THE BEGINNINGS OF TAIPINGSHAN
75
every piece of ground and every house in the island downwards, morally speaking, were they to do so, they would be little better than robbers." But whatever the morals of the removal of the bazaar lot-holders, the Notification of 25 July produced the desired result for, by the beginning of September, there had already been a movement to the west to the area designated. The Hong Kong Register on 3 September 1844 somewhat uncharitably, and ignorantly since they were at this time still the official Government organ, expressed dissatisfaction with the "Chinese village rising to the westward of Victoria", but modified their opinion on discovering that many of the houses belonged to the 'squatters' dislodged from the Upper Bazaar who were allowed to find temporary sites until they could rebuild on land allotted to them for the purpose by Government. The area referred to was being built up fast during the month of September and opposite it, on the northern side of Queen's Road, a Government Market was erected, 18
Eventually, Davis's expenditure on levelling the site and providing compensation was approved at home.19 But before even the reply had left the Colonial Office, Davis received a petition from the Upper Bazaar lot-holders, praying for monetary compensation in addition to the 'rent holiday' proposed. On consideration of this petition whilst Davis was absent inspecting the new consulates in the northern ports, the Executive Council decided that the rent payable on the new allotments in Taipingshan should commence in January 1849, and not in January 1848 and that the registered holders of "decent Chinese houses", 81 in number, should receive $40 dollars each. Two English lot-holders in the area, Oswald and Porter, were allowed compensation on a rather more liberal scale, having refused to move. In communicating this arrangement to the Colonial Office, Davis commented that if the question of the Upper Bazaar Lots had first come up during his tenure of office, he would have allowed the tenants to retain possession, not only because to do otherwise involved a violation of rights, with a consequent heavy expense for Government in compensations, but also because of the obloquy to which Government had been subjected in the Press20
That is how Taipingshan originated. Its subsequent history is interesting for, between this time and the great Plague epidemic in the 1890's, it seems to the writer that the ability of the Government
THE BEGINNINGS OF TAIPINGSHAN
75
every piece of ground and every house in the island downwards, morally speaking, were they to do so, they would be little better than robbers." But whatever the morals of the removal of the bazaar lot-holders, the Notification of 25 July produced the desired result for, by the beginning of September, there had already been a movement to the west to the area designated. The Hong Kong Register on 3 September 1844 somewhat uncharitably, and igno- rantly since they were at this time still the official Government organ, expressed dissatisfaction with the "Chinese village rising to the westward of Victoria”, but modified their opinion on dis- covering that many of the houses belonged to the 'squatters' dis- lodged from the Upper Bazaar who were allowed to find temporary sites until they could rebuild on land allotted to them for the purpose by Government. The area referred to was being built up fast during the month of September and opposite it, on the northern side of Queen's Road, a Government Market was erected, 18
Eventually, Davis's expenditure on levelling the site and providing compensation was approved at home.19 But before even the reply had left the Colonial Office, Davis received a petition from the Upper Bazaar lot-holders, praying for monetary compen- sation in addition to the 'rent holiday' proposed. On considera- tion of this petition whilst Davis was absent inspecting the new consulates in the northern ports, the Executive Council decided that the rent payable on the new allotments in Taipingshan should commence in January 1849, and not in January 1848 and that the registered holders of "decent Chinese houses", 81 in number, should receive $40 dollars each. Two English lot-holders in the area, Oswald and Porter, were allowed compensation on a rather more liberal scale, having refused to move. In communicating this arrangement to the Colonial Office, Davis commented that if the question of the Upper Bazaar Lots had first come up during his tenure of office, he would have allowed the tenants to retain possession, not only because to do otherwise involved a violation of rights, with a consequent heavy expense for Government in compensations, but also because of the obloquy to which Govern- ment had been subjected in the Press 20
That is how Taipingshan originated. Its subsequent history is interesting for, between this time and the great Plague epidemic in the 1890's, it seems to the writer that the ability of the Government
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.