April 26, 1909.]
THE "FOOKSANG IN A TYPHOON.
INTERESTING PERSONAL NARRATIVE:
A graphic account of his experiences at sea in the typhoon on the 7th inst is furnished by Captain T. A. Mitchell, master of the Fooksang, to the Japan Chronicle, Captain Mitchell writes:-
"Having read in several of the
papers accounts of the storm which passed over Japan between the 6th and the 7th instant. I thought it would interest your readers, especially those connected with the sea, and who were safely in port during the passage to get an account of the movements of the storm, and how it was felt at sea; and I herewith submit to you my own experiences.
"I was at the time bound from Shanghai to Yokohama, having left the former port at 9 a.m. on the 3rd instant. At the time of leaving fine weather prevailed, although the previous after- noon and night gave indications of bad weather. and the Zi-ka-wei Observatory reported a system of low pressure all over the continent.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORTĮ
On the morning of the 3rd. a depression was reported as being in existence to the westward of the Luchus, travelling N.E After I had passed | to the eastward of the Saddle Islands, a long drawn easterly swell also indicated this fact.
The barometer at the time, however, showed no
signs of immediate danger, being at 30.00, and as Van Diemen's Strait was approached. the easterly swell subsided.
and as by this time the N. W. wind had over. come the previous easterly swell, and raised a sea from N.W., the steamer was headed up to it, and as soon as a correct position was obtained from bearings of the Ki peninsula, which was seen when daylight broke. a course was set for the sheltering influence of this point, and thence on to Yokohama, which was reached at 11 am. on the 8th, after an experience I do not wish to be in a position to record very often.
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No damage was done, with the exception' of a davitt-spar which was broken through sheer force of wind pressing the boat against it during one of the shifts of wind. The ship behaved admirably throughout, rising over huge seas which rose up before her, threatening in their course to sweep everything before them, and would easily have put to shame many of the present-day leviathans, which one hears of so often behaving in 1 much less creditable
manner."
CASUALTIES IN THE KOREAN INSURRECTION.
The Japan Mail quotes from the Tokyo Asahi statistics of the casualties that have occurred in connection with the Korean insurrection. The list is divided into two sections, probably for the purpose of distinguishing the stages of the rebellion. The first section covers the period from the beginning up to August 31st, 1908. In that time the Japanese had 423 killed and wounded, and their sick totalled 8.162, ont of whom 797 died: the casualties on the side
"However, after passing throngh Van Diemen's Strait (at noon on the 5th) a more of the rebels were 13.014. but how many pronounced swell was met with, with an in- treasing E.S.E. wind, and the barometer showed the report does not distinguish. The second of these were killed and how many wounded indications of falling. By noon the following period extends from September 1908 to the day (the 6th), when in a position of Moroto- end of February 1909. In that time the saki, the wind had freshened to a moderate gale. Japanese casualties were 45 killed and 157 with overcast sky, and the barometer stood at
wounded, making a grand total of 625 casualties 29.66. From this time on to 4 p.", the weather in the field; while the rebels had 8,719 killed, became worse, and the swell had developed into 2.230 wounded and 93 make prisoners, their a heavy E.S.E sea, which caused the vessel to
aggregate casualties thus being 32.993. not ship heavy spray over all. By 6 p.m. the baro-excluding 702 whose fate is uncertain. These meter had fallen to 29.37. and I felt sure the figures, remarks the Japan Mail, show that the centre of a cyclonic storm was getting very close. By the indications the wind gave of being serious campaign.
insurrection assumed the dimensions of almost a inclined to veer to the southward. I cou-
It is to he earnestly hoped that the rebellion may now be considered at an cluded (I may say hoped that the entre | end. would pass across the track I had already bility will rest upon their shoulders who are For all time, however, a heavy responsi. traversed. As the sky had HOW become mainly responsible for fomenting an outbreak overcast, and thick with rain. I deemed it that could not possibly lead to anything but inadvisable to run back in the direction. I should fruitless loss of blood and treasure. more readily escape it, should it pass to the eastward of my position, as I should possibly find myself out of the frying pan, and into the fire' or in other words on a lee shore, and very little chance of seeing it.
"At 6 p.m., therefore. I decided on the lesser of two evils, and hove-to. keeping the vessel's head on to the wind and sea, and the engines working at a speed -just sufficient to keep her from falling off. The barometer continued to fall, and by 8 p.m. registered 29.23. Between that time and 10 p.m. the wind had increased to hurricane force and simply shrieked with every now and then heary detonations, as if heavy artillery was being fired. So powerful was the force of the wind that it was with great difficulty I could get up and down the bridge ladder to record the barometer readings every half hour.
"At 10 p.m. the wind veered to S. E., and about 11 p.m. I experienced what I never did before in all my seafaring career. The centre of the storm must have passed almost over my position, placing the vessel as it were on its N.E. segment, and it fell dead calm, so calm in fact that I could hold a lighted match in my hand on the bridge. Although the air was per- fectly still and breathless, I could hear away up in the sky the wind howling and shrieking as if all the fiends of the infernal regions had been let loose.
"The sea was not dangerously turbuleut. although it seemed to be decidedly mixed. The barometer as this time registered 28.98, the needle of the aneroid distinctly oscillating, and the mercury in the mercurial barometer visibly pumping. This lasted for five or ten minutes, when the wind suddenly sprung up from SSW
"By midnight it had shifted to S.W., and before 1 a.m. (on the 7th had veered through west to N.W. and the sky cleared as if all the cloud and rain had been swept away by magic.
“By 3 a.m. a strong N. W. gale was blowing,
COMMERCIAL NOTES.
JAPANESE ARTICLES IN THE PHILIPPINES.
The bulk of Japanese articles sold in the Philippines were formerly imported by Chinese merchants but a Japanese contemporary informs it. readers that in recent years the Mitsui Bussan Kaisha and several other Japanese companies have opened branches in Manila and are gra- dually encroaching upon the markets of Ameri- can. Spanish. British and other foreign mer- chants. Nevertheless, considerable portion of Japanese goods is still being handled by foreign traders in the islands Among the Japanese articles in demand are coal, cement, mineral waters, matches, potatoes, apples, onions, cation thread, etc.
THE COPPER MARKET.
The Copper market both in London and Japan remains inactive, During last month ouly transactions in small lots were effected in Tokyo, Yokohama Kobe and Osaka. Alto gether 4.0 0 tons of copper are now accumulated in the four markets mentioned. and copper dealers are holding their stock. On the London market 59.000 tons are accumulated, and quot ations are gradually rising.
SHANGHAI TRADF.
Messrs. Illert and Co.'s latest Piece Goods Market Report says: sagging market owing to absence of demand has been the main experience of importers during the interval, and the majority of resales made public are about 5 caudareens lower all round for plain staples, while in dyed and fancy goods buyers are so surfeited with liquidation stocks crammed down their throats at any price that even the auction rooms are finding a considerable absence of bidding aud prices fre falling at each sale. For White Shirtings, the warmer weather and consequent approach of the native dyeing
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season for these goods has had a slight effect in stimulating enquiry for cloths taken for Han- kow, though little actual buying has as yet taken place. Other dependencies are all very quiet. Cotton advices report a sharp rise in price for American, while in the Indian cotton market also prices are rising owing to short supply. Reports as to the reason for the sudden jump in American cotton are conflicting, but it is possible that it is caused by the high price of of wheat having an effect in restricting the planting of cotton in favour of the former. Yarn is quiet but steady, prices having receded about Tls. 2 per bade from the highest point but have recovered about Tls. à on the week.
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SUGAR INDUSTRY IN FORMOSA.
Sugar mills are rapidly being erected in Formosa. Mills established this year says the Japan Chronicle exclusively for squeezing the syrup from the cane are so many in number that they are able to turn out 7,000 tons of syrup in 24 hours. If the industry increases at the present rate, the total production of sugar in Formosa this year may reach 220,000,000 kin. The Formosan Sugar Refining Company, with a capital of Y10,000,000 and the Tainan Sugar Refining Conpany, with a capital of Y2,000,000, are very closely connected, both. companies being controlled by
the same Japanese directors. The two Formosan
directors and the auditors of the two companies are, however, different persons. In these cir- cumstances the two companies have agreed to incorporate into one concern with a capital of before the general meetings of the respective Y12,060, 00. The agreement is to bo placed
companies in August next.
The total shipment of sugar from Formosa to Japan proper during last month amounted to 53,100.00 kin. the highest on record. This quantity is four times as large as that of the corresponding month of last year. For this mouth the shipment is expected to be even larger. According to a Taipeh dispatch the Oriental Sugar Refining Company, of Formosa, has a scheme on foot to borrow foreign money through the medium of Messrs. Samuel Samuel & Co., for the puropose of erecting a large mill. THE RICE INDUSTRY.
The rice milling industry at Saigon is passing through a serious crisis owing to scarcity of the grain in the market. It appears that there is no dearth of the cereal in the country, but the cultivators are holding on to their stocks in the hope of realising higher prices from the millers, who are mostly Chinese. For a long time past these millers have combined to force the cultiva- tors into parting with their grain at very low prices. Every year, the millers corner the available stocks of paddy and afterwards dispose of them at enormous profits, none of which, however, falls to the cultivators. The cultivators have discovered this practice and refuse to sell their grain, with the consequence that at the end of last month the situation was very serious. The cultivators would only sell paddy when driven to it by want of money. The millers find themselves in a fix owing to their being bound by contract to supply the export firms with heavy deliveries of grain. They buy only just enough grain to meet the contracts. But the cultivators demand such high prices as to leave the millers no profit at all on the transaction. The result is the millers suffer heavy losses owing to the rise in the price, and owing to their smaller output of cleaned rice-working expenses standing the same all the time.
The Opinion, & Saigon newspaper, says that each mill is losing about five thousand dollars a day, and hold the cultivators to blame for not readily selling, at a profit. Far worse are the Chinese speculators who, until lately, took advantage of their ignorance and lack of business knowledge to swell the profits of the rice millers.
The millers and the exporting firms, says that journal, are trying to force the Government to bring pressure to bear upon the cultivators to sell their paddy at rates to suit the millers. The remark 'is made that it would be far better for the millers to change their methods, and to allow part of their huge profits to fall to the poor cultivators,
Dr. F. Clark has been appointed hon. treasur- er of St. John's Cathedral. and Mr. J. M. Beck has been appointed a member of the Church Body, vice Mr. R. Hancock reigned, for the year 1909.
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