Mr Mercer
Tonghong 8: Jang. 1804.
to
The Duke
of
Newenstle.
No 2. Inclosure.
Revived
Forwarding Circular Prospectus issued by the
City Hall Committee
22
CIRCULAR.
The Provisional Committee for promoting the erection of a City Hall in Hongkong desire to report the progress that has been made, up to the close of the present year, in furthering the object for which they are associated.
The principal difficulty connected with this undertaking has been to procure a site that should be at once suitable for the purpose, and in the gift of Government; it being obvious that the present high value of Land within the limits of the City made it impossible that any sum of money, which the Committee could expect to command, would prove quite sufficient if ground had to be purchased.
An application for a site at the Western Corner of the Parade Ground, immediately under Messrs. A. Heard & Co.'s Office, was promptly and liberally conceded, but, before any formal grant of the Land had been made, it was fortunately discovered that difficulties, previously thought insuperable, to the occupation of the piece of ground now partially occupied by the Harbour Master's Office, were susceptible of removal; and the Committee have the satisfaction of stating that a recommendation for a grant of that site (undoubtedly the most eligible for the purposes of a City Hall in the whole Colony) has, with the approval of the Military Authorities, been forwarded by the local Government to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and that the position of the Drinking Fountain (presented to the City by Mr. John Dent, and now in course of erection) has been determined with special reference to the dimensions and situation of the proposed Building.
The space which, it is confidently hoped, will be thus placed at the disposal of the Committee will enable them to embrace in their scheme the following accommodation:
I. A Public Hall, to be called the St. Andrew's Hall, in acknowledgment of a sum of Five thousand Dollars, which has been voted to the undertaking from the surplus Funds of the late St. Andrew's School. This room will be available for Public Meetings, Public Dinners, Balls, Concerts and other public purposes.
II. A Supper Room adjoining the Hall, and which, together with the Hall, can be used, when not specially required for other purposes, as an Exchange.
III. A room for the Chamber of Commerce, where files of Newspapers, Prices Current, Books of Commercial reference and Telegrams will be open to the use of Subscribers to that Institution.
IV. A Public Library for the objects stated by the Trustees of the Morrison Education Society in their printed Circular of the 1st May last.
V. A permanent Theatre, which will encourage visits to Hongkong by musical and histrionic artists from other parts of the East, and will obviate the necessarily heavy and unsatisfactory outlay which the frequent erection of temporary Theatres has hitherto entailed.
The remainder of the space will be absorbed by the Harbour Master's Office, which will be removed from its present position to one appropriated for it in the North Eastern angle of the intended building, in accordance with the proposal submitted by the Committee to Government for permission to use the site which that office at present partially occupies.
Finished plans have not yet been prepared, and it is proposed that, at the proper time, they should be thrown open to competition, but the Committee have satisfied themselves that the space they have applied for will be ample for carrying out the various objects enumerated above on a scale which will render the intended edifice an ornament to the City, a convenience to the public, and in every way worthy of a Colony whose rapid growth and progress are the surest proofs of its wealth, enterprise and prosperity.
The urgency of the want that exists for a Public Building of this nature need scarcely be dilated on. Without diverting the Club House from its legitimate uses, at a great sacrifice of the convenience of its members, there is not in the length and breadth of the City a suitable room which can be commanded for any object of general or social interest. The difficulties that attended the Inauguration Dinner of the Volunteers, the abandonment last winter of a Masonic Ball for want of a room to hold it in, and the disadvantages to which the professional Artists at present here are exposed, are a few instances amongst very many of the inconvenience occasioned by the want of a City Hall, a want, the Committee believe, which is not shared by any other foreign Community of equal importance East of the Cape, a want which has been recently supplied at Singapore and which they trust will not be allowed much longer to serve as an indication of an absence of public spirit in Hongkong.
The preservation of the valuable collections of Books in the care of the Trustees of the Morrison Education Society, and which are threatened with decay for want of a proper place of deposit, is an object which especially commends itself as a matter of public import in a region so remote from the great centres of civilization, and where the want of standard works of reference and solid instruction makes itself continually felt.
In reference to the important question of Funds, the Committee are glad to be able to announce that they have actually in hand a sum of upwards of Fifteen Thousand Dollars, which is expected to be increased to upwards of Twenty Thousand Dollars by a Donation from the Chamber of Commerce. This amount, which has been collected from various sources without any appeal having yet been made to the Community generally, falls, however, obviously short of what will be required for the purposes contemplated, and the Committee trust that further contributions will be liberally and spontaneously tendered in support of the undertaking. Old residents, in retiring from the Colony may perhaps adopt the example of some who have preceded them and evince their interest in its progress and in the well-being of their successors by a contribution to the Fund. The payment of interest on the Canton claims also affords an opportunity for Donations of sums of no great importance individually, but which in the aggregate would materially assist the common object.
The Provisional Committee in concluding their present report, have thankfully to acknowledge the receipt of various amounts from Mr. John Dent, Mr. C. F. Still, Mr. Edward Webb, the late Mr. Angus Fletcher, the Choral Society of Hongkong, and the Trustees of the St. Andrew's School. Further Subscriptions will be received by either of the Trustees, Messrs. TURING, NOBLE and OWEN.
A. TURING.
H. NOBLE.
R. C. R. OWEN.
C. W. MURRAY,
W. H. RENNIE.
E. H. POLLARD.
Hongkong, 31st December, 1863.