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not proving what I could desire, I felt obliged to respectfully decline the post; however, in the following month, I was again favoured by the Crown Agents offering me an Appointment as a mastership in the Govt Central School, Hongkong, which I had much pleasure in accepting. I sailed from England on... He th
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1884, and upon my landing in China, I applied myself constantly and assiduously to the acquisition of the Chinese language, tried to make myself familiar with the manners and customs of the varied races with which I came in contact.
The Govt Central School (now the Victoria College) was indeed a favourable ground for my observations, being as it is, one of the finest educational institutions in Asia and possessing some 700 students ranging from 12 to 25 years of age. Some are Chinese, while the remainder are composed of Mahomedans, Hindoos, Parsees, Japanese, Jews, Portuguese, Spaniards, with a small residue of English. It will be seen that to meet with unqualified success, great discretion and knowledge of races is required in order not to offend the various susceptibilities of the different nations alike.
In Febry 1886, I was officially reported to the Rt Hon Sir George Bowen (then Governor of HongKong) as having readily adapted myself to this peculiar position and having made my labours a credit and success.
Since then, I have passed my examinations in Chinese, both in the colloquial and in the written character, "with credit."
In 1886, the Japanese Consul being in need of an English secretary, applied to the Hon. Fred Stewart, the Colonial Secretary of HongKong, and I was recommended to this private position for two years, in fact until the Consul, Minami, was appointed Under-Secretary for Agriculture in the Japanese Government.
This period (1886-88), in the Japanese Consulate at HongKong, is perhaps the most eventful in its history. As your lordship is aware, some 20 years previous to this, Japan had opened her gates to the flood of civilization, and was beginning to manufacture and to seek, by every legitimate means, outlets for her manufactures and products.
In 1886, the Japanese Consulate at Hong Kong had done little or nothing to promote the increase of Japanese trade, but with Mr. Minami as Consul (a gentleman of great sagacity and perseverance), no stone was left unturned to increase the Japanese trade. Before he left the Colony, therefore, he had the extreme satisfaction of seeing much readier markets than when he arrived.
In Hongkong, for such products as: - matting, porcelain, peppermint oil, copper, inferior soap, rough yarns, and cotton cloths, to say nothing of the much increased British trade, which he greatly favoured. If I may be permitted to call your lordship's attention to the fact that the official language of Japan is English (at least in my experience), and that every commercial or diplomatic letter (except to and from the Chinese, who use the Chinese characters, the same as the Japanese) was composed and written by me, and that the Consul Minami, although an Oriental scholar, spoke little and less English, then the nature of my services can be accurately estimated.
Shortly after Mr. Minami returned, I received an intimation from the secretary of the late Count Mori (then Minister of Education in Japan) that...