May 29, 1905.]
HONGKONG VAGRANCY
"
ORDINANCE.
(Daily Press, 29th May.) The object of the proposed amendment. to the Vagrancy Ordinance is a reasonable one; but in looking up the "principal ordinance we cannot but be struck by the thought that had it always been acted upon, there would have been no recent outory about the spread of vagrancy, and no apparent need for the Bill now before the Legislative Council. The object of the Bill, as tersely expressed by the Attorney General, Mr. E. H. SHARP, ia "to reduce the evil of the vagrancy of able-bodied men in this colony." Ask policeman how it is that one meets so many able-bodied beggars, and hears of so few prosecutions; and the intelligent officer will probably explain that the beachcombers are 80 cunning that is almost impossible to catch them in flagrante delicto. If a constable sees a suspicious looking person accost a citizen, it is ten to one that the citizen, undesirous of being involved in Court proceedings, will screen the man, and refuse to say that he was begging. Hence, we understand, the com- parative immunity which led to an increase of the nuisance and the recent general outery. But if section 5 of the Principal Ordinance had been kept in strict operation, there would have been no increase and but few complaints. It says, “Any Police Officer may require any person who is apparently a vagrant to accompany him or any other Police Officer to, and to appear before, a Magistrate." This clause is note. worthy because it is more severe towards suspects than English legal principles usually permit. If our interpretation of it be correct, that any policeman is justified in arresting any person who has the appearance, in his eyes, of a vagrant, then the onus is laid upon the arrested person to satisfy the magistrate that he is not a vagrant, although he may look like one. If instructions were issued to the Police to act upon this existing
clause, and indemnifying them against all blame for any reasonable error of judgment, we should soon find that the ranks of the pestering beachcombers would be agreeably thinned. The noise of it would travel abroad, and undesirables would think twice about coming to a place where they are liable to be arrested for merely looking like vagrants. At the same time, it woulds not do to allow the present attractiveness of the House of Detention to exist. Deten-
tion is not much of a bugbear to a man who
wants to be detained from work; but, as we know, detention has been something of a misnomer in this case. The detained ones were released from detention that they might go to look for employment. How they utilised these hours of search is no secret. Instead of looking for "something to do," they hunted for someone to do,' and during the hunt caused grievous annoyance to people who objected to be done." This is where the new Bill demands approval. It proposes to repeal section 11, which gave beachcombers the status of "prisoners detained on remand"; it revises the diet scale; and best of all, an amendment we recommended some time ago, it makes the detained vagrant subject to " 'penal labour." Were it possible to obtain reliable statistics tu put our prophecy to the test, we would not hesitate to say that the mere publication of this latter intention will diminish the number of candidates for the House of De- tention. One of our contemporaries, inspired, we believe, by a ragrant who certainly gained his experience by his own fault, protested that it was ñat just to make a
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
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to
wear a dis- guiltless of crime › person tinctive dreas. Surely wilful vagrancy is criminal, and such additional degree of degradation ought not to be resented by men who have allowed themselves, with open, seeing eyes, to sink so low as become liable thereto. When every police- man realises that it is his duty, and quite safe and proper for him, to arrest every apparent vagrant." when every magistrate carefully enquires and satisfies himself con- cerning the position of those brought before him, whether they be deserving_of_re- commendation to the Benevolent Fund or of committal to the House of (Work and) Detention, then we shall hear very little about the need of "doing something for the army of "unfortunate" rascals who have hitherto been attracted by our reputa tion for good natured and unenquiring philanthropy. With regard to the proposed amendment to section 22, although the ATTORNEY GENERAL declares that it fails, in its present form, to accomplish its purpose," we cannot agree that it has been given a fair trial. Ship masters would have been less careless if their conduct in im- porting beachcombers had been subject to more rigorous inquisition. This view, how- ever, does not detract at all from the value of the amendment, which proposes to require that the shipmaster must satisfy himself that his passenger has employment to go to, or has a sum of not less than fifty dollars. Whereas before a shipmaster could relieve himself of responsibility, we presume, by giving his passenger a few dollars, sufficient to relieve him of the accusation of being destitute," it is unlikely that fifty dollars will be so paid in evasion of the Ordinance. The necessity of holding such a sum in re- serveis unlikely to be a bar to many desirable immigrants; and shippers and other agencies
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would warn would-be travellers to Hong- kong of the law's requirements. Ou the whole, therefore, this Bill is a very deserving measure, and calculated to remedy an evil that undoubtedly exists. We hope it will please the good people who called upon the Government to combing brothers.
provide for
our. beach-
HONGKONG JOTTINGS.
22nd May.
War without and war within! Not only are the dogs of war loose in the China sea, but here in Hongkong the bold but small army of Paladins are on the warpath. Reporters com- plain bitterly of the breach of neutrality committed by officials at the Magistracy and the action of the new A.D.C. to the General Officer Commanding has fanned the smouldering spark into the flame of open revolt. From all 400ounts, the scribe whose duty takes him to the Police Court, is treated little better there than the peasant in much vexed Russia, over sealous officialdom throwing up all the barricades in the path of the ubiquitous one that ingenuity can invent. Possibly these petty annoyances mban Sic itur ad astra for the energetic staff at the Magistracy.
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gunboat, so that, continued rumour, France is not the only nation implicated in the neutrality embroglio.
Residents at the Peak appear to be suffering this year from a plague of mosquitoes and a few other unusual things in the natural history line. Centipedes of phenomenal size have been killed recently in several houses at the Peak. The early rains and fogs are believed to be responsible for the swarming of mosquitoes, and the presence of the centipedes in unusual numbers may be attributed to the same cause,
We are within sight of two public holidays- Empire Day on the 24th inst, and Whit Monday, three weeks hence. There will doubtless be excursion steamers running to Macao, but a correspondent inquires whether it would not pay one of the steamboat companies to run a steamer somewhere else for a change- say to Mirs Bay. I refer the suggestion to the steamboat companies for their consideration.
A Colonial Exhibition is now open at the Crystal Palace, London, but neither Hongkong nor the Straits Settlements appear to be officially represented there. The Exhibition covers the whole of the ground-floor of the Palace, and all the available space was long ago allotted. "The exhibits consist principally of the pro- ducts of the different Colonies." What are the products of Hongkong? There are some wits who would say that the products of this Colony will not bear exhibition.
Hongkong continues to be the dumping ground" of the East for people whose presence is not desired in other ports. I notice that a Marine Court of Inquiry at Kobe has ordered · some sailors charged with insubordination to be sent to Hongkong. And here if they cannot be shipped off at once-not a very likely event | judging by the number of seamen who appear to here at the present time- be on the beach they will become candidates for the benefits under the scheme worked by the Ladies' Benevolent Society.
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News is hourly expected as to the result of the operations for the salvage of the French armoured cruiser Sully. When the pontoon built by the Hongkong and Whampoa Dook Company went down to the scene of the wreck, it was expected that the Sully would be floated by the 20th inst. It would be a serious matter for France to lose the Sully, one of the latest and best types of armoured cruiser in the French navy. She was only completed last year at a cost of £954,000. If she is successfully floated the probability is that she will be brought to Hongkong for repairs.
Before the new Building Ordinance came into operation, Hongkong seemed to be one of the most overcrowded cities under the sun-at least under British administration. One of the
now some
main objects of the new Ordinance, was to diminish the evils of overcrowding, and it would be interesting to have authoritative information as to the density of the population in the Colony this year and, say, two years ago. Has there been any improve- ment, I wonder in this direction? I believe so, but the large number of vacant Chinese houses in Hongkong and Kowloon seem to constitute evidence a ainst that belief. The Praya East Reclamation has been indefinitely postponed because there are so many vacant houses in the locality, which is taken asevidence thata reclama- tion is unnecessary at present. Yet the Chinese population of the Colony is steadily increasing, and while so many Chinese houses are vacant it is not very obvious that much is being done to prevent overcrowding. I am told that the Chinese regard the rents of the new property remaining vacant as prohibitive, and crowding they regard as unavoidable in Hong- kong owing to the comparatively high cost of living.
over-
Truly, this is a season of mythological research, and the arrival of the Balticers East of Sues is furnishing the mythographer with many quaint stories. Every ship dropping anchor in the harbour, provided she is not generally known by the public, is always reported ready to make a dash to join one of the belligerent fleets-usually the Russian.
Having regard to the fact that the Generally, she is laden with coal or provisions, and in her dash for the open is stopped by a Government has aimed at a mitigation of the man-of-war. Perhaps the most absurd story acknowledged evils of overcrowding in Hong- gaining ourrency is the reported arrival of kong, and that its efforts in that direction the Balticers at Macao. They were sighted have apparently failed while there are large on Saturday by a number of river boste numbers of Chinese houses vacant in the and reported to have called there for pro-Colony, the subject is one which seems to visions. Admiral Rozhdestvensky refused to call for a Commission of Inquiry. leave when ordered to do so by a Portuguese
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