Four Japanese warships, blockading the harbour entrance, swept all the fishing boats away to Formosa and seized every junk, big or small Several days later they entered the harbour and engaged the forts of Amoykang. These forts are equipped with guns that were half a century old. In occasional practice tials, they had never been known to hit anything but the big expanse of open sea. Old Mons Meg at Edinburgh Castle would have been as effective and as useless The forts were battered, of course, but they returned fire bravely.
It was rumoured that one of the Japanese vessels was hit and damaged in the stern, but an observer affirms that not a shot went near any of the vessels and that he saw one of the guns of the fort bursting and causing some casualties.
Little interference has been given to foreign shipping. The Douglas steamships, Butterfield and Swire's boats and the J.C.J.L. Line have continued their usual runs uninterrupted and unhindered. The Douglas ships, indeed, have had a most prosperous time taking frightened people away te Hongkong for safety, and bringing back even more scared people io their homes again. One family of ten left Amoy for Hongkong and three returned. The others had died from cholera. A JCJ.L. vessel has just returned from Formosa, bringing stranded Chinese nationals, many thousands of whom are said to be still waiting transportation. These people returned with nothing but the Clothes they stood in, destitute and paupers, All. money, goods and valuables had been confiscated before they left.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.