RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g 76 CARL T. SMITH Tam Tso (Achoy) gave $50. Then there are thirteen contributions of $10 each. Of these six are from compradores, and an equal number from merchants. The remaining contributor in this particular group was a government servant, the overseer of the coolie gangs of the Surveyor General's Department. (5) In April, 1861, The Friend of China published a list entitled, "A Public Declaration of the Shop Keepers of Hong Kong, stating that when Mr. Caldwell managed the Proprietorship of the Chinese here, the people of Hong Kong were at rest, but he resigned his office. They now present their petition to the Governor asking him to retain Mr. Caldwell". It has sixteen names of firms as the chief petitioners. Beside seven of them are given the names of the head of the firm. Five of these are found on the 1859 list. (6) In January, 1868, The Hong Kong Daily Press published forty-two names of individuals and firms who submitted a petition to the House of Commons against the imposition of a Military Contribution upon Hong Kong. (7) In 1872, The Chinese Chronicle and Directory gives the names of the eleven members of the Kai Fong or "Joss House Committee, as well as the thirteen members of the Tung Wah Hospital Committee. This was the organizing committee of 1869 which remained in office until the Hospital was formally opened in 1872, when a new committee was elected. The Directory also lists a General Committee for the Hospital. This too had thirteen members. (8) On 1 April, 1871, a memorial presented to Henry Charles Caldwell upon his departure from the Colony by the Chinese community, which was published in the Chinese section of The China Mail and signed by thirty-two of the most prominent Chinese, serves as a check against the Tung Wah and Kai Fong Directors. (9) In May, 1872, The China Mail contains the names of thirty Chinese who called upon the Governor on behalf of the Chinese community. This delegation was composed of seven compradores, fourteen merchants, two journalists, one contractor and two government servants. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g 102 CARL T. SMITH to Hong Kong, practiced law, was a member of the Legislative Council from 1929 to 1937. Another Government employee—although his family was not as distinguished as that of Tso Aon, but who does appear on a number of our elite lists was the Overseer of Coolies in the Surveyor General's Department. Cheong Assow was appointed to this office in September, 1844. He also invested in real estate, which upon his death in 1897 was divided among his seven sons. In 1848 the Surveyor General suggested that Assow was underpaid, as he found him an invaluable man in his department: + The headman Assow I cannot speak too highly of, he is intelligent, honest, and careful, and displays great zeal for the Department. He understands English perfectly, and I can trust him to make measurements for me upon lines that are clearly defined, which he performs with great accuracy. His wages are very small for a man of his usefulness, and I should wish much that they were raised as he is one of the most deserving Chinamen I ever met. His education under me (for he has now been in the Department nearly five years) has progressed so satisfactorily that he is of more service than many of the English overseers I have employed, whose wages are never less than $30 per mensem.36 THE GROUP EMPLOYED BY MISSIONS Another group which identified itself with Hong Kong was a small number of Christians who came here from Malacca, Singapore and Macao under the patronage of missionaries. As Christian converts they had renounced the traditional practices connected with the veneration of ancestors and thus had cut themselves off from participation in the ritual observances which bound the Chinese family together. There seemed little chance that they could expect to be welcomed back to their home villages. In a sense they were as marginal to the social structure of China as were those who had had to flee China because of criminal activities. Unlike the tradesmen and small merchants they did not view Hong Kong as an opportunity to make a quick fortune which they could take back to their home village ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1972 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h 92 E. G. PRYOR with the law particularly, also, as the government lacked sufficient staff of adequate competence. This situation became a source of some concern to Dr. Murray, the Colonial Surgeon, who in 1859 reported that: Hong Kong presents no feature either in climate or position which should make it peculiarly unhealthy. Because of its situation, its natural advantages and its weather, Hong Kong should be the best drained, the best watered, and in every way, the best regulated of towns from a sanitary point of view.... Ordinance No. 8 of 1856 makes it unlawful to construct or reconstruct a house without a sufficient water closet and ashpit to the satisfaction of the Surveyor General. Houses recently built have been allowed to be erected without the slightest regard to any one of these particulars. The fact is there is legal machinery enough to enforce any and every reasonable requirement and to ensure the sanitary condition of the Colony but there exists an unaccountable objection to putting that machinery into action. In 1860, the Kowloon Peninsula up to Boundary Street came under British sovereignty under the Convention of Peking (Figure 1) and this provided more room for urban growth which the prospering trade of the port had stimulated. Yet more Chinese came from the Mainland to seek employment in Hong Kong and, after a few years, to return to their families. Despite the continual outflow of people, the newcomers arrived in such numbers that by 1865 the population had increased to some 125,500 persons of whom 63% were adult males, which reflected the "frontier" character of the Colony. Demand for accommodation became more acute and, in the continued absence of the adequate enforcement of building regulations and the general lack of satisfactory water supplies and other public utility services, the general sanitary condition of the Colony became the cause of some concern particularly to Dr. Murray who, during his term of office from 1858 to 1872, repeatedly drew attention to the exceedingly unhealthy state of Hong Kong. McCoy took over as Colonial Surgeon in 1872 but died soon after, and his place was filled by Dr. Phineas Ayres in November 1873. Ayres was outspoken over the state of the Colony's public 1 Quoted in Wellington A. R., Public Health in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1930, p. 13. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1972 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h H.K.'S CENTRAL MARKET AND THE TARRANT AFFAIR 153 to themselves, in the case of Le, interest at 4% on the principal sum of $2,400 (the figure given in the deal between Ying and Le) and, in the case of Chow, at 4% on the sum of $1,000. All disbursements were to be met by them and any balance after all these purposes had been satisfied was to be put to reducing the principal outstanding to them. Once the capital sums were repaid, then the property was to be reconveyed to Hwei Afoon for a nominal $5. Thus, by mid-1847, four different people had different interests in the market. There remains one other who so far has not yet appeared on the scene. Hwei Afoon was a builder and contracted with the Government for some work on Government property at Stanley (Chek Chu). He completed the work and received an order for payment drawn on the Treasury. When he went to the Treasury to collect his money, the Treasury Compradore (Chow Aoan) told him that he would deduct $750 which was owing to Colonel Caine's Compradore (named Lo Een-teen) in respect of the Market. Afoon knew that his brother, Hwei Aqui, had agreed, in consideration of influence being exerted on his behalf to secure the lease of the Market, to make a payment of $150 per month to Lo Een-teen and also to allow him to select meat and produce in the Market without payment. The point was that Lo represented that he could persuade his master, Caine, then the Colonial Secretary, to give the lease to Hwei; apparently made these payments and after his death Afoon paid $400 to have the lease transferred to him but demurred at the payment of $150 per month, considering no doubt that there was little that Lo could do about it if he did not pay. But he was reckoning without Chow Aoan who attempted to dock the arrears of 'squeeze' unpaid by Afoon. The arrangement of 28 June 1847 may have been an attempt by the parties to reach an 'honourable' solution. But matters did not stop there for Afoon unadvisedly went to the Surveyor General's Office to complain that he was not receiving all the money due to him under his Government contract and, no doubt, explained why. He told his story to William Tarrant, the Clerk of Deeds and general factotum in the office of the Surveyor General. Tarrant had had a mixed career since arriving in China a few years previously. He had first come as a steward on board ship and, on the establishment of the colony, was able to secure the position of ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n NOTES AND QUERIES 235 The first set of regulations for the new public garden appeared in the Hongkong Government Gazette on 1st August 1864. It reads as follows: GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION The Public Garden having been established for the recreation of the inhabitants of Hongkong, all respectable persons will be admitted subject to the following regulations, which will be altered hereafter as circumstances may render necessary. 1.--No person will be allowed to walk on the grass or to quit the walks. 2.--It is strictly prohibited to pull or handle flowers, or to do any injury to any plant or tree: and persons in charge of Children are required to see that this rule is observed by them. 3.--Chinese Mechanics and labourers will not be allowed to use the Garden as a thoroughfare. 4.--No admission will be allowed to Chairs and Chair Coolies, or to Dogs unless led. 5.--The Garden will be open from 5 A.M. to 8 P.M. from April 1st to September 30th, and from 6 A.M. to 7 P.M. from October 1st to March 31st. By Order, W. WILSON, Acting Surveyor General. Surveyor General's Office, Hongkong. 6th August, 1864. Further regulations have been issued from time to time in the century and more since the Garden was first open to public use, and it has well served generations of local residents as a place for relaxation and enjoyment. The history of this useful institution which began during Sir John Bowring's term of office is long overdue. It is hoped this brief notice will encourage someone to undertake the work. HON. EDITOR ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1986 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063 62 D.A. GRIFFITHS AND S.P. LAU The site referred to is the area of rising ground to the south of the site occupied by the present Government House and on a site formerly occupied by the Record Office on "Government Hill" which had served as a temporary Government House from 1841 to 1842. On Oct 7th in 1861 Mr. Th. Donaldson was appointed Curator of the Public Gardens and the gardens were thrown open to the public under certain regulations on August 6th 1864. In October of that year the military band began giving promenade concerts in the gardens at stated intervals. The establishment of the public gardens had obviously done much to instill among the European community a sense of both pride and achievement and this sense of well-being was reflected in the wide-scale level of planting in the colony and confirmed by Eitel (1895) who stated that: "The increased attention, given to the cultivation of trees along the public roads and around European dwellings on the hill side, had already done very much to displace the pristine barrenness of the site on which the city was built by patches of shrubbery." In the copious correspondence between Hongkong and London, the gardens were referred to either as a Botanical Garden (as when the Surveyor General ordered seeds for it from a Mr. Veitch of Chelsea in 1861) or as a Public Garden and was under the auspices of the Surveyor General and a Garden Committee. In 1871 Charles Ford was appointed as the first Superintendent of Gardens and in his first letter back to Dr. Hooker of Kew after his arrival, he reported: "The Public Gardens are in a very fair order and well stocked with plants as regards quantity, but we require greater variety. "Very few of the plants are labelled and I believe, no catalogue of them has been drawn up. We have not any Orchids nor Ferns except those indigenous to the Island. The plants which have been introduced are chief- ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 206 not only recommended changes but tried to respect the sensibilities of the Chinese community. His hard-hitting report to the Colonial Office described how 'the dwellings of the Chinese working classes are inconvenient, filthy and unwholesome. Accumulations of filth occur in and around them, both above ground, and below ground, in the drains, especially in the latter.' In Chadwick's opinion it was unfair to condemn the Chinese as being 'a hopelessly filthy race till they have been provided with reasonable means for cleanliness. Furthermore, it was the Government's duty to see that these means were provided and applied. There was also 'the strongest necessity for inspection and supervision, especially whilst the new conditions are being introduced.' Chadwick had very definite opinions about the type of person who should perform these inspections. He noted that the existing sanitary staff, under the joint orders of the Colonial Surgeon and the Surveyor General, consisted of only one head and three sub-inspectors and, because these men were drawn from the same class as police sergeants, they commanded very little respect from the Chinese community. Additionally, their inability to speak Cantonese and the resulting reliance on interpreters caused frequent problems. Chadwick's solution was to introduce a post of Sanitary Officer under the control of the Registrar General. In Chadwick's view it was vital that this position was filled by a man who was not already engaged in other Government work and he considered an annual salary of £400-£500 to be appropriate. There was another reason why the proposed Sanitary Officer should report to the Registrar General rather than either the Colonial Surgeon or the Surveyor General and that was the existence of the District Watch Force. Although Chadwick was well aware that the duties of the District Watchmen 'were connected with the preservation of order only,' he perceived the District Watch Force to be 'a powerful apparatus for enforcing sanitary law.' This would get around the problem of Chinese people objecting to foreigners entering their homes. He proposed that 'their powers should be extended to include cleanliness as well as order' and 'if necessary, their numbers might be increased, and an addition made by Government to their salary, which is now paid wholly by the people of the district.' In case any further justification was required, Chadwick also stated in his report that the idea of having the District Watchmen perform these duties 'was suggested to me by the Chinese.' He omitted to specify which particular Chinese made this suggestion. The notion that 'the Chinese' thought as one and had no individual Page 240 Page 241 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2001 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g 242 Several months later on 2nd April 1842, another piece of land adjacent to the burial ground was allotted for internment of Roman Catholics.7 It was recorded that during the leveling work, because of heavy rain, a landslide obstructed Queen's Road. A letter from the Inspector of the Land Office, dated 20 June 1842, required the building of a retaining wall and the immediate clearing of the road. Burials started as soon as the site formation was over. On the same compound, two brick houses were also built, one at the bottom used as a seminary and the second at the top of the hill as the residence of Father Luke Poon8 who had just arrived from Macao to assist the work in the seminary.9 10 Epidemics of fever, which visited Hong Kong each summer in its early years of development, retarded its development and gave it an evil reputation for insalubrity. 1841 and 1842 had been bad summers, but 1843 was even worse. In 1843 the annual death rate among European troops in Hong Kong was 22 percent and among Indian troops even higher. One regiment alone, at West Point, lost a hundred men between June and the middle of August.11 The Royal Army Medical Corps history records 'Hong Kong proved a costly acquisition, as in spite of good barracks and hospital as the men continued to fall sick and die.”12 Almost all contemporary public, private and regimental records had similar entries in regard to the terrible cost in lives, particularly among the troops, in the early development of Hong Kong.13 The popular Illustrated London News had the following account in 1845: Its diseases are endemic fever, diarrhoea and dysentery...The British Commander, General D'Aguilar, has declared, that to retain Hong Kong will require the loss of a whole regiment every three years... The grave yard was soon filled and another was required form14 the Surveyor-General, who found it difficult to point out a proper spot. The burial ground in Wan Chai had only been in use for a short period's15 as space was running out. It became necessary for a new burial site and the Wong Nai Chung Valley,16 soon to be named as Happy Valley, quickly provided the answer, 17 Yet the last graves and monuments in Wan Chai were not removed until 1889. By then it had become surrounded by a dense population of Chinese of the poorer classes, it is difficult to keep it in a condition of decency and cleanliness.18 The ground was sold for development. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2001 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g 269 (present Boundary Street). Si Both the Cemeteries and Crematoria Section of the Food and Environment Hygiene Department and the cemetery office inside the Hong Kong Cemetery do not possess any historical records of the graves lying in the cemetery. The earliest Chinese grave that this author has come across there belongs to a 5-year-old child whose grave was erected in 1897 (S41 Section). 52 At the moment, no official document regarding this restriction on Chinese on entering the Colonial Cemetery has been found, though it is described in Knollys, Henry (1885), English Life in China, London: Smith, Elder, and Co, p. 18. 53 st 33 HKGG Notification of 31 May 1856. $4 Fan Mo Street was renamed Po Yan Street in 1869, see HKGG Notice of 2nd October 1869. The cemetery can be found in a redrawn map of 1856, see Empson, p. 160. 55 Surveyor General Report, Blue Book, 1856, p. 90. 56 HKGG Notifications of 31 May and 14th June 1856. 57 An 1898 by-law required each grave in 'cemeteries other than public Chinese cemeteries' to be dug to at least a depth of seven feet throughout, see HKGG Notification 532 of 26th November 1898. Another 1907 by-law required 'cemeteries other than Chinese cemeteries' should be dug to a depth of at least six feet; for other regulations, see HKGG Notification 621 of 20th September 1907. 58 HKGG Notification 169 of 2nd December 1871. 59 HKGG Notification of 353 of 2nd September 1882. 60 HKGG Notification 322 of 12th August 1882. 61 HKGG Notification 354 of 2nd September 1882. 62 HKGG Notification 229 of 6th June 1885. 63 The name 'Kaulung Cemetery' was not seen in any subsequent notifications or ================================================================================