Hongkong Chinese firms dealing in rice may be substantially benefitted by the drought in North China and the Yellow River district which has. waged the rice crops to a con' siderable extent. It is estimated that orders for 400,000 piculs of Annam and from ports the Hongkong Nam Pak Hong firms. This is the largest order received in many months.
Export of rice from Hongkong hi been much affected in recent year the Chinese Government. Impos-fed an extra $1 Import duly on every picul of rice.
Further orders are expected if the drought in the north shows no signs of breaking. all of which proves that it is an Ul wind which blows no one any good.
Rickshaw en's Lot. the 19th meeting of the Municipal Government in Canton there was passed a resolution of great impor~ tance to the betterment of the living conditions of rickshaw men. It was Jointly proposed by the Bureaux of Finance, Education and Social Affairs.
The measures to be taken are di Igned to prohibit extortion by the employers of rlekahaw men; to ask the rickshaw companies to provide hats and raincoats for them; and to set aside twenty per cent. of the rickshaw tax for the building of hostels for the pullers, No mention Is made of such imprevents "as aware as cities in the north that skahaw men must be treated like! human beings, More Forged Notes "It Is a very serious offence and menace to the business community this "Colony," remarked Mr. Justice Jacks in the Criminal Sessions, when hho passed sentence of five years' hard Inbour on Li Ki-shun, "who pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession. of seventeen forged $10 banknotes of the Chartered Bank of India, Australis and China. He also had " forged 25
Mr. W. J. Lockhart-Smith, Assistant Crown Solicitor, stated that accord. {ng to the evidence of the bank clerks at the police court hearing, the forged Chartered Bank notes were extremely clever and would deceive even bani officials, Floating notes of this nature he agreed were a great danger to the commercial world.
The forged Chartered Bank note: were ordered destroyed, and the guild er note defaced and returned 19 the Consul for the Netherlands. number of counterfeit silver dollars and smaller pieces of Hong. Kong currency ware found in the pos session of on unemployed Chinese the same time.
Meanwhile, it is understood that the Hongkong and Shanghai" Bank offering substantial rewards. for th. tracking down of the counterfeiters of forged notes of the $500 denomina-
'A reward of $3,000 has been offeree. for the arrest and conviction of th engraver of $500 notes, or notes any other denomination. as well 8 reward of $10,000 for the arrest a1 conviction of the engraver and the discovery of the counterfeiting plant These rewards are to be valid for one year.
New Road to be Built Last week's Gatette contains the in formation that a tender isvinvited for the formation of an approach road about 1,200 feet long and 30 feet wide to the site of the new Government House at Magazine Gap. The work consists of cutting, filling, walling, re-Inforced concrete viaduct, temporary oad surfacing and contingent work.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.