The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-07-15
The CHINESE
FIRE CLAIMS
Number Filed With
the Consul is
2573.
VIGILANCE HAS
BEEN NECESSARY
All Sources Have Contributed to
information of the Chinese
All Sources Have Contributed to
Information of the Chinese
Consul General.


Yang Wei Pin. the Chinese Consul,
has almost concluded his work of in
vestigating the fire claims of the diff
ferent Chinese residents of this city who
were sufferers in the disaster of a lit
tie more than a year ago. The total
number Of claims that have been filed
with him are 2,573 OF this number he
has, in turn. filed roughly speaking.
sioners. The 2,400 claims represent
something like 100000 worth of prop
erty. The 173 documents that are yet
TO be placed with the commissioners
stand for a valuation of $4,000. Those
that are yet to come are the demands
of the heaviest losers in the fire of last
year The summarizations that have
been placed before the commissioners
heretofore have been those or small
merchants and Chinese in the humber
walks of life. The work has consumed
1.-TWO or three months of the Consuls
time and he is glad that the tiresome
duties that have been demanded of him
and his clerical force, of going into the
particulars of the personal effects OF
lcooks and plantation laborers is at an
end
Just exactly what has been lost by the
different sufferers Will never be known
definitely, of course Much of the in
formation has been gained through the
custom house. Again. when man
residence was known, it naturally fol-
lowed that he lost something, if the
house was destroyed The mans posi-
ton in life, and the locality in which
he had made his residence were the
next things that We're drawn upon in
torming an opinion For example,
when plantation laborer credited
himself with having lost a gold watch,
the item was stricken out without fur
| Their consideration, unless the Chinaman
could prove beyond all question that he
had been possessed of the property as
| claimed. When a cook claimed to have
| been dispoSsessed of costly silken robes,
| his assumption was passed without no.
| tice The work, which has been con-
Quoted in person by the representative
| of the Chinese empire. has required
some keen detective work. When proofs
| that would nave passed without DelHS
questioned, under ordinary circum-
stances, were submitted, the vigilant
officer of the Empress Dowager has set
about to prove the authenticity of many
of these in turn.
/ The final disposition of the claims
rests in the majority of cases between
the Consul and the court itself. The
power of attorney has in many in
stances been given to him, and the last
lappeal from whose opinion there is nc
hope, rests with the commissioners
themselves. Just when the entire 2,51;
cases will be disposed of is hard to say
In the two months that have passed
there have been something in the neigh
borhood of twenty claims closed. In ad
dition to those of the Chinese Consul
1.-THE japanese Consul has several thou
sand and there are number of whites
who are also sufferers whose allega
tions must be passed upon.
Consul Yang Wei Pin has been s
lizard at work for the past two month
that he has been overcome by tn
strain and is suffering a slight illness
He hopes To be at work once more b
/ the middle Of the week if his physica
condition continues to improve.