Directory_and_Chronicle_1926 — Page 948

Directories & Chronicles 香港指南 All

: 892

SWATOW

property to which no valid title is held; also from the taxation of land unreclaimed at the time of the bureau's establishment. The bureau, moreover, reserves the right to construct an electric tramway on the bund and to erect wharves. Up to the present its chief activities have been confined to a survey of the locality and to the sale of foreshore lots. Street widening operations were begun in January, 1922, but were subsequently interrupted for lack of funds and, though work was resumed in 1928, the project is not likely to be completed for some years.

The climate of Swatow is reputed to be very salubrious. The town, however, has suffered from typhoons on many occasions. Many thousands of lives were lost and very extensive damage to slipping and property was caused by one of these terrible storms which, accompanied by a tidal wave, struck the port on the night of August 2nd, 1922. Seismic disturbances, also, have frequently been felt here. The most serious was that on February 13th, 1918, when, it is computed, over 2,000 people were killed and several thousand injured, while the damage to property was immense. The native population of Swatow is estimated at about 200,000 inhabitants.

A Chinese syndicate, with a capital of $3,000,000, obtained the necessary sanction for the construction of a railway from Swatow to Ch'ao-chou-fu, and work was commenced on the line in 1904. The line, which is 28 miles in length, was opened to traffic on November 25th, 1906. The contractors were Japanese, who supplied all material, the rails and engines coming froin America and the carriages from Japan. The construction of the line has brought about a great inflation of land values.

Swatow has an electric light plant of its own, and on account of the cheap price at which the current is supplied this method of lighting is finding favour with the Chinese, and, to some extent, replacing the use of kerosene lamps. A new waterworks was completed early in 1914, the reservoir being at Kia-kun, about eight miles inland. In the middle of 1919 a telephone service was introduced.

The foreign trade of Swatow has never been large. Tea and sugar were formerly the principal exports, but the tea trade here, as in other China ports, has to a very large extent passed away. Increased attention is being given to the cultivation of vegetables, fruit, indigo and tobacco leaf. It is thought probable that in the near future minerals will assume increased importance in the export trade of this port, as prospecting discloses more of the latent wealth of the district. The net value of the trade of the port coming under the cognisance of the Foreign Customs for 1924 was Hk. Tls. 85,677,489, as compared with Hk. Tls. 41,839,257 in 1923, Hk. Tls. 74,065,906 in 1922, and Hk. Tls. 82,121,489 in 1921.

Directory_and_Chronicle_1926 — Page 948

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