The agent of the Scottish Oriental Steamship Company applied to His Excellency Admiral Sir Frederick Richards, K.C.B., for assistance to search for his Company overdue. steamer and received an answer which -could not be regarded as satisfactory. The company. then placed the correspondence before the Committee, whose pinion seas that definite instructions should be laid down by the Admiralty to meet such cases, avd that it should not be Left solely to the discretion of the Com-latter might, from misconception, be disinclined to render assistance in cases where the prospects partake of the character of a "forlorn hope, the following up of which in numerous instances on record has resulted in the saving of life and property. Admiral Richards' letter to the Oriental Steamship Company prevented further approaches being made, and under the circumstances the Committee addressed the Admiralty letter through the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies and sent the Admiral a copy thereof. To this despatch His Excellen Sir Frederick Richards replied at length to His Excellency Governor Sir William K.C.M.G., and commented on the Committee's letter in such terms that the Committee thought is desirable to enter into the whole question very fully, and explanation of what is conceived to be a misapprehension on His Excellency the Adwmirel's part of the Committee's first letter.
The Committee greatly regrets the tone and matter of His Excellency the Admiral's letter.
The judgment recently given at Hongkong by Acting Chief Justice Fielding Clarke in the case of the Crew r. the Captain of the Torrinyton is so important, and so valuable to the often helpless class of merchant seamen, that it deserves further notice. The Torrington is min ocean tramp of the worst kind, an old vessel with her name changed, and her hull tinkered up for a voyage to China and Japan, but in such an unseaworthy condition that it was impossible to keep coal in her lower bunkers, as it drifted out and choked the pumps. Her boilers were 17 years old. 'The circumstances of her seven weeks' voyage from Singapore to Hongkong have been told before. When the unfortunate crew gut to Hongkong at last, the Captain had them up for refusal of duty. Th la were tried before the Assistant Harbour Master, Commander Hastings, R.N., who, like nearly every oficial in Hongkong, held an acting' appel ment, that of Marine Magistrate, but who seems to be as devoid of any ordinary idea of justice, as he is ignorant of a magisirate's powers. This seems strong Janguage, but it is the simple effect of Mr. Clarke's judgment. The men were all put in the dock together, no-one to speak for them, and they received sentences of 10 and 14 di imprisonment, though no act of disobedience waa proved; and it was left to the captain to pay them what he liked, with what deductions he chose to make, and to discharge them, although by their articles they were entitled to a passage back to England. A " most unjust and most disastrous" result, Mr. Clarke calls it; and it is satisfactory to see that 'Mr. Clarke found for the crew, with costs, though he could not compensate them for the imprisonment they had wrongly suffered. The Hongkong Telegraph wrives strongly about Commander Hastings' action in this, and in another case in the Police Court, but it seems to be justified in saying "The only thing open for Mr. Hastings is to ask to be released from his false position. Surely, no man with a conce—Mr, Hastings is probably the most conscientious man in the Service—surely no human being, with a human heart, could wish to continue in a position which has already been shown to cause hard-(ip and injustice to the most helpless of victims. For every case that comes to light there are probably ten that are never known, and he who would wilfully go on in this course is no man, The following circular has been issued by Rear-Admical Harmony, U.S.N., commanding on the Asiatic station:—Commanding Officers are notified that by a cablegram received this date from the Honorable Secretary of the Navy. unde: date of Washington, April 7th, 1892, the dates from Yokohama to the 92 und Kube he Yarra brought us Japan pap
the 11th instaut.—The Japanese Forei Office lias no intention, says the Mail, place any obstacles in the way of x' hoxd fide auction sula of his furniture in loco by foreigner whose residence outside the settlements has been duly sauctioned."—Great shoals of herrings have made their appearance off Awa and Kuzusa coasts. This unseasonable phenomenon occurred before thirty-seven years ayo, and was lowed by x great earthquake wave, which did immense damage.—The low price of silver is bringing auc some of Japan's hoarded gold.—It is stated that Counts Matsugata, Goto, Soejima, Ito, Terajinn, Kuroda, Yamagata, and Inoue, Viscount Enowoto, and Mr. K. Inoue, will be: appointed Commissioners on the subject of Treaty Revision.—Throvgh service on the Tokaido railway is to be resumed to-morrow—There was another immense conflagration at Tokio early on the 10th, in which over 4,000 houses were destroyed. and there was great loss of life. The Kobe Herald says that some forty streets were consumed, and that "amongst the larger buildings which fell " prey te the flames were the Kanda Ku Office, the Police Station, the Hogaku-in (Law Schvol), the Tokio Yeigo Gakko (School of English Language), the residence of Marquis Tokudaiji, the Kinjo Gakkw (w large private school), the Offices and Works of the Tokio Electric Light Company, the buildings of the Keigoyshw and Sanshodo (large book stores) and the Kumadn Printing Office, ete."
The Japan Mail vives the following summary of trade in Yokohama for the week ending the 9th instant:—There is no change of note iti the Import trade, buyers disinclined to operate, has been altiost entirely to fill About 360 bales English and 100 bales Bombay. yare are all that has been taken, and piece-grands generally have only boon' moved ike swell quantities. A little more life has appeared in the metal market, and slightly improved prices have resulted—for wire nails especially—though no alterations are made i of kerosene have ket through lack of stock to go on consequent improvement in value has taken place. The sugar market is very quiet. Silk continues to be taken in a small way, but recent. remarks on this trade continue to apply, namely, that the assortment gets poorer day by day, though some few parcels of spring reelings have come in. Prices are well maintained, No tery positive reports about tea prospects have best tod though, as is usually the case at this period, feats are expressed about the quantity of the crop, but these have to be largely discounted. Exchange, which took a turn upwards ut the end of last week, has again shown signs of decline, and rates close weak.
The Yokohama Maru brought us Japan papers with dates from Yokohama to the 13th, Kobe the 14th, and Nagasaki the here was another fire at Tokio on the 11th in which 150 houses are.d.—In the great fire on the 10th teen merchants rushed to the KoshuKuwan, or Bazaar, to save their goods. While they were in the building, it caught fire, und they were all burnt to death.—A big fire, which destroyed some 500 houses, broke out at Chibu, near Tokio, on the 9th.—The Melbourne, which left this on the lith for Yokohama, broke her high-Bie made sail, and in seven hours. was pressure cylinder at 10.10a.m. on the 12th,
able to go ahead again with the extreme cylinders, arriving at Kobe at 11 a.m, on the 14th.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.