CHINA MÁIL, PAGE 40
1841
HONG KONG CENTENARY NUMBER
SHIPPING
(Continued from Page 38)
claimed that its influence in fos-
tering this trade has been equal
if not greater than that of any other single agency which could well be brought into comparison.
When it is also considered that
in the Burmah War, the Indian Mutiny, the Crimean War, the China and Persian and Abyssinian Expeditions, the Egyptian Cam- paigns and lastly the two Great Wars, the resources of the Com-
not unly Dany
in in ships but material, that its stations, cont supplies and the services of it- agencies were availed of by
the
Government, the variety and im- portance of the public functions what it has discharged en readi-
y la understood.
The Company has for many years been closely identified with The important duty of mail carry-
It obtained ing
+1+ first Mal contrael
1837, the subsidy amounting to £29.600 per annum for 2 monthly service from Pal- Lisbon. mouth to Vigo, Oporto, Cadiz and Gibraltar This having been enrried out with great suc- cess, the service was extended to Malta and Alexandria, it being carried out with vessels of 450 horse-power.
Charter In 1840
In 1839 the question of obtain- ing a regular and comprehensive steam service was much to the fore. The Company interested it- self in the proposal, considering that the enterprise in itself was a necessity of the age, and, as such. likely sooner or later to prove re- munerative, and they naturally concluded that the traffic of an Indian service would materially assist their Mediterranean line. They therefore applied for and obtained a Charter of Incorpora~ tion in 1840, which was only granted on the onerous condition that the Company should establish steam communication with Indin within two years. There was no promise of a subsidy, only an un- dertaking from the East India Company to pay premiums on 3 certain number of voyages accom- plished in the course of a year, of which the total amount was not to
exceed £20,000 per annum.. The service was started with three vessels of about 1,800 tons and 500 h.p., and the main service was extended in 1844, by its extension to Ceylon, Madras, Straits Settle- ments and China, this being under contract with the Government,
A Famous Pioneer
Of Hong Kong
In 1843 Douglas Lapralk arriv- ed from his native Aberdeen and set up business in Hong Kong as a chronometer and clock malcer and to-day, after nearly a cen- tury's usage, his clocks are still giving reliable service in the offices of many of the older Arms in Hong Kong, including the one that now faces the desk of Mr. S. T. Williamson, principal of Dou- glass Laprak & Co. This says a 'great deal for the man who onl
a few years after his arrival in
Hong Kong turned his attention to local shipping services.
In those early days he develop- ed a sound shipping business be- tween Ho Kong, the Constul Ports and Formosa, and the busi- ness was carried on in his own. name until 1883, when he was in- strumental in the formation of the present
well-known Douglas
THE HARBOUR
A picture of the harbour from the Albany, taken in the early days of the Colony, showing typical examples of the vessels that piled then between Europe and Hong Kong. H.M.S. Tamar is also in the picture.
Steamship Co. Ltd. (Tak Ki Li
50
In addition to his own shipping line, he had been interested in the formation of the Hong Kong, Can- ton & Macao Steamboat Company besides some of the earliest dock- yards in the Colony, and by this time he was recognised as one of the Colony's principal shipping pioneers.
His name is perpetuated by the firm of Douglas Lapraik & Co., General Managers of the Douglas Steamship Co., Ltd., one of the oldest firms in existence in Hong Kong to-day.
From the beginning the Douglas S.S. Co, has done everything pos- sible to keep well abreast of the times in the provision of fast and luxurious travel accommodation on the route they have traversed for the greater part of a century, and it is interesting to compare their most recent acquisition, 9.3. "Haitan," 3550 tons gross,
with
the "Albay," 541 tons grass, one of the ships owned by the Com pany when it was first formed, ..
Butterfield & Swire
The firm of Butterfeld & Swire commenced business in Shanghai
in 1887, and opened an office at Hong Kong in 1870. To-day it has Branches in all the important coast and river ports in China and in Yokohama and Kobe, Japan.
Messrs. Butterfield & Swire are managers in the East for the China Navigation Company Limited, Tal- koo Chinese Navigation Company, Limited, Tientsin Lighter Com- pany Limited and for the Taikoo Sugar Refining Company Limited.
The China Navigation Com- Chinese pany's and the Talkoo Navigation Company's fleets
of
over 50 steamers are chiefly em- ployed, under normal conditions, trading on the coast and rivers of China, and regular services; are also maintained with Indo-China, the Thailand, Malaya, Borneo, Philippines, New Guinea and Is- lands adjacent thereto.
Messrs. Butterfield & Swire are Agents in Hong Kong, China and Japan for The Blue Funnel Line,
Typhoona ́have several times: caused serious havoc, among shipping in the harbour. This picture shows the. B... EKắc Th- lamba ashore after the Typhoon of 1937. Bhawan “intved-by the Kowloon Dock.
The Australian-Oriental Line, The Orient Paint Colour & Varnish Co., Ltd., and for numerous In- surance Companies, through whom they are in a position to handle all classes of Insurance business.
The Talkoo Sugar Refining Company's Refinery, which is situated in Hong Kong and is equipped with the most up-to- date machinery, has capacity for producing large quantities of Re- fined Sugar in varying grades and has connections with adjacent and many overseas markets.
Hong Kong, Canton And Macao Steamboat
Company
Closely identified with the trade between Hong Kong and the West River is the Hong Kong, Canton and Macao Steamboat Company, whose offices.. are situated In Queen's Building. The possessors of a fine fleet of boats especially adapted to the needs of the trade, the Company offers unrivalled facilities for: cargo and passenger carrying trafic to Cantón, (when allowed-by the Japanese) and... Macao. The operations of the Company first commenced in 1865, with Messrs, Augustine Heard and Co. as general agents. Two small boats, a little larger than present day steam launches, comprised the feet and for the first year a net profit of $5,675 was made.
To-day there are three large and comfortable, steamers on the run.
In 1875, the firm of Augustine Heard & Co., failed and the man- agement of the Steamboat Com- pany was vested in a Board of
·Directors and a Secretary, which system still prevails. The first secretary was Mr. P. O, da Coste who held office from 1875 to 1884. On his death Mr. Thomas Arnold received the appointment and held it till 1906, when Capt. Clarke was. made Secretary. On the latter's retirement in 1918, Mr. John Arnold received the post-which is to-day held by Mr. H. da Luz.
(Cantinued on Page 43.)
1941