670
Hong Kong Annual Administration Reports, 1841-1941
HER MAJESTY'S COLONIAL POSSESSIONS.
Great Britain and annexed to Hong Kong in 1861. The Island is 11 miles long, and from two to four miles wide, and consists chiefly of a mountainous ridge, with peaks rising abruptly to nearly 2,000 feet above the sea. The harbour is at once one of the finest and one of the most beautiful in the world, possessing a sheltered area of 10 square miles, while many features of the surrounding scenery recall the Gulf of Spezzia. The city of Victoria extends for more than four miles along the south shore of the harbour, and contains about 7,000 houses of stone and brick, many of them spacious and handsome. The chief streets are shaded with trees. There is a well-arranged botanic garden.
16. Finally, the form of government at Hong Kong resembles that of the principal Crown Colonies. The Governor is assisted by an Executive Council, and he also presides over a Legislative Council, composed partly of official and partly of unofficial members, all nominated by the Crown.
17. I shall devote all my efforts, aided by the experience which I have gained during my long service of 24 years as a Colonial Governor, to the promotion of the welfare and progress of the important and interesting dependency of the British Crown, of the present condition of which I have given the above general sketch, to be filled up in detail in future reports.
The Right Hon. The Earl of Derby,
I have, &c.
(Signed)
G. F. BOWEN,
&c.
&c.