"Since 1841, when Hongkong was ceded to England, up to the present period, the colony has been steadily increasing. Where now stands the low part of the city of Victoria, a few temporary buildings were erected on an unhealthy swamp close to the Chinese village, for stores and for the dwellings of the early European settlers. Ships engaged in the tea trade, men-of-war, and Chinese junks from the five ports came to anchor before the infant city. Streets were formed, and substantial houses erected: a handsome cathedral (St. John's) and near it the Bishop's residence and College of St. Paul, were built on a pleasant elevation away from the busy hum of the Chinese; and the city now stands a witness of British energy and enterprise.
"There are two Chinese villages on the island Saiwan and Checkchu (now known as Stanley, see 11-7-33); their inhabitants are principally occupied in fishing: the population of both is about 5,000.
"About one mile from Victoria, in an easterly direction, is Happy Valley, of horse-shoe shape, open to the north; and nearly surrounded by a range of high granite rocks; the sides are clothed with shrubs, ferns, the Li-Chi fruit tree, and many others interesting to the botanist, such as varieties of the Solaneae, Convolvulaceae, and Cruciferae. On the western side are three cemeteries, the Episcopal, Roman Catholic and Parsee; in the former are many becoming memorials; here lies buried the eminent traveller and missionary, the Rev. Mr. Gutzlaff; his tomb, a block of granite, is almost hidden from view by the palm-plantain, cypress, and the waving and graceful bamboo,
"here is a small race-course in the centre of the valley, about a mile in circumference surrounded by a shaded road. A shallow harbour in the opening of the valley is filled by some hundreds of sampans tenanted by the most miserable classes of the Chinese race.
"The Colony can boast of three journals, published twice weekly: the Friend of China, The Mail, and Hong Kong Register. The editors take considerable pains to elicit from various sources all the news of interest connected with the empire of Japan, and occasionally accompany expeditions of warlike nature either against pirates or imperialists."
One could hardly have a better summary of Hongkong conditions in the Fifties.