Page
August 11, 1906.]
practically an unmixed race. He does not ignore the admitted admixtures of almost prehistoric times, but points out that having played the part of a hermit nation there was time for these to be thoroughly assimilated. This provides pride of race as well as love of country, he po nts out. He might have added, but does not, that Japan's greatness (in Western eyes; has been achieved in spite of, rather than because of, this homogeneity. The Manchu race has striven after the same ideal, with what results we know; and the few other "pure" races have little else to brag about. The virility of which we have been talking seems to accom. pany healthy crossings. It is worth noting that the anthor (himself an ex-missionary) does not believe in the hope of any genuine conversion of the Japanese as a people to any religion but patriotism; and in this connection we are tempted to quote (from another excellent chapter) some of the writings of the Japanese Gulliver. The delightful argument of the Japanese Brobdingnagians to Wasaubiyauwe is, however, too long, and must be left to be enjoyed by those who are wise enough to possess
themselves of the book itself. So also must we
i
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
CORRESPONDENCE.
THE CHINA SUGÁR REFINING CO
**
TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESS
Hongkong, 6th August.
SIR. From the correspondence published reported to have been earned by this Company with reference to the net profit that has been for the past half-year and the amount taken from the Special Reserve Fund of $850,000 in reducing the cost of raw sugar, I submit the General Managers should. after the private meeting to be held on Wednesday next with the Members of the Bub-Committee for
no
means of
declaring the half-yearly interim dividend. inform the Shareholders through the mediam of the press of the actual amount of net profit earced for that period and the amount taken from the Special Reserve Fund, in order that the actual state of affairs might be known to the shareholders generally, as a great miny of them have obtaining reliable information. If, as it has made and that the balance in the Special been reported that over $400,000 has been Reserve Fund now stands at over $5000, and that these two sums together with the Reserve for Equalization of Dividend stand at a figure over $1,00 4,0 0, I submit that it is the bounder duty of the General Agents and the Sub-Committee, on the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number, to declare The London correspondent of the Daily at the least the same interim dividend as was Press wrote, inter alia :—
leave the happy analogy (the author is clever at analogy) by which in conclusion the alliance of East and West is supported "Feudal and Modern Japan" deserves an honourable place in the long list of foreign books on Japan.
HOME AND CHINA AFFAIRS.
SIR J. MCLEAVY BROWN.
Was it intelligent anticipation that induced Mr. T. P. O'Connor to select Sir J. MoLeavy Brown as the subject of his article "The Power Behind the Throne" in the new and readable weekly "P.T.O." the aturday before the birthday honours were announced?
Or was
up
it merely only one of those strange coincidences in journalism that go so far to build individual reputations for being in the know? Whatever the explanation, the coincidence was remarkable, and this opportune publication prevented the question in this instance of Who is be?" The sub-title of the article was “The Sphinx of Seoul," and those who know McLeary Brown know how apt is the applica- Lion. Unfortunately, the article contained nothing that was original. It was taken from Mr. Allan Hamilton's book on Korea, published by Heinemann in 1904, and anyone who has not the pleasure of the personal acquaintance of the new knight should turn to the seventh chapter of that interesting book for edification and instruction. This will obviate any quota. tion from it now, though I feel strongly tempted to reproduce a portion of it. In Sir Jobu's case, the honour is well deserved. One might safely say the same thing of most of the honours bestowed upon British subjects in the Far East.: It is about time that Mr. J. H. Stewart Lockhart, the Commissioner of Weihaiwei was rewarded for bis excellent work.
THE LATE MAJOR MCCARTHY R. E. RAY.
come
was
given last year, viz. $10, as pleaded for by other shareholders; in view of the fact that taking everything into consideration the posi
ion of the Company is now much sodader financially and the prospects brighter than last year. Yours faithfully,
ONE WHO HOLDS A FEW
HUNDRED SHARKS.'
DAILY PRESS.
NO DRAGON, BUT A TOAD,
TO THE EDITOR OF THE
Sin,-It is not a dragon which eats the moon
toad. at eclipse time, but a Most foreign folklore know that the students of Chinese popular term is "kam pa shek yuit”, the toad eating the moon. The dragon symbolises the emperor and the phoenix the empress, and as their imperial majesties are also led the children of the sun and moon, to talk of the dragon ea ing the moon is manifestly improper. Yours, elc.,
▸
VALENTE.
REFORM IN SHANGHAI TEAHOUSES.
89.
and on July 31st the houses were open as usual in the Foochow Road quarter. There was a meeting held the same afternoon at the Chinese Commercial Association to consider the question of preventing a threatened riot, but as everything had turned out satisfactorily ho action was considered necessary.
girls' houses in Fooshow Road and vicinity the Writing on the recent closing of the singing- Sinwenpo in a leading article states that Chin- history that the commerical prosperity of a city ese have an erron ‘ous idea obtained from ancient depends upon such establishments as singing. girls houses and kindred places of entertain- ment. inasmuch as they allure the trader to bring his basiness to the city or town offering the greatest number of sach institutions. This idea is based upon a historical incident over twenty centuries old, which happened when independent states China W85 divided into twelve principal in Principality of Tei (the modern province of the Kingdom or Shantung). In the time of Prince Huna of Ta'i there lived a far-sesing and shrewd Minister inaugurate the idea of state-owned singing-girls named Koan Ch'ung, who who was the first to
from other states to buy and sell wares in the houses for the purpose of attracting traders principal cities of Tai. The scheme of the Minister was attended with some success and
The following from the N.-C. Daily New serves to elaborate our recent telegram about the affair-Som little excitement occurred in Foochow Road and vicinity in the native singing-girls' houses on July 30th owing to an attempt on the part of the Municip Police to enforce strictly certain new regulati as made by the Mixed Court, with the sanction of the Municipal Council, prohibiting girls under the age of sixteen (Chinese reckoning) from living in thess singing-girl houses. Quite a number of young girls within the prohibited limit of age were taken charge of on Monday evening as they were proceeding through the streets and were conveyed to the Door of Hope Refuge, Rowdies taking advantage of the excitement arrests by the
tried to caused
force the proprietors of the houses in question strike by a geuer closing This was done in the of their doors. majority of instances, but several of the more daring opened their doors as usual, while some of the inmates went out in their sedan chairs to sing at the restaurants and other places of public resort. This was the signal for the rowdies to stone the houses which opened and the occupants of the sedan chairs the moment they appeared on the streets. Several girls as well as their chair-bourers were injured by the rowdies in this way and the result was that all the singing-girls houses were closed for an hour or so, when the police came and asked the proprietors to resume business, promising protection. This was done,
an to
The news of the death of Major McCarthy R. E. Ray, of the Indian Army, must have as a shock to his numerous friends in Chios, for I doubt if there was an officer of the Indian Army better known or more highly respected from Hongkong to Peking than this promising young soldier. One of the band of brilliant young men gathered round him by Major-General E. G. Barrow, when be under- took the organisation of the Hongong Regiment, Lieutenant Ray, as he was then, exhibited all the devotion to his profession which marked him out for special employment whenever opportunity offered. He energetic adjutant, and when he returned to India to his regiment, the 7th Rajputs, he was noted for the excellence of his work. He took part in the expedition for the relief of the Foreign Legations at Peking, and, as A.D.Q.M.G., was Intelligence Officer on the Staff of General J. R. L. Macdonald, who escorted the Tibet Mission to Lhasa, when he was specially mentioned in despatcher. During the expedition into Tibet, Major Ray met with an accident, injuring his arm severely by a fall while carrying out some investigations on the Bhutanese frontier. He was by no means physically robust, and his restless energy must have been too much for his constitution.
|
go
on
this historical instance has so imbedded itself in the minds of the ordinary Chinase student that it has become an axiom, as it were, in the Chinese
mind, that the commercial prosperity of a town is dependent on singing-girl houses.
The Editor of the Sinuênpao however, asks his readers to think of the pros perity of London, the greatest commercial city in the world. London possesses no such in stitutions as those of Shanghai which publicly ply their vocation, hence it is evident that it is not institutions like Chinese singing-girls' houses that brought all this great commercial prosperity to London. The old Chinese theory is therefore exploded by the prominent example afforded by the capital city of Great Britain. Indeed a city would be the batter and the purer by doing away with such questionable houses of entertainment.
It may be contended that landlords who rent the vast number of h uses in Foochow, Fakieu, Hupsh and other roads may suffer by the closing of these houses, as high rant is obtained for them. Nanking Road houses fetch very much higher rents; yet there are no singing girls' houses on it. Landlords therefore need not fear losing their reats by the abolition of these institutions, There are thirteen Chinese gentlemen of high and respectable standing who are members of the Committes of the Door of Hope Refuge and the knowledge they possess of the misery to which many of the inmates of these houses are subjected impel them to seek for every means by which such institutions can ba abolished from this Model Sǝttlement. If, they cannot be abolished, thea a proper system of surveillance should be made, and visits of inspection not be made, as they are now, only when a complainant reaches the Door of Hope Refuge. but take place at the discretion of the Refuge.
AMERICAN PRISONERS IN
SHANGHAL
American prisoners seem to be well treated at the Shanghai Consulate. They go out for walks, presumibly unittended, and are given tansan when they call for it. One C. 8. Bat- trick, doing three years for embezzlement at Tientsin, has been lost. The N.-C. Daily Ness- explains the circumstances, and adds :—
Another version, for the truth of which we cannot vouch, is that when Battrick returned from his evening walk he was unable to get into the Consulate. Hy knocked and rang for some tim without any response, and floslly, in high dudgeon at the inhospitality of the Consulate weat elsewhere for his night's lodging. Our informant adds that he would not be surprised if Buttrick turned up to-day to lodga a com- plaint against the American authorities for looking him out in this inhuman manner.
The editor of L'Echo de Pékin has been com.. mitted to prison for ten days by the Francă Legation for defamation at the uit of a Chinese member of the Shansi Railway Co.
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