The Convention of Peking of 1860 added the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters' Island to the Crown Colony, and provision was made at Kowloon for accommodation for a part of the garrison. This was followed not long afterwards by the establishment of the Union Dock Company and the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company, the latter eventually absorbing the several smaller dock- yards in Hong Kong and expanding into one of the largest employers of labour in the Colony. The early development of Kowloon owes a great deal to this important enterprise.
An event which was to have far-reaching effects upon the relations of Europe and Asia was the opening of the Suez Canal (1869). The quickening of communications wrought changes in the commercial life of Hong Kong, shipping increased in volume from less than 2,000,000 tons in 1868 to over 5,000,000 tons within 10 years. Telegraphic cables were laid down to link Hong Kong with the rest of the world, and the Hong Kong Wharf and Godown Company was established (1871) to provide storage facilities for the greater volume of merchandise flowing through the Colony.
To provide additional free attention for Chinese sick the Tung Wah Hospital, managed by Chinese directors under Government supervision, was established, several other services for the Chinese poor being maintained under its auspices. In the same way the Po Leung Kuk was founded to cater to the welfare of Chinese girls. More schools were set up, some of them carried on by the Protestant or Catholic missions, others by the Government, scholarships being provided for worthy scholars. Provision was made to encourage Chinese students to acquire a knowledge of English, to equip themselves to take an increased part in the life of the Colony. Ng Choy, better known later as Wu Ting-fang, was the first Chinese to be admitted to the English Bar, setting a precedent which has since been followed by many others, who have come to take an important part in the life and activities of the community.
An important feature of colonization was the Gardens and Afforestation Department which procured seeds and plants from Australia and England, which resulted in "a general increase in the vegetative surroundings of the town, and that the increased attention given to the cultivation of trees along the public roads and around European dwellings on the hillsides had already done much to displace the pristine barrenness of the site on which the city was built by patches of beautiful shrubbery." In course of time several vegetables and flowers found their way into China through their introduction in Hong Kong.
The opening of Haiphong and Hanoi to trade with Hong Kong enlarged the scope of the Colony's commercial importance, as did the establishment by Chinese capital of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company (1874). This was followed by the connexion of Hong Kong by cable to Canton, Macao, Shanghai, Foochow and other places. Further provision was made in Hong Kong, at the Praya East, for the expanding city, followed by extensive reclama- tions at Causeway Bay. Some interest in Kowloon took place, the Portuguese community taking a leading part in this enterprise. The
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