Introduction
ix
Books of many colonies, often all those in a particular geographical area; the fact that each colony's report is an extract of the omnibus report accounts for the layout. This series ('Reports exhibiting the past and present state of Her Majesty's colonial possessions') continued until 1886. All the Hong Kong Reports from 1845 to 1886 that were written were published in this series of omnibus reports, with the exception of the 1884 report which, although printed in Hong Kong and sent to London, seems to have been overlooked by the compilers of the Parliamentary report; it can, however, be found in the files of the Colonial Office.
The 1870s were an exasperating time for the Colonial Office in London, as several Hong Kong reports were not written at all, especially during the governorship of Sir James Pope-Hennessy. The reports for 1871 and 1876-1878 were not written, although the report for 1879/1880 (sent in April 1881) did try to remedy some of the damage by including a survey of the previous years. In 1871 the frustration of the Colonial Office officials was obvious in their internal minutes (included in this publication) as well as their decision to have 'nil return' entered in the omnibus report published by Parliament; but the years 1876 to 1878 are merely a blank in the Parliamentary record. Instead of an annual report, we have included the despatch from the Governor to the Colonial Office giving the financial estimates for the forthcoming year.
Below are the references for the published and unpublished reports (together with the date and number of the original despatch that sent the report to London) and the despatches that substituted for the annual report. All references preceded by PRO mean that these files can be found at the Public Record Office in the United Kingdom; as with the period 1841 to 1843, the prefix HoC means that these files can be found in the published Papers of the House of Commons and can be seen at any of the copyright libraries in the United Kingdom.
Published Reports
Extracted from 'Reports exhibiting the past and present state of Her Majesty's colonial possessions' published by the House of Commons.
1844
1845 (despatch 37 of 11/Apr/1846) 1846 (despatch 31 of 13/Mar/1847)
HoC: 1846 vol. xxix (pp. 723–727) HoC: 1847 vol. xxxvii (pp. 461-469)
1847 (despatch 31 of 26/Feb/1848) HoC: 1847-8: vol. xlvi (pp. 316-319)
1848 (despatch 25 of 12/Mar/1849) HoC: 1849 vol. xxxiv (pp. 517-541)
1849 (despatch 25 of 2/Apr/1850)
HoC: 1850 vol. xxxvi (pp. 147-171)
1850 (despatch 30 of 26/Apr/1851) HoC: 1851 vol. xxxiv (pp. 415–429)
1851 (despatch 17 of 14/Mar/1852) HoC: 1852 vol. xxxi (pp. 281–297)
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Introduction
ix
Books of many colonies, often all those in a particular geographical area; the fact that each colony's report is an extract of the omnibus report accounts for the layout. This series ('Reports exhibiting the past and present state of Her Majesty's colonial possessions') continued until 1886. All the Hong Kong Reports from 1845 to 1886 that were written were published in this series of omnibus reports, with the exception of the 1884 report which, although printed in Hong Kong and sent to London, seems to have been overlooked by the compilers of the Parliamentary report; it can, however, be found in the files of the Colonial Office.
The 1870s were an exasperating time for the Colonial Office in London, as several Hong Kong reports were not written at all, especially during the governorship of Sir James Pope-Hennessy. The reports for 1871 and 1876- 1878 were not written, although the report for 1879/1880 (sent in April 1881) did try to remedy some of the damage by including a survey of the previous years. In 1871 the frustration of the Colonial Office officials was obvious in their internal minutes (included in this publication) as well as their decision to have 'nil return' entered in the omnibus report published by Parliament; but the years 1876 to 1878 are merely a blank in the Parliamentary record. Instead of an annual report, we have included the despatch from the Governor to the Colonial Office giving the financial estimates for the forthcoming year.
Below are the references for the published and unpublished reports (together with the date and number of the original despatch that sent the report to London) and the despatches that substituted for the annual report. All references preceeded by PRO mean that these files can be found at the Public Record Office in the United Kingdom; as with the period 1841 to 1843, the prefix HoC means that these files can be found in the published Papers of the House of Commons and can be seen at any of the copyright libraries in the United Kingdom.
Published Reports
Extracted from 'Reports exhibiting the past and present state of Her Majesty's colonial possessions' published by the House of Commons.
1844
1845 (despatch 37 of 11/Apr/1846) 1846 (despatch 31 of 13/Mar/1847)
HoC: 1846 vol. xxix (pp. 723–727) HoC: 1847 vol. xxxvii (pp. 461-469)
1847 (despatch 31 of 26/Feb/1848) HoC: 1847-8: vol. xlvi
(pp. 316-319)
1848 (despatch 25 of 12/Mar/1849) HoC:1849 vol. xxxiv
(pp. 517-541)
1849 (despatch 25 of 2/Apr/1850)
HoC: 1850 vol. xxxvi (pp. 147-171)
1850 (despatch 30 of 26/Apr/1851) HoC: 1851 vol. xxxiv
(pp. 415–429)
1851 (despatch 17 of 14/Mar/1852) HoC: 1852 vol. xxxi (pp. 281–297)
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