་
May 1, 1905.]
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
279
America. There were many deaths. Plague is unknown at Wenchow, although there is frequent junk intercourse with Foochow, According to Dr. H. M. MCCANDLISS, Hoihow is remarkably free from disease; but his report, having little information to offer, includes some pertinent comments op Sir ROBERT HART's scheme, showing how it must benefit the Chinese ultimately. Pos- ters telling the Chinese necessary things about the causes and symptoms of epide- mics are recommended. Surgery in this district seems to be the chief feature. After describing some critical operations, Dr. MCCANDLISS concludes : —
like the Australians, civilised; but apparently | doing anything, it would be only common | PLUMMER reports favourably, was distin have not suffered the physical deterioration sense to declare that they had received orders guished by an epidemic of cerebrospinal that comes of life in big cities. Pathologi- to do it. In the same way, when a British meningitis, now rife in Germany and North cally, they are tougher. Their population officer betrays an intense anxiety to learn increases fast, but Australia's decreases if any of his command have said something, faster still. Hence the " "Yellow Peril.". it requires no prescience to be assured that Other interesting speculations might be they are suspected of having done so; and found in the differing standards of sexual when we know that they haven't, we may morality of the old and new civilizations; argue that somewhere higher still is an and it is feasible also to compare the obvious officer who believes quite erroneously that merits of the coarser clay of a new civiliza- they have, or such enquiries would never tion with the physical unfitness of the old be made. We have just expressed our faith which plumes itself on the dizzy altitude to in the integrity of the British Army Officer. which its finnicking conventions are sup- History not yet stale, as well as this local posed to have elevated it. But as these incident, debars us from crediting some of points threaten to become too abstruse, we them with half the ability for working out the may leave the philosophers to wrestle with sum of 2+2—X, which other smaller men enjoy. If every button on a military tunic is to be an official secret, the sooner Hong- Surgeons to the Chinese learn after a kong copies India or.Japan the better will while to enjoy elation with reserve. As for they preserve their absurd "secrets," for a case in point: the writer operated about the apprehension of which a bicycle and a 10 years ago and constructed a nose, tak- notebook would be much more cheaplying tissue partly from the forehead and efficacious than any scheme to corrupt the partly from the cheek, and congratulated himself on his success. Two months ago soldier-men themselves.
the man returned with another complaint, and I found that the nose had shrunken to a inost inconsequential knob."
them.
ARMY AND PRESS AT HONGKONG.
(Daily Press, 29th April.) We have been invited to tell an officer of His Majesty's army in Hongkong how we were able to make our yesterday's announce- ments
THERAPEUTICS IN CHINA.
"
+
regarding military movements. We protest that this is a most unfair thing to expect, if it ever really was
(Daily Press, 1st May.) expected; for it has always been exceedingly THE Inspectorate General of Customs for difficult to obtain naval and military China is an institution whose existence intelligence in Hongkong; and, in oir is a thing of joy to both White and Yellow; experience, impossible to extract it from the and the latest yellow and white publication officials themselves. Why, then, should they of the Statistical Department is almost expect a newspaper to tell them all they enough evidence to persuade us that, with would like to know? While we welcome out any other raison d'etre, its function as the official annoyance as in a great measure a purveyor of information about things confirmatory of the truth of the news we Chinese gives it an all-sufficing cachet. published, we regret for more than one This second number of the "special series reason the distress it appears to have caused will, we hope, he followed by many more. to officers who feel that they are, quite It deals with a number of special medical unjustly, under suspicion; and in the spirit reports concerning China. It appears that of fairplay we have made the concession of a suggestion was made to Sir ROBERT HART, announcing that not one of the officials the Inspector General, that he ought to concerned was guilty of a breach of trust, take advantage of the favourable position or of whatever name the authorities like to occupied by the Customs Establishment, for call the offence of communicating to a news-procuring information with regard to disease paper. Another reason for our regret is that the higher officers seem to have such a poor opinion of the morale of their service, an opinion which we do not share. If British officers were bribable, or could be induced in any way within our means to divulge information of interest, we have no doubt that, heinous as it sounds, some news- paper might be tempted to avail itself of such a source of information. For our part, we have too high an opinion of the British officer to endeavour to corrupt him, even supposing we were disposed to descend to such methods. That no such thing goes on in Hongkong is abundantly evident in the dearth of this particular class of news, and the complaints sometimes made of official reticence even in cases where informa- tion would be of interest publicly, and non- prejudicial officially. After all, what are official 65 secreta about which fuss is sometimes made? Things that anybody, loitering in the right place at the right time, can see for himself; and when the newspaper reporter has the proper "savvy," knows all the circumstances of the "crisis," understands what is usual and probable in such circumstances, it is not a superhuman task to put two and two together and make three and three quarters of it. For the item which has
rendered apparently loyalty of the Ordnance staff suspect, we were in no way indebted to the Ordnance Service at all. When it is learned that guns are being mounted somewhere in Hongkong, it does not require a gift of second-sight to see and say that they would be issued by the Ordnance Department; and if the Ordnance Department were
these
"1
|
amongst foreigners and natives in China. He accepted the suggestion, and each half year the valuable information so obtained is to be published. "If carried out to the extent hoped for," he says, "the scheme may prove highly useful to the medical profession both in China and at Home and to the public generally." And, to quote his own words again, considering the number of places at which the Customs Inspectorate has established offices, the thousands of miles north aud south and east and west over which these offices are scattered, the varieties of climate, and the peculiar conditions to which, under such different circumstances, life and health are subjected," we think the veteran sinologue and " philosinimist" might have substituted will for may without transgress- ing the rules of modesty. The first eleven reports contain even for the layman_much information of absorbing interest. Dr. J. H. MCCARTNEY, dealing with Chungking, where the gun-boats stay three fourths of each year, calls it the healthiest port on the river. In one case of small-pox, a child contracted the disease by playing with a cat which had been nursed by another patient. Hot sunshine on fresh excava tions started an epidemic of malarial fever, The Doctor furnished a shocking photograph the of a Chinese woman with Я tumour
K
"
weighing 82 lbs. 6 ozs. Her own weight
Dr. J. S. GRANT oredits Ningpo with a record year of disease,
out of 95 seven foreigners succumbing. He suggests that the remittent and typhoid fevers of China may be so similar that mistaken diagnoses are easy. Wenchow, of which Dr. W. E.
was not much more.
<
Át
There follow Dr. J. H. LowRY's short report from Pakhoi, another from Mengtz, by Dr. G. Barbezieux, and one from Dr. RAM LILL SIRCAR at Tengyueh, in which a Chinese method of inoculation ("blowing the scabs of small-pox vesicles up the nostrils of children ") is described. Wuhu, treated by Dr. A. SHARP DEANE, foreign vaccination is much more popular. Very numerous illnesses of foreigners on steamers travelling up the Yangtsze were. noted, and it is suggested that owners of steamers ought to provide some modation here for their employees and passengers who need it. The only place at present is Dr. HART's surgical institution; and we quite agree that it is not fair to crowd it with infectious and other cases, the number of which is increasing almost every day. Dr. DAVENPORT's report on the health of Canton will be reproduced shortly. first number of a very useful new This series closes with Dr. BARBEZIEUX clinical notes on leprosy, from observations care- fully made in Yunnan.
SUPREME COURT.
--10:
Thursday, 20th April.
IN BANKRUPTCY.
accom-
BEFORE SIR H. S. BERKELEY (CHIEF JUSTICE).
Mr. R. A. Harding petitioned that a receiving order be made re Wong uk Wan. The assets were $61,500 worth of property carrying mortgage to the extent of $47,000, and the debts were $25,000.
An order was made.
Mr. Almada e Castro, on behalf of a creditor,
petitioned for a receiving order re the property of two Chinamen who have been carrying on business under the style of the Li Fung, gold leaf merchants, No. 63, Bonham Strand The assets were $5,alue of certain trade marks; and $120,000 from various persons, of
which $40,000 wLrecoverable. amounted to $250,000.
The liabilities
An order was made. In the case of the Li Hing firm exparte Man Po, Mr. F. Paget Hett, on behalf of a petition. ing creditor, asked for a receiving order. The assets amounted to $1,235,983.55, and liabilities $1,050,000. The firm had made acts of bank- ruptcy.
An order was made.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.