Take the matter of our Far Eastern fleet, for example; no one is supposed to know where it is. Russian vessels and Japanese have come jand gone within the last ten days, but never @ sign of the British fleet has been seen. No one is supposed to know where it is, and the newspapers dare not say. People may arrive from the south and spread the news that part of it was seen at Singapore recently. The writer may be able to say, without fear of being proved wrong, that certain British war vessels were at Singapore on the Sth of the present month, but he dares not set down the fact in Hongkong, though what harm is being done by setting it down neither he nor any other man can say. Where is the harm of placing upon record what nearly everyone knows!—If the censorship could be extended to the tongues of people who arrive from other places, well and good; but it cannot, and there is an end of the matter. ving of all praise. One of these days the war alarm is to be sent round on purpose to test their speed in turning out, and it may safely be assumed that the response will gratify the military authorities, These amateur soldiers are as keen as mustard on proving themselves capable of defending the Colony when the regular white troops go. It is an open secret, of course, that they are going, and they will be gone before this appeare in print.
'A Dull Place.
But all this notwithstanding, the place is as dull as could be. There has not, from the start of the war, been one hour of real excitement. Prizes of war have been brought in without many people being any the wiser, but there has not been a shot fired near the Colony, and only once a sign of shot having been fired elsewhere. That was when the Ken-not arrived from Tsu ther untold tale. It would be a relief if something stirring would happen. It is not good that we should go about all day, pinching ourselves to ensure that we are really awake and that some little business ie still being done.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.