Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 March 1884 — Sights in Hong Kong. [ARTICLE]

Sights in Hong Kong.

One of the first things I noticed upon landing in dong Kong was the dissipation which is always going on. At first, I thought some celebration must be in progress, but upon making inquiries I was assured that this was not the case. “It is always so.” said the American citizen. “Every day a certain number of sailors are allowed to come ou shore, and they avail themselves fully of this privilege. As there are some two thousand of these sailors at present on board the men-of-war in Hong Kong harbor, this city is quite lively most of the time. It is* the men aboard these war-ships who get the wildest, for the enforced idleness of their life breeds recklessness when once they get ashore. These sailors are beardless young fellows for the most part, and though they have a swaggering and tyrannical mien, I should not think that they would' impress the Chinese as very formidable. Walking about the streets in company with a citizen, I saw literally hundreds of these sailors crowding the saloons so thick that you could not see the counter. Outside of the saloon the street would be packed with rick.shas, for a sailor gravitates toward a riekisha the first thing upon coming ashore. He does not have to gravitate far, for the Chinese runners almost attempt the perilous feat of walking on the water in their eagerness to meet the sailors halt way. Soon after landing the sailors gravitate toward a saloon, and, numbers breeding reckless jollity, it is not long before they cease to be free moral agents. Then they curse and beat their riekisha men, and ride about with scarce any cognizance of whither they are being carried. As I have already intimat-

ed, I am implacably opposed to the Chinese; yet my indignation was kindled in their behalf at first when I witnessed the brutality with which they are treated by these sailors. But my commiseration was all dissipated when my friend said: '' a - “Don’t pity them. John Chinaman is nnder now, but he will be on top pretty soon. Wait till the sailors get stupidly drunk, and they will be ignominiously dumped out by the wayside, whilel these long-suffering ‘heathen Chinese’ will proceed complacently to go thrortgh their pockets. Don’t misplace your pity.” -“Don’t the English make any efforlj to Check this evil?” “O no, it is so common that they don’t care to interfere.** Once in a while when a men gets to smashing things too generally and endangering people’s lives, he will be locked up until he gets sober. But so long as they only injure themselves, no matter if they do break the peace, nothing is done about it.”