1941-01-20 — Page 98

CHINA MAIL, PAGE 50

HONG KONG CENTENARY NUMBER

1841

The Triumphs Of Commerce

THE Colony of Hong Kong was

founded to provide British merchants with a base from which they could trade with the Chin ese according to British law and under the pretection of the Bri- tish tag. There is a need for me to give the history of British trade for the with Chi relations century and a half previous to the ression of Hong Kong. That has herm dealt with by many thorities on China. I would, how- evet, mention that the commer cal history of Hong Kong is a

Com the Fast a equel to pany's monopoly of British trade in China which came to an end 1834, and that the pitieers the commercial di velopment of

were British Hong Kong

-

iner-

chants who had formerly carried on business in the jactories of Cantort. There they had been sub- get the nutironity of the Super- intendents of Trode, hu bad been cursumussioned by th. British Government to supervise traffe afairs after the dolution of the Select Committee of the East In- dia Company, atat they were still subject to that authority when To they transferred Hong Kong The Best lour Gover- ngs of Hong Kong also held the appointraent ul Superintendent

themselves

Truth and it was net unt.i 1859 that the two offices were separat -

j

Colony's Crest

Those who have

:tudied the

sable-

badge of the Colony will recul- leet that beneath the Royal Arms is depicted a sailing ship and a Junk tying peacefully at anchor in the harbour while in the fore- ground, amongst some innocent looking packing-cases, o garbed British Merchant, with 'top hat rampant, carries on a busi ness deal with two Chinese, on of whom is no doubt a broker. This symbolises Hong Kong as the meeting

and ground of British

Chinese traders but to-day Hong Kong is more than that and when the device comes to be revised room will have to be found for a symbol of the Colony as a bond of union for Eastern and Western culture. But the object of this talk is to concentrate upon Hong Kong as the junction of British and Chinese trade.

The early days of the Colony were troublesome for which the unhealthy climate conditions were partly responsible. There was constant friction between the business community and the Gov- crnment and between the latter und the Chinese officials in Can ton. Twelve British mercantile houses and six Parsee firms had cast

new in their lot with the Colony but none of them seemed to have much confidence in its fu- ture. Some of the British Arms have survived to this day and it is amusing to read that a partner in one of these Arms confessed that if he and his colleagues had not sunk so much money in build : ings they would have packed up and lett the Colony. This was Sir Alexander Matheson of Jardine, Matheson & Co., who told a Par-- liamentary Committee in 1847 that in his opinion what was left of trade in Hong Kong would be crushed by the burden of "Crown Colony. Although Sir Al- exander might appear pessimistio

Struggled On

а

I have no doubt that his first hand information of conditions in Hong Kong enlightened; the Parlemen- tary Committee for the ultimate benent of the Colony. At any rate the young Colony struggled on and as the town of Victoria began to take shape and buildings went

up business expanded with the comand for overseas requirements to supplement the meagre sup- plies of local material. As early Rush as 1849 (when the Gold started) Hong Kong bad become the embarkation point for emi- grants from the Southern Pro- a living overseas vinces seeking and, according to Mrs. Winifred Wood's recently published "Brief History of Hong Kong" no less thun 44 ships left Hong Kong for California in 1851. The outbreak of the Taiping Rebellion a year or two later led to the first of the many invasions of Hong Kong by refugees from China and this led to a further growth in the emi-

LLLEFF

Jacking

in harmony prosperity wag round the corner. It is true that the merchants felt, as they

have

since, felt so many times that they had practically reached the end of all things. They were particularly incensed at the inter- ruption of native shipping, which result of the or- was the direct ganisation of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs under Mr. H. N. Lay, and they decided that the time had come to form a Chamber of Commerce. The idea was that representations to the Governor and the British Minister could be made more effectively by a porate body than by the few lead- ing merchants who had hitherto

cor-

In the commercial centre of Hong Kong, Exchange Build-

ing, hame of one of the older and more prosperous hongs.

gration traffic not only with Cali- fornia but also with Australia, the Straits Settlements and the West Indies. The scattering cf Chinese in so many parts of the world was ultimately of great value to Hong Kong for by their industry most of these emigrants acquired con.. siderable means which allowed them to remit funds in ever in- creasing volume to their relatives in South Chine, Thys was built. up an invisible export which has formed an important part of the economic structure of the Colony.

Political differences with Can- ton and the seizure of the Lorcha Arrow in 1886 led to an outbreak of hostilities which was tempor- arily terminated by the Treaty of Tientsin only to break out again two years later. It was about this time that "The Times" came out. with its denunelation of Hong Kong as a "polay, bustling. quar- relsome and discontented little Is- land." But although relations be- tween the mercantile community and Government officials were

sent joint protests from time to time. At any rate the first act of the new Chamber, of which the Chairman was Mr. Alexander Percival of Jardine, Matheson & Co., was to send to the. Home Government a memorial on the working of the system of the In- spectorate of. Customs in China.

Inception Of The Hong Kong Bank

An indication of the prosperity of the Sixties was the raising of a fund to assist Lancashire Cotton operatives and the spate of public and semi-public buildings which, according to G. R. Sayer, "marks the climax of the mounificence of the great mercantile houses," Al these momorials of the past men- tioned by Sayer, are now no more, the Clock Tower, the City Hall, the City Hall fountains, and the Sailors' Home of West Point, But one mentiorial of the decade, al-` though not

public

the

The History of Mercantile Community

As Told By Mr.

P.S. CASSIDY

In A Broadcast Last

Night

perty, still stands. That is the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, which was founded in 1865 by a number of the lead- ing merchants who were not satis- filed with the service rendered by the branches of banking institu- tions with headquarters far away from Hong Kong. It was

a bold decision but one which has been thoroughly justified, despite the Bank's somewhat chequered be- ginning. The merchants of the sixties not only had wealth and courage but they had a generous champion in Sir Hercules Robin- son, the then Governor. At a fare- well banquet Sir Hercules told the company that before he set out for Hong Kong he had been warned that the merchants were all smug- glers and the officials either pirates or something worse. After five years' experience he was able to state, according to Sayer's book, that "the mercantile community are proverbial not only for com- mercial integrity but for their boundless liberality and hospita- lity."

of

Business Slump

Unfortunately the departure of Sir Hercules Robinson

was fol- lowed by a serious business slump and the ambitious programme of public works in course of exécu- tion landed the Colony in an alarming deficit. This necessitated the raising fresh revenue and Stamp Ordinance introduced by the new Governor, Sir Richard MacDonnell, incurred the flerce opposition of the Chamber Commerce. The trade depression seems to have affected the tem- per of the mercantile community for not only was it aggrieved with the Hong Kong Government but it came to the conclusion that the British Minister in Peking "ap- of peared to show great want sympathy with the British mer- chants whose interests it was his duty to defend." A year later the Chamber of Commerce proceed- ings mention a discussion in Par- liament on China affairs and re- ference is made to the "retrogres- sive policy towards China adopted by the British Government." At this point I can't refrain from mentioning that in recording this in a review of the Chamber's his- tary on the occasion of its jubilee in 1911, the then Chairman, the late Mr. E, A. Hewett, commented : "After 40 years these statements unfortunately still hold good to an alarming extent."

By 1870-the Colony seems. to have been on the road to recovery after the slump and it is probable that the opening of the Suez Canal had already begun to have. Its effect. The currency question was exercising the minds of business people as there. was a serious shortage of Moxlean dollars and. trade was handicapped by the number of heavily chopped dol- lars in circulation. necessitating the weighing of all coin passing from hand to hand. The Chamber #dvocated the re-opening of the Mint, which had had a brief

(Continued on Page 52.)

1941