1096
MACAO
considered as forming an angle, the base of which leans upon the river or anchoring place. The public and private buildings, a cathedral and several churches, are raised on the declivities and heights of hillocks. On the lofty mount eastward, called Cacilha, is a fort, enclosing the hermitage of Na. Sra. de Guia, and westward is Lillau, on the top of which stands the hermitage of Na. Sra. da Penha; entering a wide semi- circular bay, which faces the east, on the right hand stands the fort San Francisco; and on the left, that of N. Sra. de Bom Parto. Seen from the roads or from any of the forts crowning the several low hills, Macao is extremely picturesque. The public and private buildings are gaily painted and the streets kept very clean.
In the town there are several places of interest. The Gardens and Grotto of Camões, once the resort of the celebrated Portuguese poet Camões, are worth seeing, as, also, are the noble façade of the ancient Jesuit church of San Paulo, burnt in 1835, and the Avenida Vasco da Gama. The Cathedral is a large plain structure having no architectural pretensions, and the various parish churches are stucco edifices, ugly without and tawdry within. Pleasant excursions can be made to the Hot Springs of Yo-mak, about sixteen miles from Macao, accessible by steam launch. In winter, snipe are to be found in the neighbourhood and afford good sport.
Owing to its being open to the south-west breezes and to the quietude always prevailing, Macao has become a frequent retreat of invalids and business men from Hongkong and other neighbouring ports. The principal hotel is the Macao Hotel.
After the cession of Hongkong to the British, the trade of Macao declined rapidly and the coolie traffic subsequently developed there gave it a certain notoriety. This traffic, pregnant with abuses, was abolished in 1874. Tea continues to be an article of export, as well as fire-crackers, tobacco and preserves. Essential oils are also exported to some extent. There is likewise some trade in opium. Silk filatures, brick and cement works, and other factories have been established. The commercial activity of the place, however, so far as the Portuguese are concerned, is a thing of the past. The net total of the trade for 1920, as given in the Chinese Customs returns from Lappa, was Hk. Tls. 17,983,235, as compared with Hk. Tls. 13,296,263 in 1919, and Hk. Tls. 13,513,990 in 1918.
As the harbour has long shown signs of silting up, various projects have been prepared for its improvement, but until recently little has been done. A detailed plan of a very big scheme was prepared thirty years ago by Senhor Adolpho Loureiro, but was pigeon-holed by the Home Government. The matter was raised again, however, some ten or twelve years later, and another expert engineer, Senhor Costello Branco, was sent to Macao to make investigations. He made a few emendations to the original plan, but his report suffered the same fate as its predecessor. Then came the great Constitutional change in Portugal with the promise of a greater measure of autonomy for the Colonics, and the need of harbour improvement was pressed again, with the result that Admiral Hugo de Lacerda, who had planned and superintended the important harbour works at Lourenco Marques, was sent out to make a report. He has introduced important modifications in the original scheme. Whereas the earlier schemes contemplated only the improvement of the inner harbour, Admiral Lacerda's scheme, while embracing this, provides, as its main feature, for the creation of a harbour for large vessels in front of the city. Already the work for making the inner harbour better fitted for the accommodation of the considerable fleet of junks which trade between Macao and neigh- bouring ports and engage in the important fishing industry is in a very advanced state of progress. It is expected to be completed by 1923, There have been extensive reclamations, and some substantial sea-walls are now in position. By means of a Deauville railway running across the neck of the peninsula, the mud excavated from the inner harbour is dumped on the other side near the Barrier. The main feature of the outer harbour works is a protected anchorage to accommodate vessels drawing up to 23 feet, and a long deep-water channel of approach, giving a depth of 14 ft. at low tides and 23 ft. at high tides. The mud dredged in the making of the harbour and the channel will be used to create an artificial island, surrounded by stone walls, just south of the channel leading to the inner harbour. A sum of nearly nine million dollars an amount deemed sufficient to complete the scheme-has been deposited in the bank, and, as the Home Authorities are sympathetic, it looks as though at last the handi- cap to trade from which Macao has suffered for many years is about to be removed.
The Hongkong, Canton, and Macao Steamboat Company run two steamers daily between Macao and Hongkong. A Chinese Company runs a regular steamer daily between Hongkong and Macao. Between Macao and Canton there is a daily steam service. The distance from Macao to Hongkong is 40 miles, and to Canton 88 miles.