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April 3, 1909.]
men but I don't think they knew so much of the art of pulling together as did the sturdy | artillerymen.
The American influence did not depart with the fleet on Saturday. Bishop Brent of the Philippines, who was the Chairman of the Opium Conference, held forth in the Cathedral yester day, and his words were listened to with no little atention and interest.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. and it is very rare indeed that our Judges order flogging at all. But when we see such a recrudescence of serious crime as that which occurred early in the present year, when nearly the whole of the cases at the first criminal assizes were very bad cases of armed robbery, some punishment likely to have a more deterrent effect than mere imprisonment was clearly called for, and no voice of protest has been heard in the Colony against the floggings awarded by the Chief Justice. On the contrary, We are proud of our Volunteers and we don't the infliction of this punishment has been want to see them dwarfed or have their import-warmly approved. If x man commits a ance minimised. At their inspection од Saturday it looked as if there were more band than volunteers. Surely this ought not to be:
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murder we hang him; and four-and-twenty strokes of the cat" in addition to a term of imprisonment does not seem to me excessive punishment for the man of murderous intent who narrowly misses committing the capital
It is perhaps a rash thing to say, but I be- lieve there are humorists in Scotland. A High-crime. land newspaper which has come into my hand reports a ploughing match at which one of the prizes offered was for the ploughman most, de- termined at ploughing and inost determined to avoid matrimonial bliss. Why a man should seek to avoid bliss is rather difficult to appreciate, but I suppose that is the Scotch joke which is not very apparent to those born out of Caledonnia.
The Tramway Company, following up the anti-spitting crusade, have become somewhat facetious. The interior of the cars now bears a notice;
"Gentlemen will not spit; others must not." It is to be hoped it will be effective.
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There is a paper published at Peking in the English language, but I fancy the Editor does not mean exactly what he says when he publishes the following:
THE EMPEROR REMAINS.
The remains of the late Emperor and Em- press Dowager has been drawn from the Imperial store, and presented to
various officials. The Dalai Lama has also received this favour. The Board of Dependencies has appointed 4 members to proceed to present the remains to the Dalai Lama,
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The following passage from a report of the recent meeting of a Siamese railway company is distinctly instructive:-
Mr. Leonard: I propose in view of the large number of the shares held by the Privy Purse we put on a man from the R. R. D. who knows something about the management of railways, and I propose Mr. Schnoerr.
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RODERICK RANDOM.
HONGKONG.
March gives a total of five cases, four of which The plague return for the week ending 27th
proved fatal. This brings the number from January 1st up to 19 cases and 17 deaths.
Mr. Ho Kom Tong has been appointed a member of the Sanitary Board. He is a pro- minent Chinese citizen and has identified himself with all good works in the interest of the colony. On Sunday night three boats of the fleet of the Corinthian Yacht Club which were lying in the Club's anchorage were boarded by thieves, and the greater part of their lead ballast was stolen. The boats were No. 6, No. 9 and the Spray.
It is reported that Mr. T. K. Dealy has accepted the position of headmaster of Queen's College, rendered vacant by the retirement of Dr. G. H. Bateson Wright, and that Mr. G. A. Woodcock will succeed Mr. Dealy as second
master.
Further official changes took place on Apl.'1st, Mr. J. R. Wood leaving the Magistracy to take up his substantive appointment at the Supreme Court as Deputy Registrar and Appraiser, while Mr. C. D. Melbourne left the Registry of the Supreme Court and returned 10 his old position as first clerk at the Magistracy.
Mr. E. C. Wilks, having severed his connec. tion with the firm of Wilks and Jack, Limited, announces that he has established himself in the Colony as a Consulting Engineer and Surveyor with an office in York Buildings. Mr. W. C. Mr. Leonard: I don't know, but I know if Jack announces that the management of the elected he would qualify.
The Chairman: Is be a shareholder?
The Chairman: I can't accept that, sir. Mr. Leonard: I pointed out the very samo thing to you at the last meeting in the case of Mr. Tilleke and Dr. Reytter.
The Chairman: Mr. Tilleke was a share- holder because I gave him ten bearer shares downstairs before the meeting began,
Mr. Leonard: That absolute trickery. The Chairman: If you never do anything worse than that you will go to heaven in an aeroplane. Why, in the old days I have had to go downstairs and give shares to coolies in order that you might get your dividend, because the shareholders would not come.
Reports of Hongkong company meetings do not afford such interesting reading.
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The Japan papers, I notice, are much con- cerned over the fact, that our Chief Justice ordered the ruffians convicted of armed robbery in the Colony at the February Assizes to be fogged Brutal punishment, the Chronicle says, does not cure barbarism; but that is a statement not borne out by experience in Hong- kong. The question is one that has engaged public attention on many occasions, notably during the regime of Sir John Pope Henessey when the community at a great meeting held on the cricket ground passed a resolution with hardly any opposition affirming (1) that life and pro- perty had been jeopardised by a policy of undue leniency towards the criminal classes; and (2) that flogging in public had been found the only really deterring punishment and that to its suspension was due the daring bold- ness which had lately characterised crime. That was thirty years ago and our criminal statistics have greatly improved since then, Flogging is no longer administered in public,
firm of Wilks and Jack, Limited, has been taken over by himself.
An interesting speech was delivered by H. E. the Governor at the Legislative Council on the 1stinst, when he indicated the improvements that Finance Committee an appropriation of $11,060 were being effected at the Observatory. In the
was passed for compensation to the 26 opium under the opium restriction instructions of the divan keepers whose divans had been closed
Home Government.
It must have occasioned no little surprise when it became public on Tuesday that Mr. G. A. Woodcock, the secretary to the Sanitary Board, but at present acting as Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court, was not to go back to his old position. The Government letter announcing the change did not indicate what other office Mr. Woodcock was to fill. It merely stated he would be transferred elsewhere. From the proceedings at the meeting of the Sanitary Board it was apparent that the action of the Government did not meet with the approval of the members, as was indicated in Mr. Lau Chu Pak's minute and Mr. Shelton Hooper's brief laudatory reference. Mr. Woodcock as Secretary of the Sanitary Board was certainly all that Mr. Lau Chu Pak said. He was courtesy and con- sideration personified, and there is no doubt that he helped to clear many misunderstandings, and in scriptural language to make the rough places smooth." His removal from the place which knew him so long will be a distinct loss to the Sanitary Board, a loss which will be keenly felt by all those whose business brought them in contact with him, and it is questionable if Mr. Woodcock will ever be so well suited as in the office from which he has thus been trans- ferred.
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Mar. 29 a native who was arrested on the Chinese Before Mr. J. H. Kemp at the Magistracy on Recreation Ground was charged with being armed with a knife with intent to commit a felony. He was found guilty, and sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard labour. Hazeland at the Magistracy on Mar. 29th on fa A native who appeared before Mr. F. A.
charge of returning from banishment told his Worship that he came back to the Colony to get some clothing he left behind. sentenced to six months' imprisonment and He was
four hours' stocks.
We hear that Mr Chaloner Grenville Alabas- ter barrister-at-law, son of the late Sir Chaloner labaster, British Consul-General in Canton, has resigned the Secretaryship of the China Association. He was to be married on the 27th February, and to sail on the 13th March for Hongkong in the P & O. steamer. Somali. He intends practising at the Bar in the Colony. Mr. Harold Chatterton Wilcox (formerly partner in Messrs. Turner & Co., Hongkong), China Association in London. has been appointed Acting Secretary to the
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On Sunday night the police received a
G telephone message from Cheungshui, a border of the police employed on the Canton section of village near Samchan, reporting a "hold up' the line. The report, made by Mr. Fraser, the district engineer on the Chinese section, stated that on the night of the 27th instant the rail- way police were attacked by a band of about eight or nine armed robbers.. The police at the time were returning from the village of Lilong, about eleven miles distant, where they had carried a sum of money. Two of the constabulary were wounded, and
were relieved of their rifles. The Police at Cheung- shui believe that the robbers have crossed into British territory, but investigations in the territory will be considerably hampered by
DWO
reason of the fact that the men attacked can
give no description of any of the robbers.
CABLE STATION LOOTED.
TELEPHONE SERVICE INTERRUPTED.
A story of the extraordinary impudence of the Chinese thief was told to the Hunghom Police on Sunday. On the night in question a number of natives entered the cable station near the Docks where the four cables belonging respectively to the Military Authorities, the Colonial Government, the Eastern Telegraph Co. and the Telephone Co are landed. They cut off pieces of the cables and removed certain
the brass and lead in the shed the thieves apparatus which entailed the interruption of the different services After packing up all
happening to pass the station at the time, apparently sat down for a rest after their exertions. A lakong on duty in the vicinity, noticed that the door was open, and on looking in saw by the dim light a native smoking a cigarette. His question as to what the man was doing there caused a stampede, all the thieves dashing for the door. The constable held on to one man, and he will probably be charged shortly. The telephone service to Kowloon was interrupted all day yesterday and though the Telephone Company was able to effect temporary repairs to their cable it will probably be a week before the mischief done is completely repaired.
Five Chinese were charged on two counts before Mr. F. A. Hazeland at the Magistracy on Mar. 30 with breaking and entering a cable station at Hunghom and with stealing telegraph instruments to the value of $887.20, the property of the Military Authorities; the same to the value of $53.08 the property of the Hongkong Government; the same to the value of $74, the property of the Eastern Telegraph Co.; and the same to the value of $65, the property of the China and Japan Telephone Co.
The case was concluded on Mar. 31st, Four of the accused were found guilty and sentenced to six months' imprisonment and six hours stooks, while the fifth man was discharged.
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