ENG-1979 — Page 293

216

HISTORY

Pottinger, who had returned to Hong Kong during the winter lull in the campaign, was pleased with the progress of the new settlement and, in the Treaty of Nanjing (Nanking), deviated from his instructions by successfully demanding both a treaty and an island, thus securing Hong Kong. In addition, five Chinese ports including Guangzhou (Canton) were opened for trade. The commercial treaty was embodied in the supplementary Treaty of the Humen (Bogue), October, 1843, by which the Chinese were allowed free access to Hong Kong Island for trading purposes.

Lease of New Territories

The Second Anglo-Chinese War (1856-8) arose out of disputes over the interpretation of the earlier treaties and over the boarding of a British lorcha, the Arrow, by Chinese in search of suspected pirates. The Treaty of Tianjin (Tientsin), 1858, which ended the war, gave the British the privilege of diplomatic representation in China. The first British envoy, Sir Frederick Bruce, who had been the first Colonial Secretary in Hong Kong, was fired on at Dagu (Taku) Bar on his way to Peking to present his credentials, and hostilities were renewed from 1859-60.

The troops serving on this second expédition camped on Kowloon Peninsula, as the earliest colony photographs show. Finding it healthy, they wished to retain it as a military cantonment, with the result that Sir Harry Parkes, Consul at Guangzhou (Canton), secured from the Viceroy the perpetual lease of the peninsula as far as Boundary Street, including Stonecutters Island. The Convention of Peking, 1860, which ended the hostilities, provided for its outright cession.

Other European countries and Japan subsequently demanded concessions from China, particularly after Germany, France and Russia rescued China from the worst consequences of its defeat by Japan in 1895. In the ensuing tension, Britain felt that efficient defence of Hong Kong harbour demanded control of the land around it.

By the Convention of Peking on June 9, 1898, the New Territories, comprising the area north of Kowloon up to the Shum Chun River, and 235 islands, was leased for 99 years. The move was directed against France and Russia, not against China whose warships were allowed to use the wharf at Kowloon City, where Chinese authority was permitted to continue 'except insofar as may be inconsistent with the military requirements for the defence of Hong Kong'. An Order in Council of December 27, 1898, revoked this clause and the British thus unilaterally took over Kowloon City. Some desultory opposition when the British took over the New Territories in March, 1899, soon disappeared. The area was declared part of the colony but was administered separately from the urban area.

Initial Growth

The new colony did not go well at first. It attracted unruly elements, fever and typhoons threatened life and property. Crime was rife. The Chinese influx was unexpected because it was not anticipated they would choose to live under a foreign flag. The population rose from 32,983 (31,463 Chinese) in 1851 to 878,947 (859,425 Chinese) in 1931.

The Chinese asked only to be left alone and thrived under a liberal British colonial rule. Hong Kong became a centre of Chinese emigration and trade with Chinese communities abroad. Ocean-going shipping using the port increased from 2,889 ships in 1860 to 23,881 in 1939. The dominance of the China trade forced Hong Kong to conform to Chinese usage and to adopt the silver dollar in 1862 as the currency unit. In 1935, when China went off silver, Hong Kong had to follow suit with an equivalent ‘managed' dollar.