April 22, 1905.]
NEW TERRITORIES LAND COURT.
The New Territories Land Court Report on work from 1900 to 1905 is published in the current Hongkong Government Gazette. Here are extracts;-
Judicial Work-The first judicial sitting of the Court was held on 20th February, 1901. By the advice of the Law Committee of the Legislative Council the start was made in New Kowloon, the Full Court-Mr. Pollock and Mr. Gompertz-sitting in the Eastern portion of New Kowloon all the summer of that year. The plan pursued was to first deal exclusively with conflicting claims. The superficial result for the first three years 1901-3 was thus small in extent compared to the immense mass of undisputed material awaiting consideration. But, when Mr. Gompertz resigned, the absence of disputes facilitated the quick settlement arrived at by
the three new Members.
Chief Problems of the Settlement-The outstanding features of the Settlement problem are noted in Mr. Gompertz's first report: (1) Many large tracts of land are now claimed by persons who have never paid Crown Rent on them, who never reported their occupation, suob
it was
to the authorities. and whose claims have never been in any way re-
8.8
cognized by the Chinese Government, (2) Very many persons have been paying under the name of tax annual sums to families who pro- fessed to be giving an account of these sums to the District Treasury but who as a matter of fact very often did nothing of the kind, and who in many cases had no real title to more than a very small fraction of the territory over which they collected this rent. The claims to large tracts have for the most part, on investigation, proved untenable, while the Tax-collecting families or "Taxlords ", as we have called them, lave, where they can show documents in support of their incom, or of any part of it, been provided for in ways app.opriate to each case on recommendations of the Court.
The Rent Recoveries Ordinance-As an outcome of the Taxlord question, there arose a general unwillingness to pay rents in the New Territories. To relieve this situation the Rent Recoveries Ordinance (11 of 1902) was pass d, empowering the Land Court to enforce payment of rents. Between 10th of June, 1902, the date
of the passing of the Ordinance, and the 7th August 1903, the date of its repeal, 156 suits were filed in the Court, of which 46 were decided. These decisions were by some parties regarded as test cases for others on the list.
General Progress-It will have been seen that it is impossible to give any gra, hio idea of the judicial results achieved by the Land Cour-District by District-until the final year (1904). The Full Court dealt continuously with One the valuable property in New Kowloon. case (No. 23, known as the "Cheung Sha Wan Case") engaged the attention of the Full Court from the beginning of 1903 until Mr. Dennys re-igned on 12th May, when it was still unfinished. In consequence of this resignation, the case was re-opened, the second hearing being lengthened by the admission of Solicitors, and it was not until the 18th February, 1901, that judgment was delivered by Mr. Gompertz. In intervals between Full Court Sittings, Mr. Gompertz dealt with disputed claims in Islands near Hougkong; aud on visits of inspection to the office at Tai Po, he gave such décisions as time would allow. How the residue of disputes and the mass of undisputed material were dealt with, have been shown in the separate reports appended to this paper. Generally as to the speed of the work of the Land Court, it is gratifying to note that while the Indian Survey Staff returned to India in May, 1904, the Land Court was able to submit its final report at the close of the same year.
Crown Reat Rolls-In 1903 the Land Court undertook the preparation of a Crown Rent Roll, the total amount entered being $53,630.77. This early Crown Rent Roll was based on claims laid in the Land Court. At present the Land Court is preparing a permanent Crown Rent Roll based on draft Crown Leases which
amounts to over $90,000.00.
Conclusion-All the records of the Land Court are now transferred to the Land Office and one phase of the settlement is finally closed. It has been the object throughout of the Court to avoid handing over to the Government as
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
Crown Land without a specific recommendation areas on which are settled bona fide occupants whose claims Government would feel itself bound to enquire into at some later date. It is hoped that this object has been attained.
The actual expenditure on the Land Court since its commencement up to the end of last year was $143,615.07.
"ONE SUMMER'S DAY."
A.D.C. PERFORMANCE.
Major Dick Rudyard Phil Marsden Theodore Bendyshe, painter. Robert Hoddesden Tom, his nephew Beth, a gipsy The Urchin...
Irene, Hoddesden's nieco Maysie, his ward... Mrs. Theodore Bendyshe Beas, a gipsy Chiara, a gipsy
Mr. C. A. Grace
Mr. Anderson Mr. Mowbray 8. Northcote
Mr. J. Hays ......Mr. Davies Major Chapman .Mr. P. Tester Miss Blair
Mrs. Grace
Miss Wakefield Miss Hazeland Mrs. Webb One Summer's Day is described in the ad vertisement as a comedy in three acts, but if by comedy is meant a play in which mirth predominates we should hesitate to say that this composition of Mr. Esmond's fully answers to the description, for the audience is more impressed with the pathos than with the comedy of the piece, and the denouement is much more likely to move the audience to tears than to be laughter. But whatever opinion may entertained as to the correctness of its descrip- tion, it is a play in which there is scope for very fine acting, and the manner in which it is staged by the A.D.C. is worthy of the best traditions of the Club.
The story of the piece is woven round Major Dick Radya-d who has adopted the son of a deceased friend and has become devotedly attached to the youngster. Major Dick's friend had married a charming young gipsy girl, but whatever the attractions the new mode of life had possessed for her they soon lost their charm and she returned to the freedom of nomadic life, deserting the son as well as the husband. The latter dies soon afterwards and the child is adopted by his father's intimate friend, Major Dick Rudyard, who had given the dying man & promise to sot the father to the orphan. The promise is being honourably fulfilled; Major Dick has become devotedly fond of the boy, and 8 anxious to conceal from him the story of his father's indiscretion.
The curtain rises on a scene in which a couple of gipsy women (one being the mother of the boy) are hatching a scheme to blackmail the Major. This scheme is developed later by Chiara (the mother) and a male associate whose game it is to make Major Dick pay an annuity for keeping a darling child away from his fond mother. The boy had meanwhile reached the stage of adolescence and there is a chance meeting of the boy and mother whose maidenly charms had not lost their potency. The boy is soon over head and ears in love, and makes a very serious business of it indeed An eccentric artist who also ohances to meet the gipsy has a consuming desire to paint her as a modern Cleopatra, and there is an amusing scene when an urchin, who has, unobserved, watched from a tree all the loving-making, brings the rival lovers almost to blows over the rightful ownership of the adorable but wayward Chiara.
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that he was not the husband of the gipsy. At this point the boy gets run over in the street and is killed. Maysie overcomes her hatred
Major's in the presence of the
intense grief, and Marsden who knows that his ardent affection for Maysie is not recipro. cated with the same intensity of feeling discloses to Maysie the true story of Major Dick and his ward and the curtain finally drops on an affecting scene of reconciliation between Maysie and the Major.
The outline of the story of the play will cer- tainly prove to the reader that "One Summer's Day" has plenty of comio situations, and they were made the most of; yet the pathetic element is so strongly accentuated that by the time the curtain drops on the closing scene one arrives at the conclusion that the play were better described as a melodrama. Mr. Grace's impersonation of the lead- ing character was a superb piece of acting, but
regard having
to the impression one carries away of the "comedy
one is inclined to wonder whether he does not
the take
part more seriously than the writer of the comedy intended. Certainly his is the dominating influence and his finished performance evoked unanimous appreciation. meritorious W88 Mrs. Grace's Equally impersonation
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of M&ysie, B somewhat difficult role played with a charm and realism meriting the highest compliments. The on the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Grace stage is always welcome, and the high ex- pectations their names in a caste excite are never disappointed.
Mrs. Webb has never appeared to better advantage than in the part of Chiara, the gipsy, mother of Tom, the only noticeable fault in her acting being a failure to consistently The same fault was disguise her speech. noticeable in Miss Hazeland's small part as a gipsy which otherwise was creditably taken. Mr. Davies, as Tom, had a respon- sible part to fill and filled it successfully throughout, and Mr. l'ester's impersonation of the urchin was admirably life-like. Chapman's role
have
88
8
Major not gipsy could been placed in better hands, and we have
word of appreciation also for the amusing part of the uncle, taken by Mr. John Hays, as well as for the more difficult character of the eccentric painter amusingly portrayed by Mr. Mowbray North- cote. The rival lover is a character frequently figuring in comedies, and seldom satisfactorily presented, but we can honestly award to Mr. Anderson bigh praise for his acting of the Miss Blair and Miss part of Phil Marsden. Wakefield who had minor parts to perform filled them in a most satisfactory manner, and on the whole the piece went excellenty, though in the first act it showed a little inclination to drag.
The stage manager, Major Philipps, is to be complimented on the excellent staging of the piece, and the performance of "One Summer's Day" can certainly be numbered among the great successes of the A.D.C.
JEWS IN CHINA.
On Sunday evening at the Y.M.C.A. Mr. J. Dyer Ball lectured on Jews in China. During the course of his remarks be said:
century.
The inclusion of a small company of the Jewish people in the heart of the Chinese Empire is a curious feature in the religious aspect of the country. It has long been known that there are Jews in China, but we desire more information as to their numbers, condition in the past, and different points of residence. At one time they were thousands in number, but
At Hongkong's City Hall library in a glass cas is a large Hebrew roll, containing the Another love scene is developed in which Major Dick and a friend of his are in love Pentateuch. There is a most interesting his- with the same young lady. Major Dick how-tory connected with this, for it was brought to ver dissembles his love. In his anxiety to Shanghai from the interior by messengers sent from that settlement about the middle of last conceal the history of his ward, he poses as a widower and a sour misogynist. Maysie is secretly in love with the Major and is pained when he affects to urge her marriage with the other fellow. At an inopportune moment the gipsy woman, who has been dogging his footsteps for months, past confronts the Major in the presence of Maysie. He instantly recognises her and is dumbstruck. Maysie learning from him that the woman is the mother of Tom, is overwhelmed with grief as she concludes that the Major is not a widower, as he had repre- sented himself to be. Her grief develops into hate; still the Major struggles against the impulse to undeceive her. He had promised Marsden that he should marry Maysie, and that and which he had sought to further would, he knew, be frustrated by a confession of the fact
they have melted away, and their seal, if they ever possessed much of it, has died away under the benumbing influence of the surrounding heathenism.
Between two and three centuries ago som Jesuits discovered a Jewish colony in the city of Kai-fong-fu in the province of Honam. Great was the interest excited in Europe by thi
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