We are informed that the Hongkong Hotel Ca., Ld., through its managing director, Mr. J. H. Tag-gort, yesterday purchased from the executors of the estate of the late Mr. Edward Ezra, his entire holding in the Shanghai Hotels, Id., which amounts to 80 per cent. and includes the 'China Press" and China Motors, Ld.'
The purchase price is, we are informed, Mex. $2,500,000.
At the conclusion of the bargain Mr. Taggart announced that the scheme for the erection of the new hotel in Bubbling Well Road opposite the Race Course would be put into execution.
With the Shanghai Hotels, Ld., and the newspaper and garages stated, are also included the Wagon-Lits in Peking. The chain of hotels thus owned by the Hongkong Hotel Ca. thus includes the Wagon-Lits, Peking; the Astor House Hotel, the Palace and Kalee in Shanghai; the Hongkong Hotel at Hongkong, the Peak and Repulse Bay Hotels and the Peninsula at Kowloon.
The Hongkong Hotel Ca. also has recently acquired Messrs. William Powells, Ld., a large department store of Hongkong, the Hongkong Steam Laundry and three large garages at Hongkong.
The Board of the new concern in Shanghai will consist of Mr. Brodie Clarke, Dr. E. L. Marsh, Mr. F. N. Matthews of Messrs. Lowe, Bingham & Matthews (now invited to join the Board), Mr. E. Burrows, who is managing director of the Shanghai Hotels, and Mr. J. H. Taggart. who is managing director of the kong Hotel Ca. The two latter become joint managing directors of the new concern.
An incident of an unusual character occurred on Tuesday when the tender from the Shinyo Maru arrived at the Customs Jetty with passengers from America. The Customs authorities were asked to detain two Chinese passengers, a young man and an even younger woman, on the plea that they had been deported from the United States to Hongkong and were endeavouring to make their escape here. According to the Japanese steward of the ship, they had slipped unobtrusively on the tender at Woosung, and it was only" when the tender was pushing off that the steward missed them. He hurried aboard after the pair, and having found them made his application to the authorities on reaching The Bund. The Municipal Police were communicated with, and it was resolved to detain the pair until afternoon, when they were handed over to the steamship company to be put on board again.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.