CHINA MAIL, PAGE 10
18411
LONG KONG CENTENARY NUMBER
Praya Reclamation Battle
(Continued from Page 8) drophobia being introduced, for the first time, it is believed.
Violent discords. prevailed in the Civil Service, and the blunt comments of the local Press re- sulted in several vexatious pro- secutions of editors and newa-
papers.
The opium farm was re-estab- lished and let for $33,000 annun.
**
Sir John Bowring, prior to his being succeeded in September, 1895 by Sir Hercules Robinson as Governor, advocated the annexa- tron of Kowloon both for com- mercial and sanitary purposes, and was supported by the Colonial Office which urged it on the War Office in connection with the re- newal of war on China.
In Canton, the Imperial Chinese Maritime Customs commenced to operate, not without considerable opposition from merchants In Hong Kong.
Hong Kong was again in the public eye at Home, where there
was
us
by the Colony's merchants two years previously when the Cus- toms cominenced to operate at Canton.
A Volunteer
Corps consisting
of a battery of artillery armed
3-pounders und with
4-inch howitzers was formed on March 1, 1882, and for a few years the Corps proved quite popular.
Cadet System
A trial was made this same year of the recruiting of Indian police
Bombay,
in Madras and while a floating station for the water police was established and the cadet system introduced by the appointment of three student
interpreters.
In addition to a bad typhoon in July which resulted in consider- able loss of life and damage to property, shipping suffered heavi ly from the bands of pirates who had grown bold and strong again. the "Eagle," "Henrietta Louise,"
now included 200 active and 200 honorary members, thanks to the addition of a band, a rifle com- pany and a Canton detachment.
There were many "drain-gang" and other burglaries and murder- ous attacks during the year, fol- lowed by a riót of Malay scamen, the police and the 99th Regiment lasting
in for two whole days September. Professional beggars had been swarming into the Co- tony for some time, and drastie measures had to be adopted, a wholesale deportation to Canton having to be put into force.
The opposition of lot-holders again thwarted Goverment pro- posals for a new Praya wall and the reclamation scheme, but pub- lic works which did go through during the year included the opening of the Public Gardens between Garden and Albany Roads
of the and the forming
Canal, which Bowrington
was some 600 feet long and 90 feet wide.
Victoria
continued to march
A memorable picture in the history of the Colony, of Officials and the community gathered to welcome the Duke of Connaught in 1890. He laid the memorial stone of Connaught Road Cen- tral, the new Praya of the famous Praya Reclamation, which was florcely realsted when first pro- posed.
some considerable agitation a result of disclosures of the rife and discord prevailing in the Civil Service, both of which were prejudicial to the life of the Co- lony.
A Bill to complete the Praya reclamation scheme was thrown out as a result of heavy pressure by leading commercial houses.
The year 1800 saw the renewal of the war against China, lasting until the middle of October when
the Peking Convention secured the ratification of the Treaty of Tientsin. In March, a strip of land
in
the Kowloon Peninsula had been obtained in perpetual lease from the Viceroy at Canton, and the cession of this was confirmed by the Convention.
There was a great rise in the value of land in the Colony this year, with a conséquent increase in revenue,
Kowloon Included
In the following year, 1861, the Kowloon peninsula was formally handed over to Great Britain, and a discussion concerning military lands thote started at once.
Allies terminated the occupation of Canton, which they had been administering since May, 1858.
The
of
The Hong Kong Chamber Commerce was formed and con- tinued the opposition against the establishment of the Chinese Im- 'perial Maritime Customs, an op position which had been voiced
"Imogen" and "Iron Prince" all being pirated near the Colony.
But the pirates were slowly but surely getting "out of date,” al- though it was some time before they or anyone else knew it, and despite the piracy of the "Bertha" near Stonecutter's Island in July, 1883, shipping services to and from the Colony continued to ex- pund, Messageries Maritimes starting a mail steamer service, while regular communication with British North Borneo was open- ed that year.
Laws Cause Strikes
The various Ordinances which had to come into being in those carly years of the Colony always seemed to lead to an inevitable strike by the class of Chinese population affected and the co- operation which is such a 'feature of the life of the foreign and Chinese communities of 1941 was then almost entirely absent. Thus, the previous year the cargo boat- men had gons on strike because of a Registration Ordinance passed the year before, and in 1803 the chair coolies went on strike for almost three months because of a Licensing Ordinance.
ï:
A reservoir holding 2,000,000 gallons was completed at Pok- fulari. being connected by aqueduct with two large tanks above the City proper..
an
The year 1884 saw the growth of the Volunteer Corps, which
·
with the times, being lit by gas lighting for the Arst time {n} November 12 that year.
The project of a railway to con- nect Calcutta with Canton and Hong Kong was mooted in 1865, and caused a lot of interested comment at the time.
Companies formed during the Dock year included the Union Company, registered with a capi- tal of $500,000, and the Hong Kong and Macao Steamboat Corn- pany, which started in October with a capital of $750,000.
It was decided that no more criminals would be extrudited to China without definite guarantees from the Chinese authorities that the men would not be tortured.
The Royal Mint of Hong Kong opened In April, 1868, having cost $400,000 to establish, and $70,000
year to run; a commission was appointed six rhonths later to en- quire into its working.
Criminals
from all parts of China continued to give so much 'trouble that a system of brand- ing them before they were de- ported was Introduced; if they returned after that, they were flogged severely.
The Volunteer Corps fizzled out owing to non-dttendance of mem- bers.
Business Depression
Hong Kong's commercial life was hard hit by a depression which set in and lasted for about
three years, two banks suspend- Ing payment during the year.
The Hong Kong and Shanghat Bank was converted into a Cor- poration with D capital of $5,000,000, while the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company formed with a capital of $750,000.
This concludes the first 25 years
of the Colony of existence
of Hong Kong, and is an appropriate moment to glance briefly at ons or two statistics which, although just bare figures, help round out the picture of steady growth,
There are, unfortunately, no figures available for 1841, the year the Colony was founded. The nearest are those for 1844, and these may perhaps be compared with 1866;-
Population
(Non-Chinese) Population
(Chinese) Total population Revenue Expenditure Tonnage of ships
entered cleared
and
•
1844
1866
454 3,616
19.009 111,482
19,463 115,098
£83,769 $769,077
£53,108 $930,955
189,257 1,891,281
Blockade Of Hong Kong
THE second quarter century of the history of the Colony be- Kan with what was eventually known as "The Blockade of Hong Kong," under which Chinese cruisers patrolled the waters around the Colony levying taxes on junks which trade at non- treaty ports. This started in 1887 bul an attempt by the Canton Viceroy to collect customs dues in the Colony itself from junks pro- ceeding to China was defeated.
This had a definite effect on the trade and commerce of the Co- lony and lasted until the end of 1886, when a Land Commission recommended an agreement with China under which the movement of all opium to and from the Co- lony was to be registered and ar- rangements were made to settle disputes between the local junks and the Chinese Customs; as a result, the "Blockade" 'came to an end.
Criminal Legislation
This period was also noteworthy. for the constant changes made in legislation dealing with criminals of Chinese race in the Colony. Thus. in May, 1871, the system of branding them and deporting them-with a severe flogging if they ever returned to the Colony -was abolished. The following year it was introduced once more. Five years later, a more lenient note crept in, public branding and flogging being stopped, while de- portations
Sir were restricted. John Pope Hennessy, the new Governor, also advocated a more lenient treatment of first offen- ders. This did not last long, for in 1879 the deportation system was re-introduced yet again!
Hong Kong continued to grow by leaps and bounds, among the more important items of news under the heading of "Industry and Tradg" being the opening of & new tlock by the H.K. and Whampoa 'Dock Co, ut Aberdeen in June, 1887; the opening of the Hong Kong Hotel, July, 1867; the absorption of the Union Dock by H. K. Whampoa in 1870, with an increase of capital to $1,000,000; the establishment year 'liter of the Hong Kong Wharf and Go- down Co.; and the completion of the Cosmopolitan Docks in. Octa- ber, 1875. In 1878, the China Su- gar Refinery Co., Ltd., was estab- lished; in February, 1880, the Cos.. mopolitan Dock Co. was estab-
(Continued on 'Pago '12)
1941
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.