LONDON'S CHINATOWN.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIV, Issue 3, 5 January 1910, Page 8

LONDON'S CHINATOWN.

When the London County Council decided to. abolish the Chinese opium dens in Limehouse, as from January Ist, John Chinaman demanded gently but firmly to be heard on the question. He protests that the gilded opium dens and fan-tan rooms constitute the greatest joke in the whole of the metropolis. . London's Chinatown, as all good Celestials are declared to know, is said to be really a comic opera settlement, as quaint and proper as anything outside a pantomime, and is run as a secret show place for the benefit of curious "foreigners." The case for the Chinaman avers further that visitors in search of new sensations are taken in hand and shown opium joints in full blast, and places where pig-tailed gamblers are supposed to lose countless taels in an evening. Sightseers are amazed, shocked, and delighted Jn a breath. They are shown the "black smoke" saloons, the green and purple dragons, the grotesque joss- | houses, and the high-fan-tan tables where Chinanien gamble away as i much as five "cash" (forty to the penny) at. a sitting. All" this is arranged for the delight of the inquisitive "foreigner." The opium smokers are respectable ratepayers, who. only indulge in a pipe or two when visitors, are about, and the joss-houses, dragons, and chop-sticks (which may be bought by souvenir-seekers) are simply so many stage properties. Such is tlie pro-Chinese view of the situation. However, such a sophisticated body as the London County Council is not.at all likely,to be.deceived into apprehending that a peaceful little settlement whose community is much more interested in the ißudget than" it is versed in ways that are dark; is a blot on a none-too-savoury landscape by transparent de--1 vices that might pass muster with gaping yokels at a fair, but nowhere" arid with no one else. On I the face pf. it, the probabilities, are that the ;County; Council . isf fight: in;; deciding to. ring' down the curtain,; upon the Comic opera hamlet without further ado/ East is East;~all the, world over, and the leopard does not readily change" his spots even amid thej peace and plenty of the ,romantic .neighbourhood of Lime'us.

.... A Gr.eymputh. telegram - states that Richard Clough, an old settler, diggel", butcher, a grand sportsman, clerk of the^ course to the Grey mouth Jockey and-Trotting Clubs for years, was found dead in bed yesterday. : ..

" Consternation prevailed in the majority of banks and offices in Invercargill on Wednesday last on account of the non-appearance of some twenty or thirty clerks who had not returned from -their Christinas holidays. The reason was that they had gone over to Stewart Island on Christmas Eve, and were to return by cutr ters on Tuesday evening. The heavy contrary gales which sprang up pre^ vented the cutters from making .the trip, and so drivers of the quill were at a premium. , Two holiday trippers, after waiting up all Tuesday night in consequence of a possible transit by a daring skipper, got >away at about 4 a.m., but owing to the weather conditions, the vessel did not reach the Bluff until 12.30 p.m., and her passengers did not get to town till after two o'clock...The rest .returned by the Theresa Ward. Business men, with the rush between holidays, Have been sadly handicapped, and things looked just like as though" a mild strike was in process. Fortunately, the absent ones were able to telephone, but if this had occurred a; few years back it would have.been difficult to account for their absence.

It appears- necessary to warn the public m connection with the use of a toy known, as <an electric sparker. The toy is an attractive one, especially at seasons of festivity. It consists of a wire upon which there is a substance which, whe t n ignited, emits brilliant sparks, which,'however, do riot communicate- fire, and to this extent the toy fulfikjlie. .statement that; it ;is harmless.1. The wire base, however, becomes very hot, and falls off, and'its heat is such that it sets fire to anything inflammable it comes into contact with. From this cause insurance companies have received claims tor damage done to valuable carpets and tablecloths. The danger to'children and adults dressed .in ii e ht gauzy material, is. obvious, and if th« toy is used the very greatest care should be exercised. To be perfectly Se Bdal:ir se 'thetoyshouidiiotb-

A correspondent writing about the upkeep of the.hospital a& tCdiffit culty of raising adequate funds, mentions a feasible method for augmentpurchaser. It is pointed out that the & o iT\ e J lcket aw.aV> and. that if he (or she) does so, in the maioritv of cases, !t is never returned to the tffffi' .^though the Wer signifies his willingness to pay a discount he is not called upSn iS ?h e majority of cases to do so. The cor respondent .suggests that the tradesmen who give discount tickets might p ace lock-up boxes on their counters, into which customers so disposed would put their tickets. TrEs spoken to in regard to this matter are reticent as to the number of tickets issued which they never see again Ihe correspondent avers that iFpeo?i e.S«*'into the habit of dropping their tickets in counter-boxes define tely labelled and explaining that the tickets will be redeemed to benefit the hospital, some hundreds "of pounds would be collected without hardship to anybody dunne the year.

The vandals with the penknife and the irresistible impulse to carve their initials on anything that will readily a-eeeive them are really responsible for the necessary repairs which are now £ gfcT de to c th6,^pping stones on the balcony of the Cathedral spire (says the Christchurch Press). The stones which are being removed had been so deeply marked by these illicit ?S £f that °f hollows were ft f?J r? in ™*«-- The result was that the interiors of the stones were exposed to a certain extent, and tie wS" Tl de? y Was im^n S ely hS tened. The stones which have been taken down show this very obviously. -The new material now being, put in is h Wai es sa^stonf, which S w\ l\ caryni?, and stands well against the most inclement weather

Anaemia is impoverished and imWine of Cod Liver Extract makes SSf nch ' ™d Wood. It stand by SSL? '^ greatet °f Wooi