1941-01-20 — Page 100

CHINA MAIL, PAGE 52.

HONG KONG CENTENARY NUMBER,

11841

Fair Field And No Favour

1941

(Continued from Page 50.) career during the sixties, but the Government declined to accept the proposal and bade the mer- arrival of the chants await the new British Trade Dollur, which did not appear until some 17 or 18 years later.

Unfortunately the historical re- cords of Hong Kong dry up by the time we come to the '80s. Thero is no four volumed "Chronicles" such as H. B. Murse compiled in connection with the East India Company's trade in China and G.

"Hon R. Sayer's scholarly Kong" reaches an abrupt conclu- sion in 1865. The recurds of the Chamber of Commerce are mea- gre in the extreme and no one seems to have written the equiva- lent of Hunter's "Fau Kwae in Canton," But we know that dur-

1851.

part in the trade of Hong Kong and were associated with many fo- cai banking and commercial enter- prises. By 1897 Japan, fresh from its successful war with China, was beginning to look to the China market to absorb its surplus manufactures. In that year Lan- cashire showed concern about its piece goods market in the Far East and a mission, sponsored by the Blackburn Chamber of Com- merce, arrived to investigate. This mission, which made a hazardous Yangtze pro- journey from the vinces overland to Wuchow and thence to Canton, collected some about man valuable information

મ

kets in the interior and rendered which comprehensive survey was brought to light again when the British Economic Mission of

Here is a view of the P. & O. hong at Victoria West in

It is from a water colour in the Chater Collection by G. Chinnery. (Photo: King's Studio.)

ing the '80s there was consider- able building development going on and that Sir Paul Chater was proclaming his faith in the future of the Colony. Many of the Co- lony's public companies were be- ing formed and the question of registration of Chinese partner- ships was ventilated for the first but by no means the last time.

Bi-Metalism

I-metalism is a subject which nowadays is as dead as the dodo but in the late '80s and early '90s it was very much alive, Whether the arguments of the merchants of those days were more sound than those of their successors in the 1930s cannot be discovered but the drop in the value of the Hong Kong dollar from 3/5 to 1/11 between 1891 and 1894 was seri- our enough to prevoke discussion of the silver question from all-an-. gcs. In 1892 the Chamber of Com- merce passed a resolution to the eff.ct that "H. M. Government be urged to take such steps as may be possible in conjunction with other Governments to lessen if not remove. the serious uricertainty which1 existed in exchange be-. tween silver and gold." The re- solution was telegraphed to the London Chamber of Commerce- if there was one. As we know nature was allowed to take its course until we reached the age of managed currencies.

́Imperial Interest

Towards the end of the nine- ties the Home Government, in-. spired no doubt by Joseph, Cham- berlain, the first great Colonial Secretary, began to pay serious attention to the progress being made by foreign nationals in dé- veloping trade with China. For many years past German mer- chants had played a prominent

merce

а

1930/1 visited the Far East. The records of the Chamber of Com-

mention

Commercial Mission headed by Lord Charles Beresford, M.P., who addressed a crowded meeting in the City Hall in 1899 and according to contem- porary reports "preached the gos- pel of the open door, a fair field. and no favour for all."

The first decade of the new Century included the Boxer Ris- Ing. the Russo-Japanese War and the events which led up to the Revolution of 1911, all of which had their effect on Hong Kong. The proceedings of the Chamber were mainly concerned with the revision of the Chinese Customs Tariff and the Mackay Commer- cial Treaty of 1903 but the period was one which held out promise of a vast expansion of foreign trade through the development of railway systems then in course of construction or at the concession stage.

Big Strides

for

China with its potential sources seemed a likely field for capital investment on the one hand and on the other appeared to of fer limitless opportunities for the machinery and surplus manufac- tures of the West. By this time the trade of the Colony, had", been transformed from the simple ex- change basis of the forties, when silk and tea were traded Opium and Brummagem ware. It was not until well on into the lat- ter half of the 19th century that Britain made big strides with its export industries but by the time the 20th century was reached Hong Kong had become an entre- pot not only for the simple needs of the Chinese consumer but also for many luxurles or semi- luxuries which were demanded by Chinese who had come under the influence a Western standard

..

of living. China as a market call- ed for new methods of approach and between 1910 and 1520 Hong Kong had become the base of a number of British and foreign concerns which did not require the aid of merchants and dealers but built up their own sales and distributing organisations in the interior. Oil, soap, tobacco, Chemicals and Canned Milk were among the commodities

for many years had been handled by merchants but were now be- ing turned over to the manufac- turers' own personnel.

Crest Of Boom

tion to contribute to the produc- tion of war supplies required by the Empire east of Suez.

three

Some Famous Personalities

Loomed

Towards the end of the last

world

Governor war the then

himself the brought down upon which

wrath of the Unofficial Members because of a reference to Giants of the Past implying that they, the then Unofficials, were but puny folk. At the risk of making in- vidious distinctions amongst the business community of the past century, and present company always excepted, I should like to conclude my talk by referring to

individuals who

life of the large in the business Colony. Mr. William Keswick was the tat pan of Jardine, Matheson & Co. for many years and was man of easily the outstanding his day which ranged from 1882 to to 1886. He was Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce for a total period of 8 years and his name is associated with many charitable and social movements which the maturing Colony gave birth to. Sir Thomas Jackson was Chief Man- ager of the Hong Kong & Shang- from hai Banking Corporation 1876 to 1902, with a break in the early '90s. He was the first re- presentative of the Chamber of Commerce on the Legislative Council and he was foremost in guiding the destiny not only of the Bank but of the Colony, I can character testify to his lovable from my personal experience in but I a very humble capacity could also quote the opinion of some of his contemporaries for nis stout heart and shrewd com-

The four years of the Great War was a period during which the trade of the Colony rose to the crest of a boom. Local merchants were given the privilege of liqui- dating the business of their Ger- man rivals and many of them acquired a valuable addition to their normal turnover. Then the demand for China produce for the Allied countries increased enor- mously and towards the end of the much war the Colony derived profit from the transhipment trade in rice, sugar and other commodities. Between 1916 and early 1920 exchange rose from 1/11 to 6/2 and the volume of import trade reached a very high sterling figure. As was to be ex- pected this was too good to last and the world-wide post slump hit Hong Kong severely. After a year or two of stagnation trade showed signs of recovery when the strike-boycott of 1925 administered another disastrous

war

blow to the Colony, the effects of which were felt for many years afterwards.

Of recent years the industriali- sation of the Colony has proceed- The older industries, ed apace. such

as ship-building and re- cement pairing, rope-making,

twa PAYA

of Hong The Praya in the 1880's, showing how some "Kong's pioneer commercial hongs were housed. Promment dis- play of names was not in those days considered vitally impor tant or even necessary.

manufacture and sugar refining had all been" established under British management at various times during the latter half of the 19th century. Since the last war of 1914/18

Chinese enterprise, aided in many cases by British capital, has developed important

torch industries in knitted-wear, cases and batteries, rubber foot- wear, felt hats and numerous other articles, This expansion of the commerce of the Colony has compensated for the considerable decline in the import trade and has placed Hong Kong in a post-

mon sense during one of the black- est périods of the Colony's history. The third and last of the trio was Sir Paul Chater who served Hong Kong, publicly and privately for more than 50 years and whose Vision and unbounded faith was responsible among other things for the development of Kowloon, various reclamation schemes on the Island, the formation of the Kowloon Wharf Company and the growth of the ship-building in- dustry. These three men, at any rate, deserve our gratitude for what Hong Kong is to-day.

Th