CO129-287 - Public Offices & Others - 1898 — Page 433

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to retain their existing stations (two of which are in

the very harbour, and others on islands in the immediate

vicinity on the East and West) might almost suggest the

presence of an underlying purpose to render impossible

the acceptance of capital requests which it had appeared

desirable, for some reason, to prefer.

Grievances which had been, hitherto, in some degree

sentimental would then indeed assume a pratical form.

If the presence of Customs stations on the adjacent

mainland and at the entrance to the harbour, and of Cus-

toms cruisers in the waters surrounding the colony, has

been hindrance and a source of vexation when these terri-

tories and waters were Chinese, the annoyance would be

less endurable still when they assumed the character of

Foreign establishments within territory under British

control.

a

Great allowance has been made for the position of

Hongkong, and X greater allowance still for the ineffic-

iency of Xe Chinese Administration. The British Govern-

ment does very much more for the Chinese fisc than any

European Government would do for another power; and the

Chinese Government responds by a degree of intrusion

which no Buropean Government would admit. It is no ex-

aggeration to say that the entire native junk trade with

the mainland is controlled by the Staff attached to the

Chinese Customs Office in Hongkong; for the colony is

supervised by Chinese native employés, while its waters

are patrolled by Customs armed steam launches; and we

may be sure that very little escapes such a system under

European supervision. The arrangements made in pur-

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