October 28, 1904.]
EVOLUTION OF HONGKONG.
[Written for the Hongkong Daily Press.)
(Continued from last week.)
IV.
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It is neither necessary nor interesting to recount the story of the intercourse of the East India Company at Canton during the later years of the eighteenth century, and the first quarter of the nineteenth, further than to remark that it had lost the coufidence of all, whether disciples of the coming school of Free Trade, or men simply anxious for the good name of their country.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. and the publication of the accounts showing enormous profits from the trade had their natural effect in bringing others to the front. The earliest pioneer of British private trade seems to have been Mr. William Jarline, who commenced bis visits to China in 1802, but who did not become a regular resident till 1-20. Next to him in point of time was Mr. Davidson, who, however, had become a naturalised Portu guese subject. After the renewal of the modified Charter, while the Company still had powers of repressing competition, but from prudential motives did not always care to press them to extremes, we find R. Inglis representing Dent and Co. about 1823, and the brothers Matheson coming a few years later, The Mathesons were more worthy of note Under ts original Char er the East India as they boldly and openly attacked the mono- Company had been granted a monopoly of poly at its seat, and in 1827 started the first British trade in Eastern seas, As the opera- newspaper in China, a weekly sheet denomi- tions of the Company became more extensive,nated the Canton Register, to disseminate, and commerce grew, it became necessary from the doctrines of Free Trade then beginning to time to time to define the rights of the Com- make a stir in the world; and more particularly pany in relation to private traders generally, to advocate the suppression of the East India It was gradually established that no British Company's monopoly of the China trada. Ia subject was entitled to land in China except this they were ably backed up by a large and under passport granded by the Directors; powerful section of the home press, so that and that no British ship could participate when the Reform Bill of 1831 was at last carried in the trade except auder special license against the strong opposition of the privileged from the Company, which license was
classes; and with the assistance of the. Free liable to be withdrawn without notice at Traders, men generally foresaw that the mono- the discretion of the Select Committee at Can-poly under the new Parliament was not likely ton, which had furthermore power to deport to be renewed. soy British subject who contravened in any Under the circumstances the Company, find. way its regulations. Se jealous was the Coming no support in its retrogressive policy pany of its prerogative that practically these gradually relaxed its opposition to private trade passports were only granted to a few private and private traders; and began to make arrange. friends of the Directors at long intervals, and
menis for winding up its affairs, Still so lato as their holders were held to be private guests March 1830 we find the Committee in Canton and were maintained at the general expense. iaddressing the board of Directors as to the Opium and some other commodities were necessity, in their opinion, of being vasted conveyed to the coast of China in private ships,
"with sufficient power to control the private then denominated " country ships," but these British merchant ships," which seems to have vessels though private were strictly under the been at interference with what had now become command of the Select Committee who had the inevitable. power of cancelling their licenses and compel- ling them to depart.
But if the authority of the Committee were thus complete over all vessels carrying the British flag, it had from the nature of the case no control of any sort over foreign vessels; and this was more especially galing in the case of the Portuguese, Spaniards, and Dutch, whose intercourse was of older date than the Company, and who had their own understand ings with the Chinese officials. Later other countries such as France and Denmark entered into the trade, and could not be excluded. They, however, generally worked with the Select Committee, and interfered little with the course of trade. It was naturally a different thing when after the declaration of Independence the United States sent their ships to take part in the trade, and a good deal of friction at the beginning naturally arose.
Before, however, the final closure of the Company's monopoly a curious instince of the contempt into which it had succeeded in bring. ing the British prestige in China is recorded. On the 12th May 1839, the Fu-yenn in com- pany with the Hoppo during the absence of the Company's representatives at Macao forcibly entered the Factory. It seemed that some two years before the residents had renewed some of the wharfage in front of the Factory, without it was alleged craving permission. The Fa- youn deliberately walked into the dining room, and seeing a picture hanging up asted whose portrait it was, receiving an auswer that it was the portrait of His Majesty George IV., he gave directions to have it an covered and deliberately sat dowa with his back to it, sent for the linguists and asked how they dared to permit the ground in front of the factory to be altered: the first having replied that he had no power to interfere with the chief, the Fa-yuen ordered chains to be brought, and put on him, and threatened him further with decapitation in case within two days the pre- mises were not restored to their former condi. tion. As a memento of one of the final insults to which the Company in its eagerness for trade under any conditions of national humiliation was subjected, on the establishment of Govern. ment House iu Hongkong the portrait was presented to the Governor, and still remains as a dumb witness of the old time.
In 1813 the Charter of the Company expired, and in the growing desire in England for Reform of Parliament and the abolition of monopolies, it was with much trouble, and only on the condition that the political and meroan. tile interests of the East India Company should be separated, and that strict accounts of the latter should be annually published, that Par- liament consented to an ad interim prolongation of the monopoly, but only for a term of twenty years. At home the same party that was agitating for the reform of Parliament was also a strong advocate of freeing trade from the In April 1834, the Charter of the Company shackles of high protection, and the abandon-finally expired, Parliament having decided that ment of monopolies of all sorts. It was un- in the general interest of commerce it was best deniably growing in strength, and was rapidly absorbing the growing intellect of the country, so that it was evident to all thinking minds that a change was imminent, and it was ex- pedient that measures should be taken to prevent the change becoming explosive.
Although the East India Company struggled hard to maintain its monopoly of the trade of the Far East, the indications were clear that this would not be again extended, and that it would be wise to permit affairs to gradually take their course, in order to avoid a sud ion disrup. tion. Even before the expiry of their old charter in 1813 one or more British merchants had successfully evaded its provisions by taking papers of foreign nationality, and in this it was notorious that they were backed up by
{ parties in England high in power. This fact,
out
to abolish the monopoly, and throw open the eastera trade to all. The effects were immediately apparent in the enormous expansion of the trade. The struggle had lasted for more than twenty years and the men who had been keenest in the strife DOW found the time had arrived to reap their spoils; the Jardines, the Mathesons, the Dents, the Gibbs, the Turners, The Hollidays, the Inneses, -were ready to enter on the field their prowESS had won, and for more than a generation kept the lead almost entirely in their hands. With their ascendency commences the private history of Hongkong, for though the fature Colony bad not yet been founded, affairs were fast verging to a crisis; and its inauguration was merely s matter of time, and a short time as events proved.
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The Chinese authorities were by no means unprepared for what was taking place, and saw that to control a number of free merchants in an open trade would be a far more difficult task than to order about the Company; which was 80 tender of its trade that the mere hint of stopping it for a few weeks was always sufficient to mike its chiefs concur in any encroachment, however glaring or galling to the individual. We find them accordingly appealing to the British authorities to appoint a director who should have control of the entire body of the British mercautile community. The beau-ideal of the viceroy, who was the first to mention, the subject was the Chinese guild system; so far as concerned their own personal affairs, into them he had no desire to enter; they might govern themselves by their own laws provided they did not interfere with his, when the two clashed the foreign custom must give way. In fact the system suggested was the counterpart of in the ninth century. that and prevailed in the Arab settlement Oar modern comm- mentators, without understanding the con- ditions, have in many cases been led astray by the claims of the Young China party that extraterritoriality is a thing that was for. cibly thrust upon them by Fngland in con- sequence of the high-handed action of the Canton authoritie; the fact is that the Chinese Govern- ment itself prayed the British authorities to establish it. And whereas," proceeds the original Order in Council issued on the with- drawal of the monopoly, "the officers of the Chinese Government resident in or near Canton, in the Empire of China, have signified to the Supracargoes of the East India Company at Can ton the desire of that Government that effectual provisi u should be made by law for the good order of all his Majesty's subjects resorting to Caton, and for the maintainance of peace and dae subordination amongst them; and it is expe. dient that effect should be given to such resson- able demands of the said Chinese Government; Now, therefore-"'&c. The Chinese in one respect, indeed reckoned without their host; they had grown so accustomed to the submission of the Company, and its absolute control over its representatives, that they expected that the same ready acquiescence would be exhibited under the new regime; and had no idea that there was such a thing as British law, to which even the Sovereign has to submit; so finding that the new chiefs were unable to exerciss the same arbitrary powers over their nationals, they attributed their disobedience to personal frowardness.
To support the necessary establishment the three Superintendents to be appointed in pursuance of the aot were to have power to levy dues on tonnage and an ad valorem duty on goods conveyed in British ships, and in general, till fuller orders were granted, to exercise all rights and functions heretofore belonging to the office of the Company's Supracargoes. In pur. suance of the act the three Superintendenta named were Lord Napier of Manchestoan, a cplain in .M. Navy, and Messrs. W. H. Plowden and J. F. Davis, two former members of the Company's Select Committee. On their departure Lord Palmerston, then His Majesty's Foreign Minister, gave them instructions," to foster and protect the trade of his Majesty's subjects in China; to extend trade if possible to other ports in Chius; to induce the Chinese Government to enter into commercial relations with the British Government; and to seek with peculiar caution and circumspection to ally establish direct diplomatic communication with the Imperial Court at Peking," as well as to take measures so far as possible to have the cast surveyed, as well as to have a look out for some practical place of refuge for British ships in case of hostilities.
(To be continued.]
eventu.
Four men have been arrested by the Hung. hom police on a charge of being concerned in the murder of Im Tong, a widow, on the 4th inst. It was alleged that the conduct of the deceased since the death of her husband had not met with the approval of severn- people and probably sotuated by jealousy number of men called at her house on the 4th inst, and set on her with choppers and killed her, afterwards burying the body. T'he police became aware of the crime through an informar betraying his friends.
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