26
THE ORDINANCES OF HONGKONG.
SIR JOHN CarringtoN'S NEW EDITION.
At the Legislative Council on the 12th inst. there will be submitted for formal approval the new and revised edition of the Ordinances of Hongkong, prepared under the authority of the Statute Laws (Revised Edition) Ordinance, 1900, by Sir John W. Carrington, C.M.G., late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Various unavoidable causes have combined to belate the
issue of the work; but, now that it has appeared, it is a credit to the learned compiler-a monu- ment to his proverbial painstaking thoroughness as a lawyer and a credit also to the printers The Ordinance making provision for the prepara- tion and publican of this new edition of the Statute Laws of the Colony received H.E. Sir Henry Blake's assent as long ago as the 29th of December, 1900; and His Honour Sir John Carrington was appointed a Commissioner to carry out the work.
Among the powers with which His Honour was invested were those of omitting repealed or partly repealed Ordinances, repealing enact- ments, preambles (where these could be con- reniently omitted), etc; also to consolidate into one Ordinance any two or more Ordinances in pari muteriu, making the necessary alterations and affixing a convenient date; to alter the order
form of sections where
necessary; to
or
divide any Ordinance into parts; to add or alter short titles; to correct any accidental errors; and to do all other things relating to form and method which might be necessary for the per- fecting of the new edition. It was further provided that there should be attached to each Ordinance contained in the new edition a number showing its place among the Ordinances of the year to which it belonged, and that the Commissioner should prepare and cause be printed in a separate volume a chronological table of all the Statute Laws of the Colony, including those not in force, and a full and complete index to the Ordinances contained in the new edition.
to
His Honour immediately set about this gigantic task to which he had been called. Arrangements were made with Messrs. Noronha & Co, Government Printers in Hongkong, for the printing of the volumes, for which a special fount of type had to be got from England. The first part of the work was taken up by Messrs. Noronha in January, 1902; but, un fortunately, before much progress had been made, Sir John Carrington's health broke down and he had to leave for Japan on a three months' holiday. Even while on leave, however, his Honour did not relinquish his labours, the proof-sheets being sent up to him for revision as they were got ready. When he returned to Hongkong the work was resumed with re- newed energy.
Yet long before completion was in sight his time for retirement from the Chief Justiceship had come. His Honour when he went home to England on pension decided to continue to the end the task he had begun. The proof-sheets were sent by mail periodically to him at home, where he revised and returned them until the first volume of nearly 1,000 pp. had been completed and also the chronological table for insertion in the third volume.
Meanwhile, owing to the altered circum stances, some other means had to be found for printing the second volume and finishing the index for the last. It was finally arranged that this work should be entrusted to Messrs. Waterlow & Sons, Ld., Government Printers, London Wall, London. Owing to these neces- sary changes in the original plans the issue of the volumes from the press was subject to many delays that would not have occurred otherwise. As Messrs. Waterlow completed the printing of the revised pages these were sent out to Hongkong, where the whole of the binding was carried out by Messrs. Noronha; and now the outcome of all these labours is seen in three handsome volumes:
Volume I, 997 pages. Volume II., 799 pages. Volume IIL, 230 pages.
The volumes are bound in two styles one full-calf to be sold at $35; and the other half, calf, at $25. Great care and thought have been
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
I exercised in the arrangement of the chronolo- gical table, which gives the year and number of Bach Ordinance, the title and date, how repealed or otherwise affected, place in the new edition, and title in index. The index is as complete as it could be and its usefulness will no doubt be
highly appreciated by all. The printing, paper and binding are excellent, and we understand that Messrs. Noronha & Co. have received from Sir John Carrington by letter an expression of his high appreciation of the way in which the work has been carried out by them. Carrington's own valuable and laborious services Sir John
bring their own recognition from Government: in the production of these volumes will doubtless
Code of Civil Procedure which is at present in Sir John Carrington also edited the Hongkong force.
purposes
&
[July 11, 1904.
Had it not been for obstructions by the Public Works Department the line would have been completed some months ago. The chief obstruction Was the raising of the level of the road at Praya East. It was worked creditably it took a long time. The a big job, and thongh the P.W.D. may have raising of the road level by two feet in this vicinity is whereby a large portion of the harbour area part of the scheme lying between the pier jutting out in line with Bay is to be reclaimed. Arsenal Street and the west end of Causeway A later obstruction to
a drain at Arsenal Street, and this is practically the completion of the line was the uncovering of
completed. the only place remaining where work is not yet
In 1902 an ordinance was passed by the the Council this will be notified in the Gazetting the tramways to be laid down by the
After the new edition has been approved by Legislative 'ouncil of Hongkong authoris subsequent to which proclamation it will be in Hongkong Tramways all Courts of Justice and for all other
Electrio Company, the sole and only proper Statute Book of the London, and workwas commenced in May 1903. an English Company with its headquarters in Colony up to the date of the latest of the The detailed plans. etc. were prepared by the operation is not affected by any Ordinance which Alfred Dickinson and Co. of Birmingham, who Ordinances contained therein, provided that the Company's Consulting Engineers, Messrs
may be passed, before such approval by the appointed Mr. Harold Hackwood to act as their Legislative Council, for the repeal, alteration representative in Hongkong as Resident or amendment of any earlier Ordinance after it Engineer in charge of the construction. The has been printed in the new edition.
contractors were Messrs Dick Kerr and Co. of London, who carried out the whole of the work.
HONGKONG ELECTRIC
TRAMWAYS.
CARS OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME.
SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS.
The total length of single track is 14 miles which is laid in 94 miles of route. The track is laid to a gauge of 3 feet 3 inches, with rails of the girder type weighing 86lbs. per lineal yard. Each rail joint is double bonded with 6/0 S.W.G. copper bonds.
The lines within the City are laid for the most part as centre pole construction, but the eastern portion of the route being outside the ing places and is equipped on the side pole City boundary, is laid as single line with pass-
system.
With the exception of a short branch line, which runs to the Race Course, the route runs parallel with the water front and with the exception of a short length at Quarry Bay is practically level. At Quarry Bay a short original grade of 1 in 10 having been reduced length of road grading has been done, the
terminus of the line, where is situated the small to 1 in 15. Beyond Quarry Bay is the eastern
Chinese village of Shaukiwan
under
On the 2nd instant an electric car went kong rails for the first time for the purpose out for a run over a section of the new Hong-
of testing the cars. Mr. G. Deane was driv- ing, and the following gentlemen were in the car:-Mr. H. Hackwood. Resident Engineer of the Hongkong Tramways Electric Co.; Mr. J. Grace Scott, General Manager; Mr. C. A. Tomes (Messrs. Shewan, Tomes & Co.), Messrs. E. Emerson and Windsor (of Dick, Kerr & Co., of London, the contrac- Messrs. tors); Mr. F. Graham (the cable contrac. tor), Mr. Chan A Tung (local contractor), Mr. Fang Wa Chun, and few other gentlemen. Leaving the shed the car ran down Sharp Street, and along Wong-nei-chong three forms of permanent way construction smoothly Owing to the varying nature of the ground Road as far as the Grand Stand. The seats were have been adopted. Where the ground was solid then reversed and a run was taken to the Prays the rails were bedded on a concrete beam 18 by way of Morrison Hill Road. On arriving at inches wide and 6 inches deep; where the ground the Police Station, near Ah King's slipway, was not so good a bed of concrete 6 inches once more the trolley was shifted from one wire deep and 7 feet 3 inches in width to the other and the car ran back to the shed.
extending
the whole track and The experiment was considered very satisfactory. 1 foot 6 inches on either side Was as the car took all the curves very well, being adopted; over doubtful ground which had been slowed down, of course, on approaching them. recently reclaimed from the sea, this concrete She ran at a lively pace along straight parts of the track, going at least three times faster concrete used was mixed in the proportion of 6 bed was increased to 8 inches in depth. The
than the best ricksha-puller. At the curves
to 1, Portland cement of local manufacture and the trolley showed a tendency
After to slip exceptional good quality being used. off the wire at the joints, but this will not the rails and the bottom concrete were laid the occur when the trolleys are adjusted. the least noteworthy feature of the run was the crete and finished off with a smooth surface to Not road surface was made up to rail level with con- blank astonishment of the numbers of gaping the proper cambre of the road. Chinese spectators, and the dejected look of the ricksha-pullers. The car in question was himself in the "Tuppenny Tube" to read the one imagine familiar notices saying "No smoking allowed," | and Please do not spit in the car."
When the cars start running, which they ought to do on or the
before the 1st prox. traffic of the first few weeks certain to be abnormal, for everybody will want to experience the sensation of
■ ride on the electric car. is finished the line will be taken over from Mr. When the work
Hackwood by Mr. Scott, the General Manager. There will be 26 cars running, and if an estimate of the earning capacity of the line be made it is not too much to put the figure at $50 a day per car, making a total of $1,500 a day. There will be 5-cent 1st class fares for some distances, the fare for the whole length of the island being 45 gents. The ticket-collectors, conductors, etc., have already been engaged. They were to be seen at the car shed on Saturday wearing their numbered badges.
No. 16." It almost made
+1
is
The overhead construction has been carried out in a very neat manner the length of arms the arms on the side poles vary in length, the on the centre poles not exceeding 2 feet while majority of them being six feet long. The poles are of mild steel, 28 feet 3 inches in length,
inches in diameter at the base, tapering to 4 inches in diameter at the top. They are set six feet in the ground in a sólid block of concrete. Within the city, ornamental base castings greatly add to the appearance of the poles, which are
iron sorolls on the bracket arms. still further enhanced by the addition of wrought
The trolley wire is divided into half mile sections by means of section insulators, and at each of these points the main feeder cables are tapped and current is taken to supply each section of trolley wire; this is socomplished by running the feeders through a feeder pillar containing the necessary switches and fuses: the connections from the feeder pillars to the trolley wires being made with rubber covered 37-16 cables carried up inside the poles and along the sides of the bracket arms. The pre- sure on the trolley wire is 500 volts. A light-
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