August 27, 1904.]
abroad in such weather had a creepy sensation in the nervous system of his upper works the thought of flying tiles and other heavy debris making him seek cover wherever possible. One close shave, from a tile, was ex- perienced by a well-known resident.
Old residents affirm that there hasn't been a worse typhoon in the last dozen years, and very few as bad.
THE FESTIVAL FOR THE dead.
This festival, beginning on the 1st day of the 7th moon (falling this year on the 11th of August) and continuing to the 15th day (25th inst.), is being now celebrited by the Buddhist devotees of Shanghai with the chanting of special prayers for all wandering spirits by bonzes, engaged by the hundred by public subscription. in large temples and improvised sheds. These prayers are for the spirits of people who have died here on land, who have no relatives or descendants to "buy" their way into Hades, and who have therefore to wander restlessly about "with no place to harbour them. selves from the cruel weather." These Buddhist prayers serve wandering spirits in the capacity of "certificates of respectability" to ensure their admittance within the gates of the thick-walled city of “Fêngtu” (the Chinese Hades), aud iu due time, after the bonzes have completed their fortnight-long prayers for the dead, a great bonfire will be lighted to burn the paper clothes and silver paper sycee and imitation Mexican dollars for the use of these wandering spirits, the first to clothe them in a decent manner before they enter Fêngtu, and the paper money to enable them to bribe the gate-keepers of Hades into letting them in and to pay the police runners of King Pluto (Yenlo Wang-there are ten of these Kings, before each of whose tribunals every spirit must appear in succession, to give au account of the life he bad spent when in the Upper World, or "Yang Chien ") For the spirits of those who lost their lives in the Huangpu iver and adjacent creeks, boats are Lired carrying Buddhist bonzes chanting the special prayers for the occasion, which cruise up and down the various waterways, in this neigh- bourhood, and at night these boats are brilliantly decorated with lighted lanterns, to attract the attention of the spirits." while every now and then sacrificial foods are thrown into the water to appease the hunger of these wandering water spirits. In due course of time at the end of the 15th day of this 7th moon-all the paper clothes and money which have been obtained for the purpose from subscribers are also burnt at the head of each bonze-freighted boat and the ashes scattered on the face of the waters, to enable these wandering water spirits to obtain the clothes and money they need to gain admittance, like their comrades who died on land, within the gates of Hades.-N.-C. Daily News.
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ANTI-JAPANESE MANIFESTO IN COREA.
44
The following is one of the manifestoes being eirculated in Corea by the Association to Preserve Peace.”
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
flesh, and there be no help for it. For this reason let the few members left us step on after our leader, and to-day, at 10 a.m., hold another meeting. All you brethren who have the spirit of life in you come, and give vent to your loyal anger. Let us meet, and if but the ten thousand weaklings (hairs) join forces, and the ten thousand horses roar," we will save our land and perhaps save our brethren becoming flesh and fish.—CHEUNG In-ho, Chairman.
KO
THE CHEKIANG RIOT CASE.
The following represents the basis upon which alone the French Minister in Peking agrees to settle the anti-Catholic outrage in Chekiang some time ago.
155
years ago the ruling prices of sugar were high, and anybody could make enormous profits manufacturing the raw article. Extravagance was the order of the day. A sugar plantation was better than a gold mine, and the planters were the aristocrate of their respective coun- tries. They lived in the gayer capitals of the world, spending their incomes like princes, leaving their properties to be managed by strangers. As long as the immense profits rolled in, they never thought of improving their properties, or installing modern machinery.
And then slowly the conditions changed The German beet sugar industry came into subsidies, employing the most expert chemists, prominence. Fostered under governmental
the latest improved machinery, and with
sugar down all over the world. capitalists willing to receive a legitimate return on their investments, they forced the price of
tang, who is still at large, must be captured The ringleader of the rioters, Wang Hsi- within three years by the Chinese Government, and his brother, Wang Hsi-kuang, who is now intrifugals, and, most important if all, defecators, Vacuum pans, evaporation in multiple, cen- prison, must be banished to the frontier for a certain number of years, to be decided on later.
care not known or employed in the islands. I is even stated that on one or two places where pans were installed, they were thrown out at the end of the first orop, the owners_reverting to the older methods, which they understood.
The Magistrate of Ninghai must also be exiled, as he failed to give proper protection to the converts both before and after the trouble. All the other local officials must be punished in accordance with the degree of their guilt as a warning to others. The Chinese Government shall also pay Tls. 150,000 indemnity to the relatives of the murdered converts, and this money must be paid them within three years.
A stone tablet must be erected before the
tomb of the priest Chu who was killed by the rioters, as an official record of the tragedy.
All the above demands have been agreed to by the Throne.
SUGAR IN 1903-4.
JAPAN, HONGKONG, AND THE PHILIPPINES.
•
There are good profits in the sugar business if properly conducted, but when only about 60 and half the available sugar realized, it is no per cent. of the juice is extracted from the cane, wonder that the profits are on the wrong side of the ledger at the end of the crop.
LOCAL SPORT.
V.R.C. AQUATICS. Handicappers.-Messrs. Meek, Hance, Austen. Starters.-Messrs. Caldwell and Meek. Judges.-Messrs. Chapman and Mitchell. Timekeeper.-Mr. E. M. Hazeland.
The Victoria Recreation Club held a swimm.. Sugar was imported into Japan in 1903 to the value of £2,140,282 as against £1,476,924|ing fête on the 20th inst. The weather was a large number of in 1902. This large increase was entirely beautiful. There were
spectators, the temporary stand in front of the in raw sugar, for which there has been an
In this Club matshed being to a great extent occupied active market throughout the year. trade the Dutch Indies have had by far the by ladies, whose summer garb brightened the scene. The arrangements were good. Besides largest share.
the regular performance a few of the members gave exhibitions of high diving. Some amuse- ment was caused between events by swimmers being shoved in the water. The V. R. C. premises looked very gay, decorated, as they Mrs. Caldwell, were, by strings of bunting. wife of Mr. G. A. Caldwell of the Dook Co., gave away the prizes The various competitions went off without a hitch. They were as follows:-
The receipts from Hongkong were even less than in 1902. In former years the value of the Hongkong sugar trade with Japan often exceeded £1,000,000, and was seldom much below that figure. It has suffered from the competi- tion of the bounty-fed article and of the Japanese
refineries. Thess
latter receive encourage- ment from the Japanese Government in the shape of a rebate on raw sugar, established in 1902, the duty of 27 sen per 1331bs. being refunded on sugar below Dutch standard No. 14 if refined within a year. There are two refineries at work in Japan, one at Osaka and the other at Tokyo. According to the reports of these com panies, their sales amounted in 1902 to 13,000 tons and 9,000 tons respectively. Both are in- creasing their plant, and a large refinery is being erected near Moji, which is expected to begin working this year. The Japanese de- mand for sugar is a constantly growing one, and time must elapse before the native refining industry is in a position to satisfy it. Latterly, bounty-fed beet sugar has supplied the defi- ciency, but the situation should undergo a change now that bounties have been abolished in Europe. It is too early to judge how far their abolition will permanently benefit the Hongkong trade with Japan. At present it looks as though it might help it, for since the abolition of the bounties in September last there has been o marked falling-off in the importation of German and Austro-Hungarian beet sugar.
We respectfully call attention to the fact that our country (Corea) is confronted by a demand of the Japanese for its hills, forests, streams, lakes, unoccupied and waste lands. This fact is already known to the people. If, we ask, our territory be lost to us, how about our standing as an Empire? If our Empire be lost to us, how about our people, where will The sugar industry of the Philippines is in a they be? On this account our fraternity, in- deplorable state, and yet no country in the cluding the great and the small, has formed world offers brighter prospects or more profit itself into an association to resist these demands. able returns to the sugar investor. At present The byelaws, etc., were not yet fully diawn up, the unjust tariff discrimination operates large- when yesterday at noon, two unknown Japanesely against any great improvement, but there broke up the meeting, saying they were sent are other causes just as weighty which keep the from the Legation with orders to arrest our industry down. It is not altogether the tariff. leader. Into the crowded square they came with When trade is dull and prices are low, manufac- violonce, firing off their revolvers, and in the turers are too prone to seek redress in legisla- tumult that followed they carried away our chair- tion or tariff tinkering, without first using every man and we know not where he is. Alas, breth- endeavour to lower the cost of production by rea, will you put up with this sort of thing? improving their plants and economizing labour. Will you sit by quietly at such a time? If you The Philippine sugar planters are in precisely regard this with indifference to-day and to the same
predicament that morrow, it will not be a question of our land but our people themselves will be but fish and
befell many estates in Cuba, and nearly all of the estates in Porto Rico and the Antilles. Up to ten
TWO LENGTHS.
4. p.m.-A handicap. Two prizes. Only firsts of heats to swim in final.
Heat 1.
16
F. Ellis
Go" | A. Loureiro owes 7. s. E. Humphreys, 9. s. H.A. Lammert.10.8. R. C. Witchell., 158.
Heat 3.
F. Long owes 2 sec. P. M. Remedios.. 5 L. E. Lammert A. J. V. Rebeiro ., 9 R. Lapsley
Heat 2. J. E. Ellis
Go" W. C. Goggin owes 5 a. J. W. Bains... G. Humphreys N. H. Álves.......
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7 8. 11 8.
15 s.
45
Heat 4. M. D. Silas Go" F. P. Musso owes 2 sec.
19
5
A. C. F. Ozorio
11
+9
19
A. V. Barros
"
15 J. Witchell..
77
6 8
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--
14
19
F. Ellis won the first heat, just by a touch, was second. C. in 36 secs.; A. Loureiro Humphreys carried the second heat easily in 43 secs.; ahead of J. W. Bains, who was second. P. M. Remedios beat L. E. Lammert without difficulty in Heat 3, completing the distance in 44 secs. In the other heat F. P. Musso came in first, but as he started a second ahead of time a dead heat was given to Musso and A. V. Barros; the time was 48 seconds.
The final was won by A. V. Barros, with P. M. Remedios second. F. Ellis gave up early in C. Humphreys also stopped when he the race. saw that he was beaten.
Time: 40 secs.
DIVING FOR PLATÈS. Two prizes. Entries: R. C. Witchell, J. E. Ellis, F. M. Roza Pereira, E. Humphreys, J. Witchell, J. H. R. Hance, N. H. Alves, A. J. V. Rebeiro, A. Loureiro, O. F. Osorio, W. T. Andrews and C. J. Cooke,
At first there was a false start. R. Witchell and J. Hance, however, were right under. water before the recall was given; and
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