Directory_and_Chronicle_1918 — Page 1019

HONGKONG

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the latter being for the accommodation of the men of the Indian Mahomedan regiments quartered on the peninsula. A Sikh temple was, in 1902, erected near the Wanchai Road approach to the Happy Valley. There are also several Protestant mission chapels. A Christian Science Church was built on Macdonnell Road in 1911. St. Joseph's College, a school for boys managed by the Christian Brothers (Roman Catholic), occu- pies a large and handsome building on a prominent site below Robinson Road. The Italian Convent, in Caine Road, educates a large number of girls, and brings up many orphans gratuitously. The Asile de la Sainte Enfance, in Queen's Road East, is in the hands of French Sisters, who receive and train up numbers of Chinese foundlings. Other denominations likewise support charitable establishments, conspicuous among which are the Diocesan Home and Orphanage, the Berlin Foundling Hospital on Bonham Road, which has a plain little chapel attached the Baxter Vernacular School, the Victoria Feinale Home and Orphanage, &c. St. Paul's College, situated between Pedder's Hill and Glenealy Ravine, was erected in 1850, and was originally founded for the purpose of giving a theological training to young Chinese and others intended for the ministry of the Anglican Church, but is now an ordinary school. A small chapel is attached. The college is the town residence of the Bishop of Victoria, who is its warden.

The Protestant, Roman Catholic, Parsee, Jewish, and Mahomedan Cemeteries Occupy sites in Wong-nai Chung Valley, and are kept in good order. The Protestant Cemetery is almost a rival to the Public Gardens, being charmingly situated and admirably laid out with fountain, flower beds, and ornamental shrubs. The principal Chinese cemetery is on the slopes of Mount Davis, near the Pokfolum Road, and is injudiciously crowded, and dismally bare, but it is a Confucian maxim that "places of burial should not be made to resemble pleasure-gardens."

An electric tramway runs through the City of Victoria from Belcher's Bay to East Point and Happy Valley, and thence on to the village of Shaukiwan, a total length of 94 miles. A cable tramway has since 1888 given access to the Peak and is worked with great success, both financially and otherwise. The City terminus of this interesting little line is at St. John's Place. Powers were obtained in 1908 for the making of another tramway to the Peak, starting from Battery Path and proceeding up the Glenealy Ravine to a point close to the terminus of the existing line, but owing to public opposition to two of the suggested routes the scheme was abandoned, the alternative routes, on which some tunnelling was necessary, proving too expensive.

INSTITUTIONS

There are several Clubs in the Colony. The principal are the Hongkong Club on the New Praya, the Club Germania in Kennedy Road (closed shortly after the outbreak of the great war), the Club Lusitano in Shelley Street, the Phoenix Club on tlie Praya, and the Nippon Club in Des Voeux Road. The Hongkong Club is a handsome building replete with every modern comfort; a large annexe was completed in 1902. The Peak Club is domiciled in a pretty building at Plunkett Gap, and possesses tennis and croquet lawns on land adjoining. There are also the United Services Recreation Club, Cricket Clubs, Football Clubs, a Polo Club, a Golf Club, a Hockey Club, a Chess Club, and two Yacht Clubs. The Ladies' Recreation Club have several prettily laid out tennis courts and a pavilion in their grounds on the Peak Road.

The Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce have rooms in the Chartered Bank Building and meet annually. The Committee form its executive, and the Chamber is frequently asked by the Government for its opinion on questions affecting commerce. There is a branch here of the China Association, with its separate Cominittee. The Freemasons' Hall, erected in 1865, is situated in Zetland Street, and belongs to the parent lodge, the Zetland. The Sailors' Home occupies a site at West Point, and there is a Mission to Seamen. The Institution of Marine Engineers watches over the interests of that profession. The Hongkong Benevolent Society does good work among the indigent waifs occasionally cast destitute on the Colony. The Helena May Institute for Women, named after Lady May, situated in Garden Road, was opened on September 12th, 1916. Among other institutions is the St. Andrew's Society, primarily established to ensure the fitting celebration of the anniversary of Scotland's patron saint.

The annual races are held in the month of February, under the auspices of the Hongkong Jockey Club, on the Race Course in Wong-nai Chung Valley at the east end of the town, a beautiful spot enclosed by fir-clad hills. Gymkhanas also take place monthly during the summer. Regattas are held in December in the harbour, but they do not evoke the same enthusiasm as the races. Athletic