THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1959.
CRITICISMS OF HONGKONG FROM
The First Tourists
TOURISTS have always been very free with their criticisms of Hongkong. I should imagine that few cities are so freely discussed. But in the far-off days before travel became the free and easy affair it is now, there were tourists who included Hongkong in their itinerary. And upon their departure, they became extremely fluent with their tongues and pens.
I have referred often to the disreputable characters of some of our early residents, and of their seeking asylum here under a milder juris- diction than awaited them in their home towns.
The correspondent for the illustrated London News, who visited Hongkong in 1857, was most rude. Speaking of that neighbourhood we call West Point, he said: "Typing-shan is decidedly picturesque in an artistic way, containing as it does all the 'throw-outs' of South China; but as there is a price on their heads, the study of that interesting locality be comes less fascinating."
"Having got a short distance the street la question, I
tote parallel street
After more bitter criticism of wood, a very learned inun who windows but they were nil, Hongkong. has conelates with a wrote books and he says without exception, Chinese, sketch of the City of Victoria won a unfuralist by trade. after label. in Hongkong, at viglet at night, the atrenka are desenter, save now and then a solitary Chite, with his paper lan'est, or an Englishman re- turning how!
He visited, this Colony in 1887, ; red winte a book about it. He valled the book, the "Stumbles of a Naturalist," but there was one rumble he did not enjoy: up a
in ItongtonK.
"The duchy backing puller, let alm speak for himself.
loaded arined with
ma.
masket, in seen fr every part of the town. Not a sound in beard;
If As the a town of the dead."
29 retence to the Chines integue, a bat en rou: back to tim for which have in re- of putedly arfer. that lux janteed featpaka 1 the Colous. Thints
wer, se bar in the robbers grew so bold,
★
But
into
up crossed
Lo descend intending Queen's Roar ngnin.
"suddenly I found myself in the midst of knot of some eight or on Chinese, There was nothing in their appearance which directed my attentina to the probability that their object Was rubery or outrage.
"Before 1 arrived at Hong- kong, I had been told stories of
"I was just passing on, when persons loving been attacked in they made a simultaneous rust kucked down upon me and pushed me down, broad daylight, and robbed by Chinese roughs one of them striking me in the But while on one face, but so suddenly and unex- and thieves. that they stood in the sterlows hand such stories were rife, on pectedly that I had not
qu
A
in fond, al asan the other 3 met such persons moment's opportunity for de- un urpesting; passer-by passed who had long resided in China,
ar
fence.
16
y sieve home Rently into and who assured me that there
Danger of such Jules, and took sucİY
petebant heal erties wetben, ami
silver and Rota and on hi parson,
Naturally,
MAM 20 tallack,"
In a long-winded way, ha ex- plang why he was more ready I believe in watd not be at tacked than be ticked. He continues:-
While several pinioned me to the ground, one unbuttoned my coat and detached my goll watch and chala, upon which they all made uff, leaving me to gather myself up as best-I could.
By
JOHN LUFF
the same ground; and it seem he resented the indignity much as the robbery to which
He had been subjected,
but whey annoyed him most was, when 1 told the Covertur, (that must have been
Sir Richard Graves Macdonnell) the Governor scarcely paused in in more words than I have drinking his sherry Colling- spice, Collingwood makes his wood told the Admiral, but the point that the Hongkong et Adinimal went drinking his these days was certainly a peril Pink in. The police weren i
neither tourist, He Interested,
were the eus place for spelen of Improvements, The "number of important people I
habitants are not allowed fa troko to,“
the streets without a pass,
mind, by un aside, we are
Poor Collingwood inishes up informed or another Interesting by saying..........“but nothlog was local etalons of that time,
done which could have the slightest flance in abaling the evil."
10
The waterfront was not then bullt up.
obliging boot dwellers brought prospective tourists to Hongkong's shore in the feet little boats the kind we still see operating.
such
THE
鮮花
!HE Muscum -- in the City Hall -- where many valuable exhibits attracted thousands of visitors avery month.
copy.
and
George is not unreason, some city of light, airy houses trees are planted. Just as the ale. "It is a (own of capital upon the margin of the waters, rider reaches the centre of the Ten years before this incident heuses. ...BOL
cf and climbing up the hills. capable
cily, say just epposite the site Hongkong & of the present took place, tudețuite expansion." There was often a little horse. described above, piny on the way, in which the George Wingrove Cooke, speciel
"We must fit the lake with Shanghai Bank, he will pauss pusty en his horse, and” gaze George Wingrove Cooke, you shipping of ferry nation, onet correspondent of The Times, tourist took part. For invited by the boat owner to London, came to Hongkong, and have been a ghost a long time tee must pour over all the hills out at some sailing vessel weari- now, but it The Times will pay the glare of the Eastern Sun," ly folding its sails. On his left, top Into the boat, the tourist tnly sent als copy home.
your passage cut here, I make
the Army have cut out of that was then coshed, and articles
eat those
silly Quite good, 1 reresit, Do you hare reel a place to fix their described a which could be
I should lite to reproduce it Your shade w
words. However, George a thick you could beller I? guns. Cool clear water cascades LS watches, here as he wrote it, but I am portales,
quite
down the hillside. The coolicy Cootge ess on authority. He speaks of the
on to describe bathe in It to this day, for they severe bags, together with afraid you would not wander hundred years ago, was poverticas, were taken by the along George's prosy path,
arrival of General Garret and the Bora and Sauna of the
are not conscious that No accommodation island. He say'ibere fe no
hundred years have passed. In those far-off days, Falitors his staff.
the General
animals. but a room wild
(There must were actually human brings, su Corge's copy went into The In the inn; his staff stayed on have been barking deer)
then goes into the domestle So car rider flicks his horse Tunes, complete with long Latin the boat.
hablis of makes
with the new hurting erop from and cock- tags, so many in fact, that part
reaches, which says George, he hene. He reins agen at the Inn of George's article reads ilke
one of en his ft. and with dialikes.
these tricks the time Caesar's Gallle War.
mechanism plays, or is it the
"a building. with
bontham..
ht
** *
for
*
the
and
*
1 bands a lovely haspberry here of the sun, he sees a huge
Valley.
Thinks he
Cinema."
-posicra
reads.
dia-
"Klag's
The boatmuo plied a better ankle when taking seamen and Kaise buck to their ships after dark, brganise to save themselves George did not like Hongkong • I like George's descriptions to Happy
His chief complaint is, Victoria. and their partengers the hazard either.
capital city, of a mile or so of rowing, they there is nowhere to stay. He which we now inhabit, is built weched village and a squalid sissed, and for a moment, he
the customers, pois out for a laugh with the at the buse Tmply coshed
of a sugar-loaf after emptying their following:-"A gentleman who mountain..........” pockels, threw them into the should go to Hongkong in the present state of affairs, although harbour.
he may have his pocket full of dollars, is not unlikely to be obtiped to sleep upon the pave
like Mr Matheson, soon brought Budissolves in the shimmer. ment of QUEEN STREET. (sic).
from Manila. As a ing heat of the day. There is to suggest to a European mind in horeta
Mr Mathyson the Hengkong Club. A servant You
see what I mean about an idea of Victoria and its matter of fact,
was the first European to drive, proaches. Our horsemat Coorge? He can write in Latin, scenery, we must imagine
our- a horse and but so careless is he as a car selves to be looking down upon Queen's Road.
carriage along thisws him the reins.
most respondent, he cannot even get a Scotfall loch... We TELATI
"I had walked down Queen's
"Seizing my hat, which hați, the Hongkong Road, the main street of the of course, been knocked off in the scume, I started immediately alice, afway, a renitive force, town, and intending to make
Another amusing game was in pursuit, being but a few yards detour turned into 14 em in for 14 of critical
behind the ecoundrels; but they following a sedan chair, and street leading up the hill.
that dif- knew their ground, and I soon then pulling out the passenger, Chits there is not
him, roshing the Archer in streets that one sees saw the folly of following them. robbing
of witn
did the angistrate who sentenced the evil doers to
་་
the Hote us the fecal residents called the pri on at that line.
In
Birul, either by
st England, and it is not vagy Seeing them all turn into a erris, and mulsing
narrow stum, retraced my the loot. steps with the intention of in- forming the police.
So a law was passed that to perceive at mate it contul by for any the rm of the people or other Chit: nut after dark to carry spas, that one street is greatly
A lighted kustern, the police inferiar to another. considering that its frankle paper "It was just mid-day, and the with Structure would be useless for treat
crowded were knocking anyone's brains in. copie, either passing to aavi fro, Aunther Beer critic of this or aiding at the doors of their Cototty was Dr Chilibert Collinghaus, or looking froin their
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Dr Collingwood WAS
"Not fifty yards from where indiquant to learn of the latter, Queen's Road correctly is his the robbery took place, I. met a Malay constable, whom I rok with me to the Sintion, and aaw the Superintendent of Police, 1 stated my ense and gave e das cription of the stolen prop:rty
*
"An inspector and a Chinese Interpreter were at once des- patched with me lo the spot; bui it was impossible for me to point out the pince where the affair had taken place.
"As for recognising any one who was standing by, I was, un- fortunately entirely unable to
dentify any one of the numer- ouk rogues who stood calmly lolding on,
"A number of men loltering about the spot were taken to the station, but nothing could be proved against them except that they were old offenders.
"There is no denying the faci, therefore, that robberies with violence are by no means uri - common in the streets even at noonday...it is dangerotia to walk alone in the suburbs....Iš fa unnate to go anywhere after dark...."
Dr Collingwood eninrges his theme by going over and over
population."
George them deals with The following is very good, 1 transport, In his prony way, he think, and I have heard people begs-The horse exists in a
high state of domesticily..... nundred years later and who What he means is, knew not George, draw similar ecmparison:
create, by imagination, a hand-
The Peak Tram Station as it
appeared in the early 1900's.
JAZ
ЗЈАГ
3JA2
gentlemen
*
Entering the Club, our rider George goes into the prices slashes at his boole with his of horses with all the matter of whip. He sees a friend sitting
tourist fact-ness of a modern discussing care.
*
(In Hoogkong) "A badly bred Arab, worth £20 at Alglers and 10 at Tattersalis, is worth £250 at Victoria.
"There is a racecourse round
in the col lefty lounge. He gazes round him as it to ussure all is well. But the time cogs have slipped, and just in front white of him he sees a huge percen across which ghostly Bigures perambulate.
He gulus down his drink, and invites his friend to join him
in
TcAIL
His friend folds a copy 02
which he will run once a year, yesterday's China Moll,
and there are two miles of ride-
able road along which he may be
the
They toast each other, ridden daily by the long-bouled white jucketed servant watching and bunting-whip bearing pro- them with eyes which seem to prietor, not scorning exiguis stare into Infinity. equitare campla."
Our rider places his glass on That's the trouble with the table. He says, "You know, George, 05 soth as he gets my eyes must be playing me interesting, ho breaks * out tricks, it must be this damned In Latin, and I swear Iteat." -I have left cut 1 Tung
Greek quotation, which reads: "Strepsiades. at Hongkong, dreams as constantly of horses as did Phidippides ät Athens.”
But time is back in the groove. They are discussing horses and tea. All is quiet in the Hongkong Club. Du not By which he means that the worry, pale shadows, you wili subject of talk in Hongkong the
never see the metamorphoses of was herses, horses, horses, just King's cinema.
Hongkong Club into thu is now it is cars, cars, C3,
us
But George Hives delightful little glimpse at the old Colony, Can't you just see old Queen't
Already
SALE
Road?
WEDNESDAY:
The Sport of Kings
SALI
TILES
"If you please, Miss Peeble!"
London Express Barrios.