The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-01-18

to the Jill says that the Russian
Minister is understood to have
sent a note to the Korean Government
on December 9th demanding the rea-
son why it neglects to take part in
consultations in connection with the
lease of some land at Masampho and
with a whaling concession, for the ac-
QUESTION of which the Minister has SO
often applied. The same message adds
that Russa has an underlying motive
of demanding lease in other quarters
some day and that the question above
referred to is a step taken in prepara-
ton for it. 1t appears, says the tele-
gram, that the attitude of the Russian
Minister has changed since the birth
of the present Ito Cabinet.
THE SoUL-WIJU RAILWAY.
From the Jill special dated Soul, the
9Th, we take the following: 'It is un-
derstood that the surveying of the route
of the Soul Wiju railway now being
conducted under the direction Of
French engineer, will be concluded by
the end of March next and that the
work of construction on the line will at
once be begun. 1t is syet uncertain
whether the capital necessary to the
undertaking willrbe raised by means of
the fiotation of loan on foreign mar
kets or Of the introduction of foreign
capital through some other method. 1t
lis probable, however, that the latter
method will be resorted to-"
RUSSIAN DEMONSTRATION.
A letter received by the Toxic Asahi
and written under date of the 21st De-
cember, says that the. Russian flagship
Rossia and three other Russian war
ships. then at anchor in Masampho,
were expected to enter the harbor of
Chemulpho to demonstrate in support
of some demands to be :sadc by the
Russian Minister. The demands are
supposed to be in connection with the
continuation of the right f telling
trees on the river Tuman. the extension
of the area covered by the privilege
and the concession OF constructing the
Soul-Wiju railway line.
A BERGER FOR KOREA
! The Korean Government has arrang-
!, ed with the German Consul In Korea
for the engagement of Herr Eckert rs
a bandmaster to the Korean Imperial
guards at monthly salary OF 800 I<o-
rean yen. His term of office, we un-
derstand, is to extend over three years
We may remind our readers that this
military musician was formerly IN the
service of the Japanese army and
navy; he is now in his native country.
FoRMOSAN NEWS.
! A telegram has reached Toxic to the
effect that at about 2 a. m. on the 3rd
inst. about fifty armed banditti as
sauted the Chikutoki police office sub
: ordinate to the Kagi district office. For
about an hour sanguinary fighting took
place between the invaders and the po-
lice force until at last the latter with
drew, but not until they had set the
office on fire. Four police constables
were killed and one inspector and f1ve
constables were wounded. The gang
also carried away about 500 yen of Gov
ernment money besides the personal
effects found in the premises--at least
such personal effects as they could car
ry off All the official documents nad
been consumed by fire. A party of
twelve soldiers led by non-comnis
stoned officer was at once detached from
the Kagi Gendarmes and other re-
endorsements have been sent from other
places.
On November % a miscellaneous
goods shop at Ariko, Tainan, kept by
one Fukushima was attacked by n
gang of raiders and DR.. Sen. ply sician
in Government service, was murdered.
About the middle of last month the
malefactors were tracked and four OF
them captured, but while they were
being sent to the Tainan court uuder
police escort they broke loose and are
still at large.
CHINESE NEWS.
The Jiji's Peking correspondent gives
an interesting note about Ii Hung
Chang's daily routine at home. What es-
pecially strikes US in this account is tie
regularity of the statesman's mode of life
Ia mode of life strictly adhered to all
the year round He rises at 6. being thus
a verv early user considering the climate
of PelSing. The first thing he does after
leaving bed rs to jot down something in
his memorandum book, probably Z .ose
items of business that had occurred to
bin from the previous evening and those
things that required his attention in the
day He takes breakfast at s. this .r<t
r7eal of the day generally consisting of
light food. as IS usually the case with the
Chinese. Abort a. m. visitors begin to
come in, and he rarely refuses any lor-