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THE KING'S BIRTHDAY.
(Daily Press, 9th November.) To-day is the sixty-second anniversary of the birthday of His Majesty King EDWARD VII., and Hongkong joins the rest of the Empire in offering loyal congratulations. The day will be observed as a public holiday in the Colony, the Government offices. except the Police Magistrate's, being closed, and most mercantile houses follow the example. Some offices (and to this remark we are inclined to add the word "alas!") of course find it inconvenient to close, and so have to carry on the bulk of their work as on ordinary days. The two principal ceremonies of the day will be the military parade in the Happy Valley in the afternoon, which this year will be additionally attractive, particu- larly to the Chinese, we may say, by the feu- de-joie which is to be fired; and the Ball at Government House to-night, which is the last function of the kind which can be held under the auspices of Sir HENRY and Lady BLAKE, to whom we shall so soon be bidding farewell. These two ceremonies will be a fitting public expression of the feelings entertained in Hongkong toward the ruler of the Empire of which we form part-a small part, it is true, but still an important one, we may safely claim. King EDWARD bas passed his sixty-second year in extraordinary activity, more especially when we remember how near he was to the point of death in the previous year. His activity, moreover, has been directed to a great end, one most essentially useful to the British Empire. That end has been the betterment of Great Britain's relations with the other nations of Europe. His desire to serve his country in this manner has long been well known, but during the past year he has deservedly gained for himself the title of EDWARD the Peacemaker," than which no prouder designation could be bestowed on any king. He has shown that after all the King is hot a negligable part of the British constitution, not a mere
figurehead. King EDWARD's power, being a power used for geod, reconciles his sub- jects, though proud (and others may say, boastful) of their freedom, to the idea that they have a King who really does share in the government of the empire of which he is called King and Emperor. That he may remain long King and Emperor is the wish of all the British Hominions to-day, and among them most certainly Hongkong We may close with the conventional words, Many happy returns of the day" to His Majesty,
NEW RUSSO-CHINESE COMPLICATION.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
and that the general of fighting Russia; feeling of all the Peking officials, Manchu and Chinese, is in favour of war, as being the only means of recovering Manchuria. The immediate cause of this sudden awaken-
ng
of official sentiment is said to be the
outrageous conduct of the Russians at Moukden, and in particular their imprison- ment of the Tartar General TSENG CHI. But the (tovernment is reported to be in dread of being left in the lurch by Japan. CHANG | CHI and YUAN SHI-KAI are both said to have advised an immediate alliance with Japan, but they do not appear to have convinced the Imperial authorities that Japan will dhar China up sufficiently. It is quite backlty felt that China cannot cope single, ghnde with Russia, though with Japan she might have a chance of regaining Manchu ria.
For the present at least, all friendly relations between China and Russia have been abandoned at Peking. This is all the more remarkable in that the Waiwupu, or Chinese Foreign Office, is now for the first time in its history entirely Manchu, the race from which all Russia's friends (since the time of LI HUNG-CHANG's death) have been drawn. Hitherto Russia has been able to buy all the Manchu support which she required. Either, it seems, the Mouk- den outrage has at last touched Manchu honour, not a remarkably prominent quality of late,. or the Manchu clique is standing out for a larger bribe, as is freely suggested in some quarters. Throughout Chinese officialdom, at any rate, there can be no doubt that indignation is genuine and that the advice of Viceroys YUAN and CHANG meet with approval. But the great Vice roys are not blind to the fact that China alone cannot fight Russia with any chance of success. Russia has an enormous mili- tary force in the North, to say nothing of her fleet, while China's army not only lacks equipment and discipline for the most part, but also a number of the best troops are now in the Kwang provinces.
[November 16, 1903.
MR. SHEWAN'S DOCKYARD SCHEME.
(Daily Press, 13th November.) In the London Times of the 13th October, the last number which reached Hongkong by the German Mail, appears a letter from Mr. ROBERT SHEWAN, written in continua- tion of his former letter in the Times last August, when he protested against the deci- sion of the home authorities not to move the Admiralty Dock from its present site in Hongkong to any other site, except under prohibitive conditions. Mr. SH WAN then stated that he was about to forward to the Times a proposal for a far more com- modious, economical, and suitable situation than that at present contemplated for the dockyard. The letter before us contains The situation which he this proposal. recommends is in Hunghom Bay, Kowloon, and he arrays the following arguments on behalf of his case:-
The area of the present site (that is, of the old Naval Yard and the extension, and including the military portion) is 44 acres; that at Hunghom would amount to 350
acres.
The sbeltered water area now, with a
depth of 31 feet at low water, is 9 acres; at Hunghom it would be 160 acres.
The length of sea-frontage now is 2,400 feet; at Hunghom it would be 5,200 feet.
There is one graving dock on the Island, 550 feet long; there would be three at Hunghom, 1,600 feet in all.
At present the naval work is distributed into four sections, the repairs and victual- ling being at the Naval Yard, the coaling partly at Kowloon and partly at West P. int, and the torpedo-works at Kowloon; in the proposed scheme all work could be concentrated in one establishment, and the now scattered employees could be housed together at the same place.
The estimated cost of the present exten. eion works and equipment amounts to £1,200,000; that of Mr SHEWAN's proposed scheme is £2,000,000, though it offers three Mr. times the present accommodation. SHEWAN adds that these figures show an extra cost of £800,000, against which there would be the value of the present site, which he puts roughly at £1,000,000 (about 1,000,000 feet, at $12 per foot), "not in- cluding the present plant, machinery, and buildings, which could no doubt be utilised for the new establishment.”
THE Far Eastern situation, already one of extraordinary complexity, seems to become Even if we increasingly hard to gauge. were to allow that there may be a consider- able exaggeration in the reports of China's exasperation and change of official front toward Russia, and were at the same time to accept the prophecy of a rapid end of the Russo-Japanese tension as correct, still there would remain a number of most diffi- cult points to clear up. The great wonder seems to be that, after the upset caused by the Allies' campaign in China, following ou Mr SHEWAN says in conclusion of his the situation produced by Japan's defeat of letter:-"The alternative scheme would, China and its momentous sequels, no furtherefore, give three docks instead of one, double the length of sea-frontage, eight ther serious troubles have yet broken out. But for the resources of Oriental diplomacy "times the area of land, and seventeen times "the area of sheltered water, for the same and under this head we are justified in includ.
or less cost; would restore to Hougkong No sooner bas the condition of affairs being that of Russia), such could hardly have
been the case. The general consensus of«its continuous water-front from east to tween Japan and Russia begun to assume a opinion seems to be that even this diplomacy "west, and relieve the city of an incubus harbour of a nuisance to favourable aspect and we note that the
eyesore to everyone.' Kobe Chronicle of the 2nd instant speaks of cannot protract matters indefinitely. Sooner" and the
or later there must be a deci-ion. It may "traffic and an the indications of a peaceful solution of the be a decision brought about by the recoiling difficulties being "much stronger and more of the greatest aggressor.
Otherwise it definite "-than Busso-Chinese relations
must be left to the sword. The latest deve- lopment presages a greater possibility of Japan and China being found on the same side. What effect this might have upon European alliances few would care to say At least it could not leave them untested even if unbroken.
(Daily Press, 12th November.)
seem to have reached a most dangerous stage. It appears from the Shanghai papers that General MA has gone to Shanhaikwan with 10,000 troops (so says the Tientsin Correspondent of the North-China Daily News); that the Grand Council at Peking has issued a circular telegram to the various Viceroys and Provincial Governors, to the effect that "diplomatic relations with Russia are certain to be broken and that all haste must be made to raise funds and troops in anticipation of immediate hostilities", that YUAN SHI-KAI was summoned to the Palace and anxiously consulted as to the possibility
[
The Straits Times writes We hear a report that the first class cruiser Amphitrite is expect d here shortly from the Persian Gulf, to be the Senior Naval ficer ship. It is believed that in fined here. Can this be an outcome of the in future there will always be a first class cruiser recent conference of the three Admirals ?
19
to the
These arguments, it must be admitted, are and those which refer strong, municipal and civilian side of the question Nevertheless, two
are incontrovertible.
queries suggest themselves in connection with Mr. SHEWAN's proposal which must be auswered before we can consider the case in favour of the Hunghom site established. These are: -(1) On what are the figures of the estimated cost of the present and proposed schemes based? and (2) Are there no strategic objections against Hungbom as compared with the present situation? Another point arises in connection with but this is, no doubt, easy to get over. The the possible Hunghom reclamation scheme, two main doubts must be, as we have
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