HONGKONG
(65
shows an increase of 55'97 per cent. from 1911-12 to 1920-21, and of 430.23 per cent. since 1889.
The following is a statement of the revenue and expenditure of the Colony for the eight years 1913-20 :-
Expenditure
•
...
...
Revenue $8,512,308
$8,658,012
...
11,007,273
10,756,225
...
•
...
...
11,786,106
15,149.267
...
13,833,387
11,079,915
...
...
15,058,105
14,090,828
...
...
··
...
...
18,665,248
16,252,172
...
•
...
16,524,974
17,915,925
...
...
14,177,478
13,768,830
1913... 1914...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
1915... 1916... 1917... 1918... 1919...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
-
...
...
...
...
•
...
•
1920...
...
DESCRIPTION
The island of Hongkong is about 11 miles long and from 2 to 5 miles broad; its circum- ference is about 27 miles. It consists of a broken ridge of lofty hills, with few valleys of any extent and scarcely any ground available for cultivation. The only valleys worthy of the name are those of Wong-nai Chung and Little Hongkong, both of which are remark- ably beautiful and well wooded, being in fact the only parts where any considerable arborescent vegetation was formerly to be found. The island is well watered by numerous streams, many of which are perennial. The city of Victoria and suburbs are supplied with water from the Pokfolum, Tytanı, and Wong-nai Chung reservoirs. The first-named, constructed in 1866-69, has a storage capacity of sixty-eight million gallons, while the Tytam reservoir, constructed in 1883-88, and extended in 1896, has an area of about 29 acres and a storage capacity of about three hundred and ninety million gallons. From the Tytam reservoir the water is conveyed into town by means of a tunnel a mile and one-third in length and a conduit along the hillside some 400 feet above the sea level and nearly four miles in length, on which a fine road-called the Bowen Road-has been formed, which commands the most charming views of the city and the eastern district, and is a favourite resort of pedestrians. In many parts tlie conduit is carried over the ravines and rocks by ornamental stone bridges, one of which, above Wanchai, has twenty-three arches. The Wong-nei Chung reservoir, completed in 1899, has a capacity of twenty-seven million gallons. A bye- wash reservoir of about thirty million gallons capacity, situated immediately below the overflow of the Tytam reservoir, was completed in 1903, and a dam at Tytam Tuk to impound 194 million gallons was completed in 1909. A further extension of these waterworks was completed in 1917 at a cost of about $2,400,000, making provision for impounding 1,500 million gallons of water.
The natural productions of the Colony are few and unimportant. There is little land suitable for tillage, and nothing is grown but a little rice and some vegetables near the outlying villages. There are large granite quarries, both on the island and in Kowloon, and there is a small export of this stone. A bed of fire clay exists at Deep Water Bay, and bricks and earthenware pipes are manufactured from it. The forests now growing up and in course of being planted may one day become a source of revenue, when sufficiently extensive, from the periodical thinnings
The approaches to the port are fairly well lighted. A lighthouse on Green Island lights the western entrance of the harbour. The eastern approach is indicated by a group flashing dioptric light of the first order, visible at a distance of twenty-two miles, erected on Waglan Island, while a smaller light on Cape Collinson assists navigators to make the Ly-ee-mùn Pass. A lighthouse on Gap Rock, about thirty miles to the south, was completed and first displayed its beacon on the 1st April, 1892; it is connected with the port by cable, and the approach of vessels is signalled from it to the Post Office. A radio-telegraphic station of medium range has been established for commercial purposes on Cape d'Aguilar in connection with the Post Office, and a long-range Marconi station has been erected on Stonecutters Island.
The harbour of Hongkong is one of the finest and most beautiful in the world, having an area of ten square miles, and, with its diversified scenery and varied shipping, presents an animated and imposing spectacle. It consists of the sheet of water between the island and the mainland, and is enclosed on all sides by lofty hills, formerly destitute of foliage, but now becoming clothed, especially on the island, with young forests, the result of the afforestation scheme of the Government. The city of Victoria is
Page 1050Page 1051
966
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.