The news of the rendition ceremonies at Weihaiwei have given ise to reminiscences in the Eng-Tish press. Of special interest. is a letter in "The Times" recalling that paper's own connection with Weihaiwei, as follow:
1904 Wethaiwel was the base for the 1,201 er the Haimun, chartered by "The 'Times" as its' dispatch boat and moving wireless station during the earlier months of the Russo-Japanese War. Wireless telegraphy was at that period more or less in its infancy, and the distances that were bridged by the de Forest system installed in the Hainum created records for that period, The receiving station was erect by "The Times" on the top of the island of Liu-Kung, and the ground upon which the mast (160ft. high) and the huts were placed was eased for six months, at a nominal rental, from the British Commi sioner, Sir James Lockhart. Immediate difficulties were experienc ed, as the lease barely had been granted when the British Admiral Commanding-in-Chief at Hongkong informed the Commissioner that the utilization of Weihaiwei for "The Times" purposes was a breach of neutrality. Sir James countered this wait-a-bit thorn by asking for ruling from England, This request he sent by post. Postal comamunieation with England in those days was a matter of weeks, and by the time a reply was received Weihaiwei had ceased to be of service to "The Times.
The Haimum was based upon Weihaiwei for the four months that it remained under charter to "The Times," and its activities from that Port so incensed and alarmed the Rossians in Port Arthur-that the following notification was address ed to all foreign Embassies Legations:—
Lo Hieatenant de in Masse sphere d'action" des forces hhavales' Racses, veraient retenus 0 Tour bord. des. correspondents Journaux commeniquant a Yennems Fonselgnementa ay rayon a Perfectionnés non prévus ence feralent consideres. comme Tes In spite of this threat the mun continued to function until there was no further gain in those waters to be effected by a dispatehboat, and very many columns of "The Times" were nourished by Wireless messages received by a solitary and lonely operator several hundred feet above the Weihaiwei anchorage, 'A further reminiscence is_provided by a letter from Mr, Charles AH, Godfrey, who, writing from New Milton, in Hampshire, recalls the fact that in 1901 while the Royal Engineers were engaged in superwising the construction of buildings for the Weihaiwei Regiment, it was necessary for them to assemble and erect a large clock which had been sent out from England for the tower of the oticers' mess. Repeated and fruitless efforts to make the clock go led the 0.C. Royal Engineers to write to me at Shang-hal (I was Acting Municipal Engineer there at that time) asking if T could send up a European clockmaker to see what was wrong. found that it would be a very expensive matter to send up a con petent man, but happened to mention the matter to the Acting Engineer-in-Chief of the Chinese Cus-Yoms, who was in charge of the Tighthouses on the China coast. He said at once that his lighthou mechanic was in the north revenue cruiser Ping Ching, and we fow the Commissioner of Customs, Mr. H, E. Hobson, who was good enough to wire to Chefoo instrueting the cruiser to put into Wethaiwei and render any assistance.
Tt was thus only @ matter of a few hours before the chief engineer of the Ping Ching and the lighthouse mechanic were able to call and seo the clock, and they set it going within five minutes. The balance weight on the Large hand had been fixed on the wrong side of the spindle!
Appreciating the joke, the O.C. Engineers wrote and asked whether anything could be done for the two men who had got them out of the trouble, but I said that, although pecuniary remuneration was out of the question, if he cared to let me have £5 I would purchase a small piece of silver for! the officers' mess of the Ping Ching. To this he readily agreed, I-had filled in and signed various forms "To repairing clock at Weihaiwei," and after obtaining permission from the Inspector-General of Customs, Sir Robert Hart, I sent to the Ping Ching a silver card tray [supported by a Chinese dragon on blackwood base bearing the inseription:—
"Revenue Cruiser Should this letter meet the eye of any R, E. officer concerned, he will, I feel sure, take it in the jocular spirit in which it is written.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.