Aconsiderable number of people went off to the Leander on Christmas Day after service to see the decorations of the lower deck which the men had put up in honour of their Christmas dinner. They were profuse, brilliant, and tasteful, and included numberless Chinese lanterns, evergreens, mottness, and transparencies, two transparencies of the ship herself, from ove of which a salute of seven guns was fired as the company came round, being very well done. The dinner preparations were most lavish and inviting, and the men were most cordially anxious that their visitors should taste the luxuries provided. The drum and fife band headed a procession round the deck, which included two darkey cavalry-men on hobby horses, veritable horse-marines. The cheering for Captain Watson, First Lieutenant Fisher, the officers generally, and the ladies, was constant and most hearty, and the Leander would seem to be unmistakeably that ideal of the service, a "happy ship."
At the fire in the French Concession on Friday morning (20th), a godown and three houses were destroyed and two other houses partially destroyed. The origin of the fire is unknow. The property belonged to Ta-kee and was not insured. The godown was full of valuable native merchandise, hides, and gunny bags, on which there was no insurance, so that the loss to the owners will be very heavy. During Friday the walls on three sides of the godown fell. outwards, and four streams were played on the burning cargo inside. It would be advisable io adopt sume plan whereby the firemen will be able to readily find the hydrants, which are flush with the pavement in the French Concession. If some kind of mark were put on the walls of houses opposite the fire plugs, the firemen would have no difficulty in quickly getting a supply of water.
'A fire broke out shortly before 10 o'clock on Sunday night on the French Concession in an alley-way off the Rue Petit, and some thirteen houses were destroyed. The fire waa caused by the upsetting of a lamp in a cotton shop and spread with remarkable raj dity to the adjoining houses, The "Deluge" Company had the first stream on and were followed by the "Torrent." As at the fire on Friday morning, much valuable time was lost in the endeavour of the firemen to find the hydrants, This could be remedied if the Fire Commission could be induced to put up some kind of indication as to the whereabouts of the water supply. Before the fire was extinguished, nine streams of water were playing on the flames.
The Skating Rivk at the Philharmonic Hall was opened on the 20th and was fairly well patronised seeing that last night was mail night. Those who only went to look on had their money's worth in witnessing the various contretemps that occurred to some of the novices in roller-skating.
No 3 Ca. S.V.C. monthly cup competed for on Saturday last; Priv, Burtenshaw was the winner with a total score of 63 points.
An important part of Sir Michael Hicks Beach's recent speech at Bristol was omitted by Reuter. He said that any Minister was ready to resign in order to admit the Unionist leaders into the Cabinet."
We published on the 14th Reuter's telegrams saying that the strikes were engrossing all attention in London, and were collapsing in Manchester and Salford. The Hongkong papers give what appears to be the same message in the following terms:—"The threatened strikes in London, Salford and Manchester are collapsing."
We reprint in another column from the Japan Mail Professor Milne's amusing account of his machine for registering the motion of railway trains.
morning, at about 4 o'clock, she collided As the Heyer was aang te on Sunday with a junk between the Little Beacon and the Iueer Lightship. The junk sank, but not before the mate of the Heyer had rescued thirteen men from her. One of the rescued men was found asleep in his bunk and he was much surprised on being awakened to find that his craft was sink While one of the C.M.S.N. Ca. was hauling in to Kinleeyuen veaterday afternoon, " boat laden with baskets of oil drifted across the steamer's heaving-in line and capsized. The oil went adrift and was promptly monopolised by boatmen in the locality, while the two occupants of the boat were rescued by someone else.
The Fudice, after hazing bad the gap in her starboard' bow cleverly patched by Captains McCaslin and Roberts, was and will shortly be surveyed. The difficult brought into the Old Deck on Wednesday
work of raising the vessel and bringing her into dock has been performed in 8 manner highly creditable to the employes of the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.