5. This small rebellion was, no doubt, attempted in consequence of the pre-occupation of the Imperial Government in the North, possibly with a view of inducing the allied Powers to secure peace in the South by a promise to consider the question of internal reform when the time arrived for the imposition of terms of peace upon the Imperial Government. I have heard from fairly well-informed sources this explanation of the rising. Had the Canton district responded or had the Viceroy acted with less promptitude, the situation might have become critical.
Very likely the movement was distinctly anti-dynastic as there was in the South among the Cantonese a strong feeling against, not alone the reigning dynasty, but against the people of the Northern provinces—a feeling of hostility apparently reciprocated by the Northern Chinese, who were quite as ready to murder a Cantonese as an American or European, and who look upon them as foreigners, if not foreign devils. I had an illustration of this when the Boxer movement developed in Tientsin; a number of Cantonese young men were engaged in business in Tientsin, and some had gone there to attend the Chinese Medical School. These young men were regarded as foreigners and found themselves in a position of great danger, and with no apparent means of escape. Some Chinese gentlemen here waited upon me, and, explaining the position, requested my good offices in assisting their return to Canton and Hongkong, saying that they were prepared to pay ten thousand dollars for the necessary expenses, as the lives of Cantonese would be in grave peril if the Boxers had any success. I telegraphed to His Majesty's Consul at Tientsin asking his assistance in repatriating the Cantonese, for which I undertook to be responsible to the extent of the sum named, and he very kindly made the necessary arrangements, forwarding bills for over nine thousand dollars which were at once paid by the Chinese gentlemen who had approached me. A deputation of the young men whose escape had been secured waited upon me to express their gratitude, and one and all were assured that had they fallen into the hands of the insurgents their lives would have been taken. The incident was mentioned in the Chinese newspapers in Canton and has, I hope, had some effect in strengthening the cordial relations that exist at present between the Government of the two Kwangs and this Colony.
6. Among the land sales effected during the year was a large area sold to Messrs. BUTTERFIELD & SWIRE who propose to build docks there, one of which will be capable of taking in the largest ship now afloat. The Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Company have applied for an additional area upon which the Company proposes to add another dry dock of equally large proportions, and as the Naval Yard extension now progressing includes at least one more dry dock of suitable capacity, the docking facilities of this port will in the near future equal, if not exceed, those of any port in the East.
7. The building of steam-launches proceeds apace, nearly one hundred having been constructed during the year. I question if, in any part of the world, better or cheaper steam-launches are built than those turned out in Hongkong. The extension of the boiler-making trade, due to this expansion of steamboat building, is now forcing itself upon our attention by complaints of the nuisance executed by boiler-makers who have set up their noisy business in quiet quarters of the town and proceed to prosecute it day and night. It may be necessary to confine this trade to a particular quarter.
8. I regret to have to report the recrudescence of plague at the usual season, the end of February. The epidemic began at the end of February, and lasted 27 weeks, ceasing in the first week in July. During that time there were 1,080 cases with a case mortality of 95.5 per cent. In 1899 the epidemic lasted for thirty-eight weeks with 1,428 cases and a case mortality of 96.1 per cent. In considering this annual recurrence of plague, the situation of Hongkong renders it peculiarly difficult to deal with the introduction of disease from without, for the relief gradually obtained in other places by the death of the susceptible can hardly be looked for here with a perennial influx of susceptible coolies from the surrounding plague-infected provinces. A few hours bring these people to Hongkong and nothing short of a ten days' detention of from two to three thousand persons who daily enter Hongkong would insure freedom from the introduction of plague by these visitors, while even if all are healthy there must be among them a proportion of susceptibles to feed the fuel on the appearance of plague.
9. One of the most important questions of the immediate future is the problem of reducing the surface population, the density of which in one health district of Victoria is, in round numbers, six hundred and forty thousand to the square mile, and this in a city crowded under the precipitous northern slope of the Peak range of hills that effectually shut off the south-easterly breezes of the summer months. The abatement of surface crowding by the resumption of houses and opening of streets and lanes will probably cost some millions of dollars, as the value of house property in Victoria is very great, houses being sold at from six dollars to thirty-five dollars a square foot: but the taxation of Hongkong is light compared with that of other Colonies, and sooner or later the question of the abatement of surface overcrowding must be vigorously dealt with.
10. The state of the New Territory taken over in 1899 has been fully dealt with in my despatch—404—of the 12th of last August. The Financial Accounts of this lately occupied concession afford no reliable basis for an estimate of its ultimate value. Up to the present we have been engaged upon making a good main road that will give ready access to the interior of the Territory, in building Police Stations and in preparing a cadastral survey, without which arrangements cannot be made for the payment of Crown Rent and the settlement of land claims, after which I expect to see a rapid development of that portion of the district surrounding the harbour of Hongkong where the taking over of the Territory has increased the value of land, in some instances literally a thousand-fold, but over every acre of which disputed claims await adjustment by the Land Court. The police expense of the New Territory is also a heavy item, as armed robbery on land and sea is a very common offence, and our preventive patrol system is costly as compared with the somewhat drastic Chinese system of disregarding those local irregularities until they become intolerable, when a force is sent to punish the district by eating it out, or, if necessary, destroying a village or villages. Beyond affording protection and bringing home to the people the fairness and justice of the British system of government nothing can be done in the New Territory until the land claims have been settled. When that has been done, nothing will remain to prevent its development on a sound and stable basis. The people are intelligent and industrious and, I am informed, that there is ample capital only awaiting the security of a valid title to be devoted to various agricultural and manufacturing ventures.
11. At present the staple crops are rice, sugar, sweet potatoes, and vegetables. Possibly the rice cultivation is as good as we can make it, but the sugar cultivation is capable of great improvement, and I have reason to believe that sericulture will be tried on a large scale, while I see no reason why, with the farther propagation of succulent grasses already growing in the Colony, the hills north of the Kowloon range and the island of Lantao should not support a sufficient number of cattle to render Hongkong independent of the supplies now procured from the West and North Rivers.
12. Unfortunately during the year the large river steamers that traded between Hongkong and the West River treaty ports were withdrawn in consequence of the difficulties that beset them on account of the strained interpretation by the Imperial Maritime Customs of the inland navigation agreement. The Companies interested asked no more than that they should have the liberty to carry passengers to and from any place on the river, undertaking to confine the carriage of cargo and parcels to the ports and stages already agreed upon, and being prepared, if necessary, to carry a Customs Official on board and to conform to every local regulation as to...
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5. This small rebellion was, no doubt. attempted in consequence of the pre- occupation of the Imperial Government in the North, possibly with a view of inducing the allied Powers to secure peace in the South by a promise to consider the question of internal reform when the tine arrived for the imposition of terms of peace upon the Imperial Government. I have heard from fairly well-informed sources this explanation of the rising. Had the Canton district responded or had the Viceroy acted with less promptitude, the situation might have become critical.
very The movement was distinctly anti-dynastic as there was in the South among the Cantonese a strong feeling against, not alone the reigning dynasty, but against the people of the Northern provinces-a feeling of hostility apparently reciprocated by the Northern Chinese, who were quite as ready to murder a Cantonese as an Amer- ican or European, and who look upon them as foreigners, if not foreign devile. I had an illustration of this when the Boxer movement developed in Tientsin, muumber of Cantonese young men were engaged in business in Tientsin, and some had gone there to attend the Chinese Medical School. These young men were regarded as foreigners and found themselves in a position of great danger, and with no apparent means of escape. Some Chinese gentlemen here waited upon me, and, explaining the position, requested my gool offices in assisting their return to Cauto and Hongkong, saying that they were prepared to pay ten thousand dollars for the necessary expenses, as the lives of Cantones: would be in grave peril if the Boxers had any success. I telegraphed to His Majesty's Consul at Tien- tsin asking his assistance in repatriating the Cantonese, for which I undertook to be responsible to the extent of the sun named, and he very kindly made the neces- sary arrangements, forwarding bills for over nine thousand dollars which were at once paid by the Chinese gentlemen who had approached me. A deputation of the young men whose escape had been secured waited upon me to express their gratitude, and one and all were assured that had they fallen into the hands of the insurgents their lives would have been taken. The incident was mentioned in the Chinese newspapers in Canton and bas, I hope, had some effect in strengthening the cordial relations that exist at present between the Government of the two Kwangs and this Colony.
6. Among the land sales effected during the year was a large area sold to Messrs. BUTTERFIELD & SWIRE who propose to build docks there, one of which will be capable of taking in the largest ship now afloat. The Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Company have applied for an additional area upon which the Company proposes to add another dry dock of equally large proportions, and as the Naval Yard extension now progressing includes at least one more dry dock of suitable capacity, the docking facilities of this port will in the near future equal, if not exceed, those of any port in the East.
7. The building of steam-launches proceeds apace, nearly one hundred having been constructed during the year. I question if, in any part in the world, better or cheaper steam-launches are built than those turned out in Hongkong. The extension of the boiler-making trade, duc to this expansion of steamboat building, is now forcing itself upon our attention by complaints of the muisance ercuted by boiler-makers who have set up their noisy business in quiet quarters of the town and proceed to prosecute it day and night. It may be necessary to confine this trade to a particular quarter.
8. I regret to have to report the recrudescence of plagie at the usual season. the end of February. The épidemic began at the end of February, and lasted 27 weeks, ceasing in the first week in July. During that time there were 1,080 cases with a case mortality of 95.5 per cent. In 1899 the epidemic lasted for thirty-eight. weeks with 1.428 cases and a case mortality of 96.1 per cent. In considering this annual recurrence of plague, the situation of Hongkong renders it peculiarly difficult to deal with the introduction of disease from without, for the relief gra- dually obtained in other places by the death of the susceptible can hardly be looked for here with a perennial influx of susceptible coolies from the surrounding
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plague infected provinces. A few hours bring these people to Hongkong and nothing short of a ten days' detention of from two to three thousand persons who daily enter Hongkong would insure freedom from the introduction of plague by these visitors, while even if all are healthy there must be among them a propor- tion of susceptibles to feed the fuel on the appearance of plague.
9. One of the most important questions of the immediate future is the problem of reducing the surface population, the density of which in one health district of Victoria is, in round numbers, six hundred and forty thousand to the square miles and this in a city crowded under the precipitous northern slope of the Peak range of hills that effectually shut off the south-easterly breezes of the summer months, The abatement of surface crowding by the resumption of houses and opening of streets and lanes will probably cost some millions of dollars, as the value of house property in Victoria is very great, houses being sold at from six dollars to thirty- five dollars a square foot: but the taxation of Hongkong is light compared with that of other Colonies, and sooner or later the question of the abatement of surface overcrowding must be vigorously dealt with.
10. The state of the New Territory taken over in 1899 has been fully dealt with in my despatch-404-of the 12th of last August The Financial Accounts of this lately occupied concession afford no reliable basis for an estimate of its ulti- mate value. Up to the present we have been engaged upon making a good main road that will give ready access to the interior of the Territory, in building Police Stations and in preparing a cadastral survey, without which, arrangements cannot be made for the payment of Crown Rent and the settlement of land claims, after which I expect to see a rapid development of that portion of the district surround- ing the harbour of Hongkong where the taking over of the Territory has increased the value of land, in some instances literally a thunsand-fold, but over every acre of which disputed claims await adjustment by the Land Court. The police ex- pense of the New Territory is also a heavy item, as armed robbery on land and sea a very common offence, and our preventive patrol system is costly as comparel with the somewhat drastic Chinese system of disregarding those local irre- gularities until they become intolerable, when a force is sent to punish the district by eating it out, or, if necessary, destroying a village or villages. Beyond affording protection and bringing home to the people the fairness and justice of the British system of government nothing can be done in the New Territory until the land claims have seen settled. When that has been done, nothing will remain to pre- vent its development on a sound and stable basis. The people are intelligent and industrious and, am informed, that there is ample capital only awaiting tlie soeu- rity of a valid title to be devoted to various agricultural and manufacturing ven-
tures.
11. At present the staple crops are rice, sugar, sweet potatoes and vegetables. Possibly the rice cultivation is as good as we can umake it, but the sugar cultiva- tion is capable of great improvement, and I have reason to believe that seri- culture will be tried on a large scale, while I see no reason why, with the farther propagation of succulent grasses already growing in the Colony, the hills north of the Kowloon range and the island of Lantao should not support a sufficient number of cattle to render Hongkong independent of the supplies now procurest from the West and North Rivers
12. Unfortunately during the year the large river stemmers that traded between Hongkong and the West River treaty ports were withdrawn in consequence of the difficulties that beset them on account of the strained interpretation by the Imperial Maritime Customs of the inland navigation agreement. The Companies interested asked no more than that they should have the liberty to carry passengers to and from any place on the river, undertaking to confine the carriage of cargo and par- cels to the ports and stages already agreed upon, and being prepared,, if necessary, to carry a Customs Official on board and to couform to every local regulation as to
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