescue party drew revolvers and succeeded in forcing the men into the after part of the ship.
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The trouble grew out of two causes; the first and principal complaint being the desire of the crew to be paid off, and allowed to land in of meat. The crew being all Mahommedans, Manila. The second grievance was the question desired to kill their own beef and refused to eat that which was brought aboard from Manila,
At noon Captain Peterson called all hands on.. stating that he had brought them a live gost. deck and asked them if they would go to work, After a consultation they rejected the offer of the goat and stated that it was their desire to they went ashore they would all be placed in go ashore. The Captain informed them that if gaol. They answered, that would suit them. Owing to the fact that all had signed under British articles the captain told them that he would have to go ashore and consult with the British Consul. He returned shortly to the ship with the police launch and all were taken to the station house.
At one stage of the mutiny a general alarm of the was sent broad-cast over the waterfront which stated that the crew had set fire to the ship. Several launches hurried to the ship's side only to find that it was a false alarm: At half-past eleven the chief engineer hoisted the signals D and N. A. R. which mean wanted four firemen. The Semaphore station ashore interpreted the signals as meaning that there was a fire on board and they sent the alarm broadcast.
The Albanga came from New York with a general cargo.
THE SITUATION IN YUNNAN, -
The following extracts are made from an article in a native paper translated by the Shanghai Mercury:-
The troubles in Szechuen have: apparently come to an end; the insurrection in Kwangsi has also been reported to the Throne as having been practically suppressed; and the Govern- ment is greatly delighted at the prospect that peace will reign once more throughout the Empire. But to its great grief, it has now received the startling intelligence from the broken out in the prefecture of Linanfu, result- Viceroy of Yunnan that disturbances have ing in the capture of two places viz, Chienchin Chuang and the prefectural city of Linanfu by portant and are situated near the frontier between the rioters. Both these two places are very im-
Yunnan and French Indo-China. Linanfu is a place where the proposed railway from Annam, to Yunnan is to pass, and is only about 250 li distant from the treaty port of Mengtsz». This place is so near French territory that the troubles may easily spread into it, thereby into the province, even if all the French France will have a good excuse to pour troops merchants and missionaries now in the province-
are safe.
Linanfu is a very important city in the pro- vince and is defended by a large garrison force under the command of a Major-General, Chien- chiu Chuang is also a very important place in the prefecture of Linanfu, and is governed by a sub-Prefect. The disturbances must be of a very serious nature, since such important places as these have fallen into the hands of the peace- breakers. It is particularly unfortunate that such internal troubles are created in the south at the present moment when the Chinese Government is greatly embarrassed by Russian aggression in the north.
The Provincial Judge, Liu Chuo-lin, has been ordered by Imperial Decree to command the Imperial troops that are employed in the work of pacification, and it is very probable that the disturbances will be brought to a speedy end, as Liu has been in Yunnan for many years, and must have known the temper of the people so well that he will not find it difficult to deal with the situation. But the mere suppression of the disturbances will not ensure perpetual peace. The Chinese Government must go to the very root of the evil and apply the remedy there. So long as the welfare of the people is neglected by the Government and they are not prop rly educated and properly governed, it is vain for the Government to expect to see perpetually established, no matter how sev the measures employed in supprewing the disturbance may be.
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