1908
HONGKONG
February 6th, 1907, unveiled in what may in future be designated the Royal Square, fine bronze statue of H. M. the King, presented by Sir Paul Chater, C.M.G.,
and one of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales, presented by Mr. James Jardine Bell-Irving. A statue of H. M. Queen Alexandra, subscribed for by the Community as a memorial of the Coronation of their Majesties in 1902, and one of H. R. H. the Princess of Wales presented by Mr. H. N. Mody, are also to be placed in the same Square at an early date. These statues will surround the jubilee statue of her late Majesty Queen Victoria. Government House occupies a commanding situation, in picturesque grounds pleasingly laid out, in the centre of the city. Victoria Gaol is a large and massive structure, with its main entrance from Arbuthnot Road. The Police Barracks and Central Station adjoin the Gaol, as does the Magistracy, a small and inconvenient structure. The strength of the Police Force is 1,048, of whom 135 are Europeans, 410 Indians, and 503 Chinese. A Reformatory was built and opened in 1900 at Causeway Bay, the cost of erection being borne by the late Mr. E. R. Belilios, C.M.G.; but the building has not been used for the purpose, the idea having proved impracticable. The Lunatic Asylum consists of two small buildings, one for Europeans and the other for Chinese, below the Bonham Road. The Government Civil Hospital is a large and well designed building affording extensive accommodation, situated in the western part of the town. The Alice Memorial Hospital, situated at the corner of Hollywood Road and Aberdeen Street, is a useful and philanthropic institution, which is also the headquarters of the Hongkong College of Medicine for Chinese; affiliated with it is the Nethersole Hospital on Bonham Road. A little to the west is a hospital designated the Ho Miu Ling Hospital, the gift of Madam Wu Ting Fang to the Medical Mission of the London Missionary Society. The Royal Naval Hospital occupies a small eminence near Bowrington. The Military Hospital, a fine range of buildings, occupies a commanding position on an eminence above Bowen Road; it was completed in 1907. The Queen's College, a hand- some and commodious structure, which stands on a site having its chief frontage on Staunton Street, is the home of the chief Government educational institution in the colony. It was opened in 1889. The Belilios Public School for Girls, in Gough street, is the chief centre of female education. The Tung Wa Hospital, a Chinese institution, which has been of great utility in the Colony, was considerably enlarged in 1903, and a well-designed Plague Hospital for Chinese, situated at Kennedy Town, was also built at the expense of the Chinese community. The Barracks for the garrison are extensive, and constructed with great regard to the health and comfort of the troops, and the buildings belonging to the Naval Establishment are spacious if not substantial. The chief cantonments lie on both sides of the Queen's Road, between the Cricket Ground and Arsenal Street, Wanchai. There are also extensive Barracks at Kowloon, in which the Indian regiments are quar- tered; and a magnificent sanatorium (formerly the Mount Austin Hotel) at the Peak for the European troops. A smaller one is situated near Magazine Gap. Head-quarter House, the residence of the General in Command of the Troops, occupies a pleasant elevation overlooking the cantonments in Victoria. A commodious Central Market situated between Queen's Road Central and Des Voeux Road, was opened in 1895 and in 1906 another fine market was opened further west, and is known as the Western Market. The building of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank is large, hand- some, and massive, and would do credit to any large city. It occupies a fine site next to the City Hall, and has frontages on Queen's Road and Des Voeux Road. The exterior walls and elegant fluted pillars are of dressed granite, and the offices on the Queen's Road frontage are crowned with a large dome. Opposite the Des Voeux Road entrance to the Bank stands a bronze statue of Sir Thomas Jackson, Bart., who from 1876 to 1902 was chief manager of the Bank. The statue was unveiled by Governor Sir Matthew Nathan on February 24th, 1906. An extensive reclamation along the city water frontage from West Point to Murray Road initiated by Sir C. P. Chater, C.M.G., was completed in 1903, the total area reclaimed from the sea being approximately 65 acres. Of this area 33'73 acres constitute building land, the remainder being occupied by roads and open spaces. The total cost, including reconstruction of Government piers, was $3,362,325. The various sections as they were ready were rapidly built upon and some of the finest buildings in the Colony have been erected on the reclaimed land. On the eastern section a handsome building for the Hongkong Club was finished in 1897, and was occupied in July of that year. The Clock Tower, near Pedder's Wharf, was erected by public subscription in 1862, and the illuminated clock was presented to the Colony by the firm of Messrs. Douglas Lapraik & Co. The Pier at the foot of Pedder Street, was