Directory_and_Chronicle_1887 — Page 275

HONGKONG.

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construction by the Company at Kowloon, in which the largest ironclads can be received. It will be 500 feet in length, 86 feet in breadth at entrance at top and 70 feet at bottom, and 29 feet deep. There are other establishments at which ship- building and foundry work are carried on, and s me good sized steamers have been launched in the Colony. Her Majesty's Naval Yard likewise contains machine sheds and fitting shops on a large scale, and repairs can be effected to the machinery of the British men-of-war with great expedition.

There are three good hotels in the Colony. They are, the Hongkong Hotel, close to the Clock Tower, the Victoria Hotel, facing the Queen's Road and the Praya, and the Stag Hotel, in Queen's Road, all of which are contrally situated.

There are three daily papers published in English: the Hongkong Daily Press, which appears in the morning, the China Mail and the Hongkong Telegraph, issued in the evening. There is a weekly japer, the Overland China Mail, and one fortnightly paper, which is published on the morning of the departure of the English mail, namely, the China Overland Trade Report (the commercial journal of the Far East). A mail issue of the Daily Press is also published weekly. The Hongkong Catholic Register is a religious paper published weekly. O Extremo Oriente, a Portuguese journal, is issued weekly. The Chronicle and Directory for China, Japan," &c., appears annually, and is printed at the Daily Press office. The China Review, which is devoted to reviews and papers on Chinese topics, is published ouce every two months. The native Press is represented by six daily papers-the Chung Ngoi San Po, which is the oldest and most influential, published at the Daily Press Office; the Wa Tsz Yat Po, or Chinese Mail; the Tsun Wan Yat Po, the Yut Po, the Wa Tsz Tsit Po, and the Wai San Yat Po. The Government Gazette is published once a week.

Manufactures are yearly increasing in importance. There are three large sugar refineries, the China Sugar Refining Co.'s establishments at East Point and at Bowrington, and the Taikoo Sugar Refinery at Quarry Bay. In connection with the first-named Company there is also a large Distillery, where a considerable quantity of rum is manufactured. There is an Ice Factory, a large Rope Factory in Belcher's Bay, and extensive Glass Works in the same locality. Large Steam Saw Mills are in active work at Bowrington. The works of the Hongkong Brick and Cement Com- pany are situated in Deep Bay, on the south side of the island. A distillery has been erected on the Shauki-wan Road, near Whitfeild. Among the industries pursued by the Chinese are glass blowing, opium boiling, vermillion and soy manufacture, tan- ning, dyeing; beancurd, toothpowder, match, cigar making, &c., &c.

There are several villages on the island, the largest of which is Shau-ki Wan, situate in a bay in the Li-ü Mun Pass. Aberdeen, on the south of the island, possesses a well sheltered little harbour, much frequented by fishing craft. Two large docks of the Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Company are situated there, and add to the importance of the place. Pokfolum, on the road to Aberdeen, about four miles from Victoria, is a place of resort for European residents in the hot weather, and some elegant bungalows have been erected in pleasant ani picturesque situations, commanding fine sea views and cool breezes. The sanitarium of the French Missions is located at Pokfolum, and is a fine building with an elegant chapel attached. The Dairy Farm is also situated there. Stanley, situated in a small bay on the south-east of the island, was once the site of a military station, but most of the barrack buildings were pulled down a few years back, and the village is stagnant. There are good carriage reads from Victoria both to Aberdeen and Shau- ki Wan, and a bridle road to Stanley. A good bridle road leads up to the summit of Victoria Peak, with other paths branching off from it along the adjoining hills. Within the past three years the number of bungalows on and about the Peak has increased so much that they now form quite an alpine village. The Military erected a sanitarium on the heights in 1883; and in June, 1883, the Peak Church was opened for worship there.

Across the harbour is the dependency of British Kowloon. This peninsula was ceded to Great Britain in 1861. It has an area cf four square miles, and has latterly made considerable progress. Yau-ma Ti, the principal village, has increased in popula-