1940-03-16 — Page 6

PAGE 6-HONGKONG TELEGRAPH

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BENTELEGRAPH” WEEK-END MAGAZINE

STUDEBAKERS Short Story by

FOR 1940

Saturday, MARCH 16, 1940.

"Bartimeus

(The Famous British Naval Writer)

Champion, Commander, THE big "Sunderland" flying boat climbed out

President Eight

Now, Outstanding features

incorporate -

of the swoop that carried her over the spot where the U-boat had crash-dived.

The sea was still convulsed with the explo- sion of the flying boat's anti-submarine bombs and as she circled round above the yeasty disturbances amongst the waves the wireless operator was GREATER VISIBILITY, tapping out his summons to the LOEWY-STYLED

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hunters.

"They dive like shag," said the pilot ruefully, focussing his glasses on the sea below. "Any idea of her course?"

"Nor" East, roughly," said the navigator. "But she'll double back on that if we didn't hit her."

THE HUNTS

MEN

They watched the sea in silence as the flying boat banked at the turn. "Nothing doing," grumbled the pilot. "No oil, no wreck- age. Nothing. Hell!"

"Signal acknowledged, sir," announced the wireless operator. The Navigator glanced at the clock and twiddled the dividers across the churt. "Two hours," he said. "They should be here in two hours."!

Englishmen & Castles

a

WHEN block of eigh- teen flats in Kowloon completed and advertised

were

re-

cently. there

were 50 many

applications]

The

Hongkong Telegraph.

Saturday, March 16, 1940. Wyndham St., Hongkong Telephone: 20615

n

that they were filled with tenants within a A well-known few days. Estate is now completing a new series of villas and large block of modern flats- all of which are booked in advance by prospective ten- ants.

It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that the supply of houses and flats in the urban areas is still far from meet- ing the demand, although the real merit of the new build- ings may, of course, be their modernity.

As the urban area of the mainland continues to shoot sprawling arms over the countryside, the problem of transportation is becoming more acute, and the cry is raised in various quarters that the situation is rapidly becom- ing out of lund.

#

Ε

APART from this, how- ever, other important ques- tions intrude. However much the idealists may speak of the bliss enjoyed by those who live in self-contained dwellings, with sufficient ground to in- dulge their instinct for gar dening or obtaining fresh air in the privacy of their own walls, more and more Hong- kong people have, chielly through necessity, become

flat dwellers.

The tastes and desires of households are governed by economic considerations. De- tached villas occupy ground

whereon sever-

in

al flats can be constructed and this, conjunction with the higher stan- dard of modern housing, tends to increase the arca of occupation. But already the extended bounds of Kow- loon are proving insufficient to provide the wifes required even for flats, whilst only in select- ed and favoured areas is it possible to obtain detached buildings of modern design,

se

*

*

RESIDENTS of Hongkong, unhappily, cannot take mat- ters into their own hands and build their own homes. Apart from the question of obtain- ing a suitable site, there is the problem of finance. In Eng- Jand it is possible to build a home with little capital: here, apparently, not only is capital a prerequisite but building costs are out of all proportion to the return obtained by not paying rent, Why this should be so in a Colony where labour. is so notoriously cheap is be- yond comprehension,

-

Government has, or had, an excellent scheme of advancing a lump sum to Civil Servants who desired to bulld their own homes, the money being paid back at a rate less than would have been paid in rental to a private landlord. It is a pity the scheme cannot be exténd- ed to selected members of the General Public; a pity, indeed, that Hongkong has not its own Building Society willing to advance the capital cost, of constructing a home.

Few Englishmen in Hong- kong can call their Homes their Castles.

"Right ho?" announced the pilot," "Check up on the posi- tion. I'll hang about till they come." He led and lit his pipe. The Sunderland climbed a bit and swung questing in wide circles like a hunting, osprey..

* * *

THE three destroyers lying

at their buoys with steam up slipped their wires and were under way by the time the pilot of the Sunderland had got his pipe drawing and had enrefully extinguished the match.

A little tangle of bright. coloured flags appeared at the yard-arm of the sub-divisionul leader. Her Captain had been asleep in his bridge cabin, fully dressed. He stood by the compass with his eyes on the other two destroyers, pull- ing on a duffle cont.

"Half speed ahead buth," he renmarked in a low conversational tone not apparently addressed to anybody in particular.

The order was repeated by invisible subordinates; A gong Unkled and forty thousand horse- power glided into their stride: the grey hilis ashore slid away: the two consorts picked up thele stations astern, white feathers of water curving away from their bows.

The Commander stepped from the compass platform to the chart table and bent over it beside the Navigator, who had made a dot on the chart and was drawing a tiny circle round it.

"She's there," he said. "Or was. Wonder if he hit her." "He didn't say."

Another hoist of flags climbed to the yard-arm, was answered and hauled down. The purring note of

Heads Rolled

No mention of the history

of Hongkong would be complete without dealing with the many piracies which have taken place in those waters.

The very fact that the islands surrounding Hong- kong were loosely spoken of as the "Ladrones", only a matter of a century or so ago, shows that, even in the time of the clipper, piracy' was more than usually frequent on the coasts of the Pacific..

From the time Hongkong be

Important commercial

came

пет

centre It would seem that the small percentage of bad characters that already inhabited the islands on the arrival of the British was considerably augmented by, marl-

the

In quite a number, of old ple ture postcards of the Colony may be found photographs of an execution on Kowloon beach. There are generally two of them; ane with four Chinese in the foreground, backed by a crowd of officials and coelle onlookers. and the second of a number of headless torgos with European witnesses behind.

The Namoa piracy, to which these photographs have reference, touie' place in December 1800.

It was one of the most awful affairs that had ever taken place In the Colony. Following a prac- tice which is even maintained to- day a number of pirates concealed themselves among the passengers on the s.s. Numon which departed for Swatow.

Land, before the officers bad time to grasp the situation, divided into parties and made a concerted at- lack on the various parts of the

Passing the island of Pinghol, between forty and fifty pirates op- time thieves who came into the-peared on the deek of the ship, Colony from adjacent parts of the mainlinu.

There are, on the north side of harbour, several localities which are spoken of na former hot-ship. beds bf pirates, and

in order to minke theso sketeknotes of the history of Hongkong cover. the more important features of the Colony's story, meation must be made of the famous Namoa piracy.

the exhaust fana deepened us speed was increased: the structure of the bridge began to tremble slightly.

*

THE hills ashore faded into the grey haze astern, and the tender lifted her bows to a slight eross well. Spray drifted, over They the foremost guns' crew. wore seaboots and rowled duffle coats and stond clustered round the breech of the gun. looking like a group of monks in conference.

The look-outs 011 the bridge wore balaclava belmets of knitted wool under their cowis, so that only their eyes and noses were visible. They stood quite motion- less, staring into the quadrant of -sen assigned to them.

The icy wind shrilled in the wire rigging and made tears trickle from the corners of their eyes. Ocensionally one drew off : leu- ther glove and wiped his check with the back of his mitten, like a child lamenting some incommunic→ able grief. -

The Captain of the lender rench- ed out his hand to a lever and tugged it twice. Everybody on the bridge turned and stared aft alon the path of the wake. The engines of the Sunderland overhead filed the air with an all-pervading drone.

Τιγα columns of water leaped "from the ̄ ̄wake ̈with ̄a ̄ ̄rour ̄ ̄and

concussion

the that Jified

de- stroyer's stern and shook her so that every plate vibrated,

"Hard a-port!" said the Com- mander in his pleasantly im- personal undertone. Again he Jerked the lever. Again the water spouted roaring to the sky. The searchlight shutter began to clatter. Far away to the cast- ward one of the consorts answer- ed. The ollier, nearer, Camic rushing towards them.

*

*

MIE water darkened suddenly. THE

There was a pungent reek' of crude petroleum oil.

The ro morseless explosiona continued.

Something dark broke the surface an instant and vanished

again. The swell subsided as the oil patch spread and awilled along the sides of the destroyers. They reduced speed, crossing and re-crossing the area in slow zig-zaga.

A few objects appeared and fouted amid a clark room. A mon's head and outflung, arms ap- and penred, smothered in all, vanished.

the

The Navigator bent over the chart, made another pencil dot and put a tiny cross through it,

Overhand

Sunderland's signal lany was blinking at them. The signal ycomun on the leader's bridge #rinned and flicked the trigger of his lamp in reply. He looked round for his Captain,

"Flying boat's signalled 'Good huntin', sir."

The Commandér nodded. "Make back: "Thanks, The brush iş yours" he paused and looked across the desolate seu "if you con find R?"

ONE-MINUTE SERMON

By Hugh Redwood

This is the will of God.

1 Thessalonians 5, 18. DOES this verse mean that we must give thanks for what- ever happens, or that, how ever cruel ar malignant Il seems, we must accept it as God's will?

God, I am sure, would not ask of us anything so unrea- sonable. Surely "this" means Paul's teaching in the 21 pre. vious verses, particularly verses 9 and 10.

Compare verse 5 with John 1, 4-12. Then turn to Romans 8, 35-36. The Christian thanks God in all circumstances be- cause from all he emerges victorious. He is more than conqueror, because his victory, in Christ, is eternal.

off in Kowloon

vigilance of the European police and the sudden awakening of the Chinese authorities to their duties.

At any rate, a number of men convicted of the offence met their deaths by decapitation on Kow- loon beach.

+

*

T this time the walled city of old. Kowloon was a place of importance in this part of China.

In addition to its being sub- stantially walled and armed with the huge guns that at present lle in the various doorways of the old elty, there were a number of officials, including a heptal, or mill- tary commander, while a weird Chinese roadway, like an irregular flight of granite steps, ran up over the mountain through Smugglers" Pass.

Kowloon's time as a big centre passed in 1890, when i came

Into British handa.

The principle of extending the Colony on the mainland had been a matter which had been engaging the attention of the British quthori- tles for some time, and certain political reasons made it desirable that the hills directly commanding the city should:puse under the con 'due to the' · trol of Great Britain.

The captain was brutally mur- dered, as well as two others, one of the pirates abio inceting with his denth.

That some of the "purticipants. were captured was

+

The Chinese authorities ad- mitted that the request was a reasonable

one, and In June, 1808, It was announced in the Colony that China had leased two hundred square miles of ter ritory round Hongkong, though even then Kowloon maintained some of its independence as long as that did not conflict with the military

flio requirements of

Colony.

The position may be shortly stated. In 1842, Hongkong be- camo British by the Treaty of Nanking, by the Peking Convention of 1800 British Kowloon was added to the territory acquired in 1042, and in 1800 that portion on the mainland was extended to two hundred square miles by a lense to extend for 99 yours.

It was agreed at that time that the Chinese officials in Kowloon should continue to exercise juris- dielion, with the only limitation already mentioned.

That proviso has also passed away, and Kowloon is now as much o part of the Crown Colóny of Hongkong as any other, district.

THERE is much to be learned from the story of Hongkong's

growth and to deal with It ef- ciently would require the careful attention of a balanced historian.

The great lesson is as to what the colonising power of the British is really capable of,

Hongkong came inte our pos- session, an island of 1-repute,

so bad that is addith, to the empire was looked on with outspoken .disfavour,

An unhealthy spot where the population of Europeans died of with appalling quickness, a locailty Inhabited by Chinese whose char- peteristics were not of the best, and generally malarious and un- savoury spol, has been turned into the third port of the Empire and n most up-to-date possession of which Britain might well be proud. There have been scandală în the administration of the Colony and have been matters that vlowed in the light of after 'ex- perionco muy, be occasions for re- gret, but the fact remains that, with most unpromising material, the British race in seventy years made another green and flourish ing spot on the globe, and in doing so redeemed an island that one famous journal would have liked to have seen go back to the sen

came. from whence

there