Directory_and_Chronicle_1925 — Page 1206

MACAO

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The colony is separated from the large island of Heung-shan by an arch, built in the year 1870, at the end of the narrow, connecting sandy isthmus. Two principal ranges of hills, one running from south to north, the other from east to west, may be considered as forming an angle, the base of which leans upon the river or anchoring place. The public and private buildings, a cathedral and several churches, are raised on the declivities and heights of hillocks. On the lofty mount eastward, called Caçilha, is a fort, enclosing the hermitage of Na. Sra. de Guia, and westward is Lillau, on the top of which stands the hermitage of Na. Sra. da Penha; entering a wide semi- circular bay, which faces the east, on the right hand stands the fort San Francisco; and on the left, that of N. Sra. de Bom Parto. Seen from the roads or from any of the forts crowning the several low hills, Macao is extremely picturesque. The public and private buildings are gaily painted and the streets kept very clean.

In the town there are several places of interest. The Gardens and Grotto of Camões, once the resort of the celebrated Portuguese poet Camões, are worth seeing,. as, also, are the noble façade of the ancient Jesuit church of San Paulo, burnt in 1835, and the Avenida Vasco da Gama. The Cathedral is a large plain structure having no architectural pretensions, and the various parish churches are stucco edifices, ugly without and tawdry within. Pleasant excursions can be made to the Hot Springs of Yô-mak, about 16 miles from Macao, accessible by steam launch. In winter, snipe are to be found in the neighbourhood and afford good sport.

Owing to its being open to the south-west breezes and to the quietude always. prevailing, Macao has become a frequent retreat of invalids and business men from Hongkong and other neighbouring ports. The principal hotel is the Macao Hotel.

After the cession of Hongkong to the British, the trade of Macao declined rapidly and the coolie traffic subsequently developed there gave it a certain notoriety. This traffic, pregnant with abuses, was abolished in 1874. Tea continues to be an article of export, as well as fire crackers, tobacco and preserves. Essential oils are also exported to some extent. There is likewise some trade in opium. Silk filatures, brick and cement works, and other factories have been established. The commercial activity of the place, however, so far as the Portuguese are concerned, is a thing of the past. The net total of the trade for 1923, as given in the Chinese Customs returns from Lappa, was Hk. Tls. 22,218,573, as compared with Hk. Tls. 26,316,415 in 1922, and Hk. Tls. 30,854,147 in 1921.

As the harbour has long shown signs of silting up, various projects have been prepared for its improvement, but until recently little has been done. A detailed plan of a very big scheme was prepared 30 years ago by Senhor Adolpho Loureiro, but was pigeon-holed by the home Government. The matter was raised again, however, some 10 or 12 years later, and another expert engineer, Senhor Costello Braneo, was sent to Macao to make investigations. He made a few emendations to the original plan, but his report suffered the same fate as its predecessor. Then came the great constitutional change in Portugal with the promise of a greater measure of autonomy for the Colonies, and the need of harbour improvement was pressed again, with the result that Admiral Hugo de Lacerda, who had planned and superintended the important harbour works at Lourenço Marques, was sent out to make a report. He has introduced important modifications in the original scheme. Whereas the earlier schemes contemplated only the improvement of the inner harbour, Admiral Lacerda's scheme, while embracing this, provides, as its main feature, for the creation of a harbour for large vessels in front of the city. The work for making the inner harbour better fitted for the accommoda- tion of the considerable fleet of junks which trade between Macao and neighbouring ports- and engage in the important fishing industry is now in a very advanced state of progress. There have been extensive reclamations, and some substantial sea-walls are now in posi- tion. By means of a Deauville railway running across the neck of the peninsula, the mud excavated from the inner harbour is dumped on the other side near the Barrier. The main feature of the outer harbour works is a protected anchorage to accommodate vessels drawing up to 23 feet, and a long deep-water channel of approach, giving a depth of 14 ft. at low tides and 23 ft. at high tides. The mud dredged in the making of the harbour and the channel will be used to create an artificial island, surrounded by stone walls, just south of the channel leading to the inner harbour. A sum of nearly $9,000,000- has been deposited in the bank, and, as the Home Authorities are sympathetic, it looks as though at last the handicap to trade from which Macao has suffered for many years is about to be removed. In June, 1922, the tender of the Netherlands Harbour Works Co. for a part of the work was accepted at roughly $6,500,000. The scheme now to be carried out comprises a reclamation extending approximately from the corner of the Praya Grande, known as the San Francisco Battery, to a point