124
It was these events that caused Dr. James Legge to close his school and dismiss his pupils. Although he had complete confidence his students would behave in a proper manner during a crisis, he thought it not fair to them to have them under the patronage of foreigners at a time when all Chinese in Hongkong were being urged by the Canton officials to break off all relations with “the barbarians.” Thus after some thirty-seven years, the existence of the Anglo-Chinese College, founded at Malacca and transferred to Hongkong, was ended. It was revived in 1914 as Ying Wah College for Boys.
The fear that Chinese would come to Hongkong and try to burn the city was soon overshadowed by the threat of sudden death by poisoning or murder. The new terror arose from an attempt to poison the European population by putting arsenic into their bread. When the man who supplied your daily bread could not be trusted, one might well begin to have questions about those who served you daily at home and in the office.
All foreigners agreed vigilance and strength were needed, “particularly,” as Lieutenant Colonel Lugard of the Royal Engineers put it, “when the overwhelming proportion of Chinese to European population in Victoria is considered; and that they are a low class of people that will ever look upon the Europeans as intruders whom they are pleased to tolerate so long as profitable — or more properly speaking, so long only as they are kept under control by a military and naval power superior to their own.”
Such a statement was the product of colonial mentality. An inferior, potentially rebellious population must be kept in their place by force,
The unquestioned right to trade, to subject, to rule accompanied superior military strength. A corollary was that dominance in military might was the product of a superior civilisation created by a superior people.
The ordinance passed in January 1857 also contained a clause which empowered a sentry or patrol “to shoot with intent to kill”
124
It was these events that caused Dr. James Legge to close his school and dismiss his pupils. Although he had complete confi- dence his students would behave in a proper manner during a crisis he thought it not fair to them to have them under the patron- age of foreigners at a time when all Chinese in Hongkong were being urged by the Canton officials to break off all relations with “the barbarians." Thus after some thirty-seven years the existence of the Anglo-Chinese College, founded at Malacca and transferred to Hongkong, was ended. It was revived in 1914 as Ying Wah College for Boys.
The fear that Chinese would come to Hongkong and try to burn the city was soon overshadowed by the threat of sudden death by poisoning or murder. The new terror arose from an attempt to poison the European population by putting arsenic into their bread. When the man who supplied your daily bread could not be trusted, one might well begin to have questions about those who served you daily at home and in the office.
All foreigners agreed vigilance and strength was needed, "particularly,” as Lieutenant Colonel Lugard of the Royal Engi- neers put it, "when the overwhelming proportion of Chinese to European population in Victoria is considered; and that they are a low class of people that will ever look upon the Europeans as intruders whom they are pleased to tolerate so long as profitable — or more properly speaking so long only as they are kept under control by a military and naval power superior to their own."
—
Such a statement was the product of colonial mentality. An inferior, potentially rebellious population must be kept in their place by force,
The unquestioned right to trade, to subject, to rule accompa- nied superior military strength. A corollary was that dominance in military might was the product of a superior civilisation created by a superior people.
The ordinance passed in January 1857, also contained a clause which empowered a sentry or patrol "to shoot with intent to kill"
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.