S.
Members
Macao's
Chamber
of
Chinese
of Com-
merce visiting H.E.
the Governor.
Portuguese sloops
in Macao's
Harbour.
innar
Ferry between
Macao and its In.
eular dependencies.
Chinese chil dron being taught ambroli ́dery in a Macao orphanage.
of
ship replaced the wooden hulls earlier days, and business everywhere took new forms. The shallow harbours of Macao, eminently suitable for the smaller craft of earlier years, were no longer satisfactory for modern liners, and Macao was displaced as the "gate. way" to China.
Nevertheless the little
Portuguese colony did enjoy a certain amount of prosperity, and there was always an appreciable volume of trade. But the momentum of modern trade WAS changing the tempo of life in China, and the movement of trade to the sea- ports of China altered the age-old economy of the Chinese nation. In the midst of this Macao continued to pro- vide some opportunities for Chinese as well as Portuguese traders, but it was still as 0 refugee centre that Macao, provided haven for many,
Thus, after the extablishment of the Republic in China, a period of unrest set in in several parts of South China, and there was a continuous stream of people, some rich, the majority poor, who made their way to Macao. From the Portuguese colony many moved to other places, but some stayed on.
JAPAN ATTACKS CHINA All through the early days of the new Republic this happened, but it was not till the Japanese invasion of China took place in 1937 that this Influx of people into Macao assumed serious pro- portions. The population of Macao had increased. from 100,000 to 200,000 dur- ing the first twenty-five years of the Chinese Republic, but soon there was a rush for the security of the Portuguese colony which no words can adequately describe.
The first to come to Macao were gentlemen and their familles, to be followed by schools, large and small, from Canton and other centres. Then came officials and Chinese government personnel, until, as in the case of Hong- kong, all available accommodation was fully taken up. The new schools, in particular, occupied extensive grounds, and Macao took on the appearance of a town of schools: But among those who flocked to Macao were many thousands of destitute Chinese. For these help had to be provided, and. the accom- modation and resources of Macao were taxed to the utmost. Besides these, many thousands of walfs were picked up, and the foundling homes in Macao had to be increased out of all pro- portion to any known measures in the past.
From year to year the problems connected with these features of so- cial service increased, and the Govern- ment of the Colony was hard - pressed to find the funds to meet the calls made upon it. But the universality: of Portuguese service in this connec tion was never better proved than in the way in which Macao rose to the Dccasion.
But it was not until the Japanese ex- tended their hostilities to attack the British and other Western possessions in the Far East that Macao was seen as its best. This little colony was the only European outpost which was not: over-run by the Japanese, although they did. hold Macao in economie sub- Jection. causing terrible hardships. But the mere fact that a European government was still in control pro 'vided an outlet whereby the people of Hongkong particularly could and did find help.
HELP FOR HONG KONG: The story of Macao's help to Hong- kong has yet to be told, and it was to. Macuo that thousands, many thousands, of people of all nationalities, flock- ed. The vast majority of these
View of the leprosarium for women on Colowan Island.