The most serious consequence of the typhoon, however, is the heavy loss caused to foreigners and Chinese alike in the destruction of property. The damage done is variously estimated but it does not seem too high to put it at from eight to ton millions of taols. All sections of the community have suitored more or less, not the least to be condoled with being the small householders whose private effects have been damaged and the retail storekeepers, some of whom have much damaged stock on hand. But in point of amount, of course, the chief destruction was in the godowns, which unluckily as it happened, wore very heavily stocked. Piece goods, silk, tea, flour, rice, stocks of these and other commodities "have been irretrievably damaged, and the losses to some firms are very serious indeed. A question has naturally arisen as to the responsibility of the Wharf and Godown Companies, but without venturing into any question of law, it is difficult to see how proparations could be made to meet such an unexpected contingency as Friday's flood, Many victims wore going about on Saturday trying to argue that a typhoon did not come under what in insurance parlance is called an " Act of God."
At Pootung.
The wharves on the Pootung side had a particularly bad time, The case of the Shanghai and Hongkew Compsny's Wharves may be taken as typical. The afternoon tide on Friday only rose to about eighteen inches from the top of the wharf decking, and as the floors of the godowns are all more than a foot above the top level of the staging, and the highest tide over experienced in Shangh: only rose three inches above the decking, it was thought that the godowns would be free from flooding. Such anticipations allowed, therefore, for a flood tide during the night of 24 foet more than the day tide. The water actually rose about 44 foot higher at night, but the exact depth was not ascertainable as it was impossible for anyone to reach the wharf to measure it. About 6 p.m. the fences around the property began to be blown down, and by 10 p.m. quite a lot of the roof of the Jocal manager's house had blown off.
Messrs. Chambers and Marshall went out to seo what was happening, and at about 1 a.m. they saw a lot of native craft tosting up the river, and among them what appeared to be o small steamer. A quarter of an hour later a three-masted junk came tearing along and her cable caught the moorings of the Thistle, holding ker for a fow moments. 'The junk sivung clear but then blew straight on to a dolphin with crash; her stern swung round into Mr. Chambers' garden, and the afterpart made itself comfortable sitting on a bamboo arbour, which atjordinary times is fully ten feet from the water's edg All this time a number of calls for assi ance were heard from the river, but the wind was of such terrific force that it was impossible for those on shore to render' any aid. About two o'clock a large Ningpo junk was washed right ashore under the Wharf Office windows and was left by the receding tide with her inner bilge up to the bunding top. Meantime a lot of dark objects rushing up the river mystified the watchers for some time, but eventually they were found to be logs of timber. There wore thousands of them andin some unaccountable way many of them were locked together and standing on end. Hundreds of them were carried right on to the wharves; some of them, forty feot long and, two feet square, were blown completely across the.top of the wharf staging.
By morning the water had penetrated all the godowns at the East wharf and all at the West, except " coal godown. The roof of the No. 13 East wharf had blown off, and with the high wind still prevailing it was impossible toget near the godown as the roof was lifting and cracking like big guns, and bricks wore falling every fow moments. The Chinese'houses on the wharves were all badly wrecked and both ends of the compradore's house on the West wharf were blown down. 'The water was rushing through the property into the country behind like mill race, destroying all the in its way.' The East wharf wore battered by the onrushing timber almost out of recognition. The underneath jetties were reported unsafe and some of the upper jetties were lifted right off the uprights, The Typhoon at Sea.
Grave anxiety was naturally felt for the mail and other steamers due to arrive Shanghai, and perhaps most of all for the R.M.S. Empress of Japan, which was known to be bringing back many local holiday-makers from Japan, and which had been advertised to arrive at daybreak on Saturday. The Norwegian steamer Elg was one of the earliest arrivals in port on Sunday. She carried a heavy cargo of coal and the feat of bringing her up the Yangtze was, under the circumstances, remarkable, for most of the marks had been destroyed or removed from their anchorages by the storm, and it was running considerable k to come in without a pilot who had to ascertain exactly what had transpired. House Island beacon, and Kiutoan beacon were both down, the Tungsha lightship had drifted from her anchorage, and there was other disorganisation. The Elg reported the Empress of Japan safe and at anchor, but waiting for pilot who had ascertained the exact changes that had taken place.
At 1.15 p.m. the Empress herself arrived at Woosung, and the passengers were brought up to the Bund by the tender Alexandra at 4.30 p.m. They bad experienced a terrible time since Saturday morning. Nagasaki had been left at the scheduled simoon Thursday afternoon in fine weather, but with the barometer falling, and a typhoon threatening. The was very full and Capt. Pybus put on all speed in order to make Woosung before the storm should break, He came up with the typhoon, however, while still thirty miles from the Saddles and the only thing possible was to tarn round and ride out the storm. Soon the heavy seas swept the vessel from stem to stern but it was never thought necessary to batten passengers down below. The ship sustained a certain amount of damage; the fore part of the captain's bridge was carried away and the end of the library stove in, The after bridge was also carried away, and one of p's boats was seriously damaged.
Yesterday morning early the Empress was in the river, but waited to be brought up as already stated. The passengers' resolved to put their appreciation of the manner in which Capt, Pybus had brought them through a perilous time into the shape of a testimonial. It is also reported that the steamer lost an anchor.
The M. M.S, Armand Béhic with the home-going French mail could not' be despatched as advertised on Friday night and the intending passengers who went down to Woosung in the tender Whangpoo were brought back to Shanghai for the night. Those who intended to depart by the RB. M. S, Tartar for Hongkong on Friday had an even more uncomfortable experience, When the tender Alexandra arrived at Woosung the soa was running mountains high and as it was impossible to put passengers on board the steamer, they wore temporarily landed at Woosung, where they taxed to the utmost the ity of the hotel, whose proprietor is own difficulties to deal with in'
of flooded roma.
Loksang, which arrived hero on Sunday from Foovhow, reported that oii the 2nd inst, at 7 am. she passed a derelict junk with decks awash and one mast amidships standing forwards. The junk was bearing from the Soudan Island, 7 miles south,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.