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to arouse public interest in the improvement of St. John's
Cathedral. The Hon . F. Parry donated a peal of bells which
were rung for the first time on the new-year's eve of 31st
December, 1869. By a public subscription, yielding $3,500 and
forthwith doubled by the Government, Bishop Alford secured
also the erection of a new chancel (November 29, 1870), which
was enriched by the erection of a memorial window by the
executors of the late Douglas Lapraik. But the tower of St.
John's Cathedral was left as before waiting for its spire. Sir
468 CHAPTER XIX.

Richard made, shortly before he left the Colony, an order
(February, 1872) to the effect that no fees whatever should be-
charged for any ecclesiastical service connected with St. John's
Cathedral.
The principal events of the social life of this period were the
festivities connected with the visit to Hongkong of H.R.H.
Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, and particularly the opening
of the new City Hall, the foundation stone of which had been
laid on 23rd February, 1867, by Sir R. MacDonnell. For weeks,
preparations had been made for the Duke's reception , on the basis
of a programme devised by Sir Richard and published in the
Government Gazette. From the moment when H.M.S. Galatea
arrived (October 31 , 1869 ) with the Duke on board, until 16th
November, when he finally left the Colony, Hongkong society,
both foreign and Chinese, was revelling in incessant festivities.
Immediately on his arrival, the Duke landed privately and dined
at Government House with the Governor and Admiral Keppel,
his former chief. Next evening he privately attended a dinner
given by the Hon . W. Keswick at the mansion of Jardine.
Matheson & Co., and then inspected incognito the illuminations,
fire works and dragon processions, which kept the whole town in
a blaze of light till the early morning . On 2nd November, three
hours before the time fixed for the official landing of the Duke..
Admiral the Hon . Sir H. Keppel , K.C.B., whom the Colony had
honoured with a farewell-banquet as the embodiment of the
true British policy in China, having to leave for England, came
down at 8 a.m. to embark at Murray Pier, when, to his surprise,
he found there a barge manned by the officers of the Galatea who
rowed him to the mail steamer, the Duke himself at the stroke
oar and Commodore Oliver J. Jones acting as coxswain. At 11
a.m. the Duke landed with due ceremony at Pedder's Wharf¸
attended by Sir H. Kellett and his two equerries. Sir Richard.
having formally bid him welcome, conducted him in great
state to the City Hall which the Duke opened and inspected.
Some 300 gentlemen were then introduced to the Duke, who
graciously replied also to four addresses presented to him, viz. by
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR R. G. MACDONNELL. 469

Mr. Th. Pyke for the general community, by Mr. D. Ruttunjee
for the Parsee merchants, and by Chinese deputies of the native
merchants and Government schoolmasters, whose gorgeous uni-
forms and elaborate kotou's gave to the scene a picturesque Oriental
colouring. In the evening the Duke was present at a banquet
given at Government House and followed by a reception held by
Lady MacDonnell. On 3rd November, the Duke drove out with
the Governor to the Happy Valley, and attended in the evening
the first performances given , at the new City Hall Theatre, by
the Amateur Dramatic Corps and by the members of the German
Club Concordia. A grand ball held next day at the City Hall,
and a magnificent performance given, on the following day, by
Chinese actors at the Tunghing theatre and followed by a Chinese
dinner, concluded the first part of the programme. Whilst the Duke
paid a visit to Canton and Macao, by means of the river-steamer
Kinshan which the H. C. & M. Steamboat Company had placed
at his disposal, the Chinese festivities and dragon processions
continued in Hongkong. After his return (9th November) , the
Duke visited Major- General Whitfield who was laid up with
sickness, dined with Colonel Milles and the officers of the 75th
Regiment and subsequently with Commodore Jones. He further
attended two more banquets and public receptions at Government
House, received two additional addresses (by the clergy and the
masters of the mercantile marine) , attended a cricket match, took
part in a game at bowls at the Oriental Bowling Alley, acted
as conductor of the orchestra at a theatrical performance given
by the officers of the Galatea in the City Hall Theatre,
entertained the Governor and Lady MacDonnell on board his
ship, and finally laid, immediately before his departure, the
first stone of the new chancel of St. John's Cathedral (November,
16th). The Duke's courtesy and gracious bearing on every
occasion won for him the greatest popularity, whilst the success
which attended all the festivities given in his honour was a
source of much pride and pleasure to the whole community.
Among the many signs of healthy social life and progress
manifested during this period stands out prominently the
470 CHAPTER XIX.

formation (November 12, 1867) of the Association for securing
parliamentary influence on behalf of the Colony. It was hoped
that relief might by this means, rather than by appeals to the
Colonial Office, be obtained for the most pressing grievances.
under which the community laboured . Mr. A. P. Sinnett acted
as secretary for the society until July, 1868. On 23rd Decem-
ber, 1867 , a meeting of the Association adopted a Memorial-
to be presented to the House of Commons. It was a forcible
protest against the levy of the Military Contribution . During the
following year the influence of the Association was strengthened
by the formation in London (April, 1868) of a corresponding
Association of former colonists, and the Hongkong Association
received some recognition by a Committee of the Legislative
Council, consulting the Association in the matter of the Building.
Ordinance then under discussion . However, the Petition to
the House of Commons fell to the ground owing to the inaction
of the London branch of the Association . Moreover, the action
of the local Association was paralysed for the time (July 8,
1869) by internal dissensions as to the question whether the
scope of the Association was confined to local grievances or
included the general tenor of British policy in China and Japan .
Another semi-political but less aspiring association was that
formed by Mr. W. N. Middleton, and supported by other talented
local artists (Mr. J. B. Coughtrie and Mr. E. Beart), who
humorously but most effectively criticized and caricatured, to
the intense amusement of the community, local politics and
manners, celebrities and oddities, by means of the China Punch,
published at irregular intervals from 28th May, 1867 , until
28th May, 1868. In the Public Gardens, where the Parsee
community erected a handsome Bandstand, great improvements
were made by the new Curator (Ch . Ford) and public interest
was enlisted for the time in the management of the Gardens
(January 19, 1872 ) by withdrawing the Gardens and Afforestation
Department from the supervision of the Surveyor General and
placing it under a representative Advisory Committee . The re-
opening of the Seamen's Hospital which Jardine, Matheson & Co.
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR R. G. MACDONNELL. 471

(May, 1866) had rebuilt at a cost of $30,000 , the transformation of
the old Victoria Library and Reading Rooms into a Club (August
15 , 1871 ) thenceforth known as Victoria Club, and the short-lived
attempt to establish a public refuge for the destitute and for
discharged prisoners (May, 1871 ) , were also indications of a
healthy public spirit. On the other hand, the collapse of the
Volunteer Corps, which had to be disbanded (June 1 , 1866 )
owing to the non-attendance of its members, has also to be
recorded, but had perhaps a deeper source in the commercial
crisis which just then paralysed local activities.
The establishment of a Swimming Bath (June, 1866) , of
ocean yacht races (December, 1868 ) and of bicycle races
(February 15 , 1870) , provided new incentives an1 facilities for
public recreation . Complaints were made at the Wongnaichung
races of March, 1869, that the Americans present forsook the
Grand Stand for the superior attractions of a private shed
belonging to the leading American firms (Russell & Co. and
A. Heard & Co.). But harmony was soon restored. On
28th February, 1870 , an address signed by the entire community
was presented to Admiral Rowan in command of the U. S.
Asiatic Squadron, to express the sympathy universally felt in the
Colony with the sufferers from the shipwreck of the U. S.
Corvette Oneida in the gulf of Yeddo, caused by collision with
the P. & O. S. S. Bombay on 24th January, 1870. The departure
of the U. S. flagship Delaware (June 19, 1870), the officers
of which had been general favourites in local society, was much
regretted. The anniversary of Washington's birthday was
celebrated (March, 1871 ) by the whole foreign community as the
guests of the officers of the U. S. S. Colorado who enlivened
their entertainment by an improvised regatta .
The German community was, in 1870 and 1871 , much
exercised by the successive events of the Franco-German war.
Large sums were collected in Hongkong and forwarded for the
relief of the sick and wounded of both belligerents. At one
single concert ( December, 1870) a sum of $2,000 was raised .
The China Mail was for some time ostracized by the German
472 CHAPTER ΧΙΧ.

residents who saw unfairness in the unfriendly criticisms which
the editor passed on the measures taken by Germany after the
battle of Sedan . The restoration of peace was celebrated (March,
1871 ) by a public banquet. In November, 1871 , the German
Club raised, by a concert, a considerable sum in aid of the relief
fund which was organized in Hongkong as soon as the news
of the great conflagration at Chicago was received. The new
building erected for the German Club in Wyndham Street, a
fine structure of Gothic design, was opened on 2nd February,
1872. About the same time, a collection was organized for
the foundation of a new library at Strassburg (February 8,
1872) and a considerable number of Chinese works, including
some rare manuscripts from Formosa, were secured for the
new library.
Among the minor events of the social life of this period
may be chronicled the dedication of the new Masonic Hall
(December 27, 1865), a public farewell dinner given to Dr.
Kane (May, 1867), the opening of the new Hongkong Hotel
building (February 29, 1868 ) , the arrival of the Austro-
Hungarian expedition under Admiral Baron Petz, with Professor
Scherzer (June, 1869 ) , the public dinner given to Commodore
Jones (April, 1870), the arrival of Mr. George Francis Train
( September 3, 1870) , a series of public lectures given by Dr.
Legge on Confucianism and by Dr. Eitel on Buddhism ( Decem-
ber, 1870 to February, 1871 ), the celebration of Beethoven's
centenary by a concert given in the City Hall ( December 20,
1870 ) , the arrival of the Hon . Mrs. Yelverton (Lady Avanmore)
from San Francisco ( September 15, 1871 ) , and a public lecture
on Knox by Dr. Legge ( December, 1871 ).
Fifteen different countries were by this time represented
in Hongkong by officially recognized Consuls, viz .: Austria by
G. von Overbeck (March 19, 1867 ) ; Belgium by H. Nicaise
(August 29 , 1871 ) ; Denmark, Sweden and Norway by G. J.
Helland (December 26 , 1865 ) ; France by H. du Chesne (January
14, 1865) ; Germany by A. Eimbke (August 7 , 1869) ; Italy and
Hawaii by W. Keswick (April 28, 1868, and April 10, 1869) ;
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR R. G. MACDONNELL. 473

the Netherlands by L. Beyer (June 4, 1870) ; Portugal by J. J.
dos Remedios (January 19 , 1872) ; Russia by J. Heard (April 16,
1862) ; Siam by J. Fraser (May 26 , 1868) ; Spain by F. Ortuño
(February 11 , 1867 ) ; the United States by Lieutenant-Colonel
Goulding, succeeded by D) . H. Bailey ( October 21 , 1870) .
As regards public calamities, the period of Sir Richard's
administration is characterized by an extraordinary frequency
of serious typhoons . On 30th June, 1865, a typhoon, which
did comparatively little damage in the Colony, engulfed two
Hongkong steamers, Corea and Chanticleer, which had left Swatow
on that day for Hongkong in company and disappeared , leaving
no trace behind. The edge of a typhoon touched Hongkong on
7th July, 1866, and did considerable damage. During the next
year ( 1867 ), three successive typhoons ( 8th August, 8th September,
and 1st October) caused serious disasters both ashore and afloat,
particularly the first of them, by which four large vessels in
harbour were driven on shore, two sunk, and innumerable junks
wrecked. On 26th September, 1870, great damage to life and
property was occasioned by a typhoon, the Praya Wall was
broken up in places, the S.S. Walter and a yacht were sunk,
and on board the junks whose wrecks covered the Praya hundreds
of lives were lost . The same scenes were enacted on 2nd Septem-
ber, 1871 , when, beside the injuries caused to houses in town,
many vessels in harbour were damaged or stranded, and the
French barque Nancy and the German barque Hans became
total wrecks. Few conflagrations occurred during this period,
but one of them (November 28, 1867 ) was of extraordinary
magnitude, as nearly 500 houses were destroyed. The year
(1867) in which this disaster occurred, and which is also marked
by the occurrence of three serious typhoons, is further distin-
guished by a gunpowder explosion and by two serious landslips .
On 17th January, 1867. the barque Themis was lying near
Stonecutters' Island alongside the powder-hulk Zephyr, which had
200,000 pounds of gunpowder on board, and a gang of coolies was
at work moving barrels of powder, when suddenly an explosion
occurred which blew both vessels to pieces, caused the death
474 CHAPTER XIX..

of some forty persons, and shook most houses in town. In the
month of October, two landslips took place, one destroying the
gas mains at Westpoint and leaving the whole Colony in
darkness for one night, while the other converted a row of
eight Chinese houses at Taipingshan into a heap of ruins,
involving also the loss of some lives, whereupon a jury blamed
the Surveyor General for not having foreseen the accident .
On 8th May, 1870, the singular spectacle occurred of a vessel,
the Dunmail, sailing into harbour and being wrecked in the
act of anchoring within a few hundred yards from the Docks,
on the rocks near Hunghom.
The obituary of this period is particularly distinguished
by the death. at Headquarter House, of Mrs. Brunker (July 1 ,
1868) and Major- General Brunker (March 23 , 1869 ) , and further
includes the names of Mrs. Sinale (October, 1868 ) , Assistant
Surveyor-General Clark (October, 1868 ) , Mr. Margesson (July,
1869) ; G. J. Barber, R.N. (December 28, 1869), Dr. A Cochran
(March 7 , 1870) , H. P. Austin (September 14, 1870 ) , Mrs.
Kresser (September, 1870 ) , Captain J. B. Endicott (November
6, 1870), Th . Donaldson (November, 1870) , J. Donoval, Elec-
trician of the Telegraph Company (February 9, 1871 ) , F. T.
Hazeland, Crown Solicitor ( February 21 , 1871 ) , Bishop Smith ,
who died in England (December 14, 1871 ) , and Mrs. Hugh
Hughes (January 5 , 1872 ) .
By the time when Sir Richard's term of administration
came to an end, in April 1872 , the whole community of
Hongkong sincerely regretted his departure. Besides a farewell-
dinner given in his honour by the members of the Civil Service
(April 5 ), the foreign community gave him a magnificent banquet
(April 9 ) , and the Chinese merchants presented a graudiloquent
but genuine laudatory address (April 11 ) together with a
Memorial against the coolie trade. Sir Richard left the Colony
on 11th April, 1872 , by French mail-steamer, having for his
fellow-passengers the Portuguese Governor of Macao and the
Spanish Governor-General of the Philippine Islands. After his
return to England, he retired from the service, occupied himself
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR R. G. MACDONNELL . 475

for some years with various literary studies and died on 5th
February, 1881 .
That Sir R. MacDonnell had understood the real position
and needs of the Colony better than most of its Governors,
appears clearly from the following extracts taken from one of his
published dispatches (October 29 , 1867 ) . The circumstances
of the Colony of Hongkong are so entirely exceptional and
peculiar, that it is difficult for the Executive to derive from the
experience of other Colonies, or the precedents established by
the practice and traditions of Europe, any adequate system for
its government and legislation...I would advocate the policy of
leaving the Colony as far as possible the liberty to expend, on
local improvements and works, all the available public income
that can be raised from the community for these purposes,
because the prestige and the preference given to it, as a depot,
depends greatly on the advantages, as a residence and as a
convenient depot , which it may continue to offer... I should
gladly see more activity in making sanitary improvements and
in rendering the loading and discharge of vessels more easy and
less expensive than at present.'
The general feeling of the community, at the time of Sir
Richard's final departure, was -that he was an emphatically
sincere and, though a stern character, by no means an acrid man ;
that he was an able ruler, one of the most able, if not the best,
of Hongkong's Governors ; that he failed to please everybody.
because he, on principle, strove to do only what he himself
thought best in the interests of the Colony, without fear or favour
of any man ; that he improved the police , the roads and the water-
works of the Colony ; that he was not only careful in the man-
agement of the Colonial finances but established prosperity in
place of positive insolvency ; that he succeeded where every
preceding Governor had failed, viz., in suppressing the local
haunts and resources of piracy ; that he knew how to govern the
Chinese and gave them their proper subordinate place ; that the
best and most popular trait of his administration was the true
English jealousy with which he guarded the honour and position
476 CHAPTER XIX.

of the Colony, the freedom of the port and its tradal interests,
against Hongkong's enemies, both Chinese and British. In short,
the verdict of the community on the value of Sir R. MacDonnell's
administration may be summed up in the words of Shakespeare :
Here goes a Caesar ! When comes such an other ?·
 CHAPTER XX .



THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR ARTHUR E. KENNEDY.

April 16, 1872, to March 1, 1877.

IR Arthur E. Kennedy, K.C.M.G. , C.B., who had previously
S¹
acted as Governor of several Colonial Possessions (West-
const of Africa, Western Australia, Vancouver's Island, and
West African Settlements) , arrived in Hongkong, as Governor
and Commander-in-chief of the Colony and its Dependencies,
on 16th April, 1872. During his tenure of office, Sir Arthur
was absent from the Colony but twice. On 15th October, 1874,
he left for England but, hearing in Singapore of Lady Kennedy's
death, he immediately returned to Hongkong (November 5,
1874) . Again, on 11th March, 1875, Sir Arthur left the Colony
on furlough and returned on 2nd December, 1875. On both
occasions the Government was administered during his absence
by the Colonial Secretary, the Hon. J. Gardiner Austin .
When Sir Arthur was sworn in as Governor and Commander-
in- chief, an error was made in the oath tendered to him by the
Acting Chief Justice ( H. J. Ball ) and consequently he had to
be sworn in again as to the part in which the wrong oath had
before been administered. Major-General Whitfield, who had
administered the Government previous to Sir Arthur's arrival,
remained in command of Her Majesty's Forces in China and
the Straits until April 1874. A public address was presented
to him, on his departure from the Colony, testifying to the
respect in which he was held among the community, on
account of the conscientiousness and the unassuming geniality
he displayed in the discharge of his several offices.
Sir A. Kennedy had hardly anything to do in the way of
diplomatic negotiations with foreign Governments, but a great
478 CHAPTER XX.

deal by way of hospitable entertainment of the representatives of
foreign Powers. The only diplomatic note the Governor was
called upon to write was a mild remonstrance addressed to the
Governor of Macao when Mr. W. H. Forbes' yacht had been fired
upon (April 27 , 1876 ) by Portuguese soldiers . The Macao Govern-
ment forthwith tendered a satisfactory apology. Another Macao
Governor, Senhor C. C. da Silva, visited Hongkong (December
29, 1876) and received quite an ovation from the local Portuguese
residents and the friendliest reception from the Governor.
As regards the Imperial Government of China, Sir Arthur
was indeed for many years occupied with an international diplo-
matic question, in the shape of the Hongkong Customs Blockade,
but he discussed it exclusively with the Colonial Office in Downing
Street and not with the Authorities at Peking. The Governor's
communications with Chinese officials were therefore confined
to visits he received from the Canton Hoppo, Tsun Kai (August
11 , 1876 ) and from Kwoh Sung- tao (December 6, 1876 ) , China's
first Ambassador to London, and to the publication in the
Government Gazette (May 24, 1872 ) of a Dispatch from the
Tsungli Yamen at Peking to the Viceroy of Canton, requesting
the latter to order the issue of proclamations calling upon the
Chinese people to treat foreigners with politeness because it was
necessary for China that the friendly relations with foreigners
should be firmly and closely knit. When the Emperor of China,
reigning under the style Tungchi, died of smallpox (January 12,
1875 ) and was succeeded by the infant Tsai Tien , placed under
a regency formed by the two Empresses under the style Kwongsui
(February 23, 1875 ) , Sir Arthur took no official notice of either
of these events, although H. M. Minister at Peking sent him
telegraphic information on both occasions. The Chinese popu-
lation of Hongkong likewise evinced no interest whatever in
those events, although they consider themselves to be still subjects
of the Empire of China, whilst enjoying in Hongkong all the
essential privileges of British subjects .
Among the representatives of foreign Powers to whom Sir
Arthur had the honour of shewing hospitality on behalf of the
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR A. E. KENNEDY. 479

Colony, there was the King of Cambodja, who arrived (July 16 ,
1872 ) in the French Corvette Bourayne and was entertained by
the Governor with royal honours. There was further H.I.H.
the Grand Duke Alexis, third son of the Czar, who arrived
(September 13, 1872) as an officer of the Russian Corvette
Svetlana. He held a levée on board (September 16 , 1872 ) ,
followed by a reception given in his honour, on the same evening,
at Government House. After a visit to Japan, he returned
to Hongkong (January 15, 1873) and attended various enter-
tainments given in his honour, visiting also the race- course on
every race day ( 20th to 22nd February, 1873 ) . Finally there
were two German Princes, Philip and Augustus of Sachse- Coburg
Gotha, cousins of Her Majesty, who stayed at Government
House for some days ( 21st to 25th December, 1872) en route
to Shanghai.
The constitution of the Colonial Government was amended
during Sir Arthur's administration by the issue of Letters Patent
(June 8, 1875 ) granting a Supplementary Charter, by which
the administration of the Government, in the case of the
Governor's death, incapacity or absence, was vested in the
Lieutenant-Governor or Colonial Secretary for the time being.
The same document enlarged also the Governor's power of
granting pardons to criminals.
Sir Arthur continued the work of his predecessors in
perfecting the organisation of the various Departments of the
Civil Service. In the Colonial Secretary's Department he
amalgamated the office of Auditor General with that of Colonial
Secretary (December 10, 1872 ), a measure against which the
Hon . Ph . Ryrie made a protest in Legislative Council, but ,
as the motion was left unsupported, it fell to the ground .
Sir Arthur created also the post of Assistant Colonial Secretary
(February 10, 1875 ) , appointing Mr. A. Lister to the post,
but when the latter was soon after removed to another office,
this new post was not continued . The Supreme Court organi-
zation was modified during this period ( Ordinance 12 of 1873 ) .
A code of civil procedure was establishel (Ordinance 13 of 1873)
480 CHAPTER XX.

and the Summary Court was abolished by conferring upon the
Supreme Court, under a Judge and Puisne Judge, a summary
jurisdiction at law and in equity (Ordinance 14 of 1873 ) . The
effect of this reconstitution of the Hongkong Supreme Court
was to assimilate it to that which had been established in
Shanghai for British subjects in China and Japan under an
Order in Council. The Registrar General's Department also
underwent some changes. The establishment of a system of
registering all births and deaths (Ordinance 7 of 1872 )
necessitated the addition of a new registration branch, whilst
by another measure (Ordinance 2 of 1876 ) the Registrar General
was divested of the judicial functions he had hitherto exercised
in connection with the working of the Contagious Diseases
Ordinance. But the powers of the Registrar General to order
persons to undergo periodical medical examinations and to be
subsequently detained in hospital were still reserved to that officer.
The Survey Department was not considered to work satisfactorily
for some time previous to the resignation of Mr. L. H. Moorsom
(October 5, 1872), provisionally succeeded by Lieutenant
McHardy, R.E., who was succeeded (July 21 , 1873) by Mr.
J. M. Price, as Surveyor General. This Department was now
enlarged by constituting the Public Gardens and Afforestation
office as a Sub-Department (December 15 , 1873 ) under the
Surveyor General, assisted by that Advisory Committee (thence-
forth known as the Public Gardens Committee) which had
been appointed in January, 1872 , and by the appointment
of an Assistant Surveyor General ( September 9 , 1874) in the
person of Mr. E. Bowdler. The office of the Head of the
Survey Department, the principal spending branch of the Civil
Service, was enhanced in importance by appointing the Surveyor
General (by warrant of 17th February, 1877 ) a member of
both the Legislative and Executive Councils. In the Medical
Department under Dr. R. W. McCoy (since May 30 , 1872 ) ,
succeeded, after his death, by Dr. G. Dods (April 10 , 1873 )
and subsequently by Dr. Ph. Ayres (since November 4, 1873 ) ,
there was at first some friction which culminated in the
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR A. E. KENNEDY. 481

resignation (September 6, 1872 ) of the Superintendent of the
Civil Hospital, Dr. R. Young, whose place was temporarily
taken by Dr. Scanlan and Dr. Drew and permanently ( February
22 , 1873 ) by Dr. C. J. Wharry. When the Hon. Ph . Ryrie
asked, according to previous notice, a question in Legislative
Council concerning that resignation, the reasons for which had
been stated in a pamphlet circulated by Dr. Young among
his friends in the Colony, the question was ruled out of order
on the ground that it was not within the functions of the
Legislative Council to constitute itself a Court of Appeal. To
encourage and direct the study of the Chinese Language on
the part of Government officers, Sir Arthur established (in 1872 )
a Board of Examiners, charged with the duty of examining
Government officers drawing Chinese teachers ' allowance, and
issuing certificates of proficiency in Chinese Colloquial to
European or Indian police constables. Sir Arthur connected
also with this Board an office of Superintendent of Chinese
Studies ( A. Lister, succeeded by E. J. Eitel) , but the names of
the members of this Board ( F. Stewart, E. J. Eitel, J. Kussell,
Wong Shing, A. Lister) were not published till four years after
its establishment (March 17, 1876). At the suggestion of
this Board, proper Chinese titles were fixed for all the various
Government offices and buildings and published in Government
Gazette (December 28, 1874) , and the Regulations for Cadetships
were also revised (September 3 , 1872 ) . Even questions of
precedence and etiquette occupied the Governor's attention.
occasionally and it was formally decided that the Commodore
on the Station should take precedence next after the Chief
Justice (September 3, 1872) , the Puisne Judge immediately
after the Colonial Secretary (October 10, 1873), and that
official Members of Council only are entitled to wear the civil
uniform (April 16 , 1873 ) .
The constitution of the Legislative Council was not modified
by this administration , during which the unofficial element in
the Council was represented by the Hon . Ph. Ryrie, R. Rowett ,
W. Keswick, H. Lowcock, J. Greig and J. Whittall, of whom,
31
482 CHAPTER XX.

however, no more than three officiated at any one time. The
Governor amended, however, the standing orders and rules for
the guidance of the Council (July 2, 1873 ), which had not been
revised since 12th July, 1858. An important rule was also
made, in connection with a protest which the Hon . Ph. Ryrie
had made (August 26, 1873), complaining of the short time
allowed to Members of Council to consider the Estimates before
they were to be discussed in Council, when it was stated (April
16 , 1874 ) , that the Secretary of State had acknowledged that
protest as reasonable.
One of the features of this administration was the attention
bestowed on legislative measures. Among the many new Or-
dinances passed during this period, the following deserve special
mention, as dealing with Relief for Trustees ( 7 of 1873) ,
Dangerous Goods (8 of 1873 ) , Emigration (5 of 1874 and 5
of 1876 ) , Steam Launches ( 8 of 1875), Rates ( 12 of 1875 ) ,
Magistrates (16 of 1875), Contagious Diseases (2 of 1876 ) ,
Gambling ( 9 of 1876 ) , Post Office (10 of 1876 ) and River-
Steamers ( 11 of 1876 ) . But whilst thus multiplying legislative
enactments, Sir Arthur aimed also at reducing the chaos of local
Ordinances by several efforts at consolidation and especially by
the appointment of a Commission ( September 11 , 1876 ) for
the purpose of preparing a new edition of the Ordinances of
Hongkong.
In this quiet legislative activity the unofficial Members of
Council, though generally in a minority, took an active share.
In June 1873 , the Chief Justice, Mr. (subsequently, since March
17 , 1874 , Sir ) John Smale, having appointed the Judge of the
Summary Court, who was in feeble health, to try some criminal
cases, the unofficial Members of Council, together with other
leading residents and lawyers, addressed to the Governor a request
that the power of appointing persons to preside at the Supreme
Court should be taken out of the hands of the Chief Justice
and placed in the hands of the Governor. This was accordingly
done in connection with the reconstitution of the Supreme Court,
which was then under consideration. On 19th August, 1873,
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR À. E. KENNEDY. 483

the Hon. R. Rowett , supported by the Hon. Ph. Ryrie, and by
a letter (August 7 , 1873 ) signed by various merchants and
bankers, moved, that for the convenience and in the interest of
the public, it was desirable that all Barristers at Law, admitted to
practise as Advocates of the Supreme Court in this Colony, should
be permitted to take business from clients personally without
the intervention of attornies in all cases except those in which
litigation has actually commenced in the Supreme Court. The
Attorney General, however, supported by the Hon. J. Whittall
and all the official Members of Council, objected to this revival
of the old amalgamation question . Accordingly a compromise
was resorted to in the shape of Ordinance 15 of 1873 (confirmed
January 31 , 1874) , which slightly modified the existing practice
but did not go far enough to satisfy the community. In
November 1873, the Coroner took to selecting three out of five
jurors instead of leaving the selection to be decided by ballot.
This measure caused the burden of Coroner's juries to fall on the
more intelligent portion of them. The unofficial Members of
Council took the matter up and in consequence of their represen-
tations (made privately) the ballot was thenceforth resorted to,
but doubts were freely and generally expressed as to the utility of
Coroner's juries altogether. There is yet another case on record
in which the influence of unofficial Members of Council mani-
fested itself. On 22nd April, 1876 , a Bill, to allow the China
'Traders' Insurance Company to subdivide its shares, was under
the discussion of the Council. The three unofficial Members
(Ryrie, Keswick and Lowcock) strongly objected to the principle
of the Bill . But the Bill was passed and all they could do
was to lodge a formal protest against the confirmation of this
Ordinance (4 of 1876) . The result was that the Secretary of
State disallowed the Ordinance (July 25, 1876) on the ground
that it would be better that any measure dealing with the
question of subdivision of shares should have a general application .
As the Secretary of State, however, approved of the general
principle of the Ordinance which he disallowed, the Legislative
Council (September 21 , 1876) substituted for it an amendment
484 CHAPTER XX.

of the Companies' Ordinance of 1865 by introducing into it the
principle of allowing subdivision of shares. But now the Chief
Justice joined with the unofficial Members in their opposition to
the Bill, and it was accordingly withdrawn by the Government .
Among the cases tried in Court, during the period under
review, there are a few which call for record. On 4th April,
1872, the French mail-steamer Ava, having collided with the
British S.S. Rona, was detained under a warrant, issued by the
Registrar of the Vice-Admiralty Court, and executed by an armed
detachment of police. The French Consul forthwith protested
against the arrest, which he declared to be a violation of the
Postal Treaty concluded between Great Britain and France.
The matter was brought before the Acting Chief Justice Ball
who heard the case at his own residence at 9 o'clock at night
and ordered the warrant to be cancelled. The following year,
when the same ship was sued for damages caused by collision,
the Admiralty Court ( February, 1873) decided that the ship
was not amenable to the jurisdiction of the Court, because she
had the status of a man-of-war. Previous to this case, the
local Agents of the French mail-steamers had always waived
their privileges as mail-steamers under such circumstances. In
October, 1872 , the Judge of the Summary Court refused to
allow the managing Clerks of Solicitors to plead, although it
had been the practice of the Court for over six years, and refused
to give leave to appeal. Application was made to the Supreme
Court, when the Acting Chief Justice, the Hon. (subsequently
Sir) Julian Pauncefote, who had lately been appointed to the
post by order of the Secretary of State (October 7 , 1872 ) , refused
to grant a formal judgment but expressed an opinion adverse
to the ruling of the Court below. About the same time the
French Consul (October, 1872 ) charged the Superintendent of
Sailors' Home, in the Police Court, with harbouring deserters.
The case was dismissed by the Magistrate, but it called attention
to the fact that the Government claims a right to prohibit
the commanders of foreign vessels, whilst in Hongkong waters,
from putting men in irons for breaches of ship's discipline .
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR A. E. KENNEDY. 485

In November, 1874, the question was raised, in connection
with the finding of the Marine Court in the case of the
S.S. White Cloud, lost in the typhoon of 1874 by negligence
of the Master, whether the Governor has power to alter or
add to the finding of the Marine Court of Inquiry. No decision
was however obtained to solve the question.
Turning now to the subject of the local population, it
appears that, during the first year of Sir Arthur's administration,
there was a slight falling off, as the population of Hongkong
decreased, from 124,198 people in 1871 , to 121,985 people in
1872. During the next four years, however, the population
increased by 17,159 people, as the Census of 1876 proved the
population to amount to 139,144 souls. It is noteworthy that
the foreign population received proportionately the greatest
increase, as, after the typhoon of 1874, which destroyed so many
houses at Macao, hundreds of Portuguese families removed from
Macao to Hongkong.
The revenues of the Colony did not advance during this
period. The revenue of 1872 rose indeed to £ 192,714, constitu-
ting an increase of £ 16,752 as compared with the revenue of the
preceding year, but during the following years it fell off again
and amounted in 1876 to no more than £ 184,405 . Nor did
the expenditure vary much from year to year, that of 1871 being
£ 186,675, while that of 1876 amounted to £ 187,569 . In fact
a small deficit in any one year was succeeded during this
administration by a small surplus in the next year. The same
sluggishness is observed in the annual produce of the stamp tax
and of rates, the former decreasing from £ 24,574 in 1872 to
£21,634 in 1876, and the latter increasing from £ 38,002 in 1872,
Lo no more than £38,439 in 1876. Special pains were taken by
Sir Arthur to stimulate the revenue from opium. He appointed
(June 8, 1872 ) a Commission (Ph. Ryrie and Ch. May) to
inquire into the working of the opium monopoly, because there
was very good reason to suppose that the amount received from
this farm was far short of what it ought to have realized . The
Commissioners, however, failed to ascertain the real value of the
486 CHAPTER XX.

monopoly, as they could not obtain satisfactory information ; but
they recommended (November 9, 1872) , that the farm should
thenceforth be let by public auction for three years at a time.
This was done, but, owing to combinations among the competitors
for the farm, the opium revenue, which stood at £25,500 in 1872 ,
increased but slightly, as it amounted in 1876 to £ 27,708 . The
same standstill occurred in the yield of the land leases, which
realized £24,602 in 1872 and £ 24,512 in 1876. Land sales
were frequent during this period, and the value of land gradually
increased in the central districts, especially since 1876. But
while the value of land was steadily rising in the most populous
parts of the town, most suburban lots, and especially those in
the neighbourhood of Eastpoint , had become so reduced in value
that many lease-holders could not afford to pay the crown rents
and consequently wholesale re-entries by the Crown took place
from time to time. Land at Kowloon began to rise steadily
into importance since 1874, and by the year 1876 great plans
were entertained for creating a new town, with public park,
churches and schools, at Tsimshatsui. The limitation of Kowloon
garden leaseholds to 14 years (August 9 , 1873) , and of the com-
pensation for lots built upon and then resumed, before expiry
of the lease, for public purposes, at $ 1,000 per lot, caused much
dissatisfaction among the holders of Kowloon garden lots. As
to marine lots, a special Commission (Ch . May, E. Sharp, M. S.
Tonnochy) was appointed (November 1 , 1873) to investigate the
title of all claimants to foreshore reclamations and to define
the boundaries. Eighteen months later another Commission (J.
Bramston, Ch . May, Ph. Ryrie, H. Lowcock, J. M. Price) was
appointed (May 31 , 1875 ) to inquire into complaints made that
crown rents on lands , situated in the less populous parts of the
Colony, were out of proportion to the real value of such lands,
and to investigate the scale of rents properly chargeable. The
report of this Commission (published November 27, 1875 ) stated
that at Wantsai and Bowrington the tenants of the Crown were
suffering from a general depreciation of property, that from 1865
to 1875 rents had fallen there 40 or 50 per cent. , that this
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR A. E. KENNEDY. 487

depreciation was caused by the withdrawal of business houses
from the east, and by their concentration in the central and
western parts of the town , and by the silting up of the harbour
to the eastward. But, owing to the great and constant fluctua-
tion of Colonial values, the Commissioners did not see their
way to recommend any general remission of rents either there
or in the case of numerous speculative purchases of land made
on Robinson Road and other high levels .
With the exception of the completion of the works con-
nected with the Pokfulam reservoir and dam ( commenced in
1871 ) , the new Harbour Master's Office ( 1872 ) and the new
Civil Hospital (commenced in 1874) , no public works of any
magnitude were undertaken during this administration. Sir
Arthur had under consideration two great projects , the Taitam
Reservoir and the re-construction of the Praya, both of which
he left to his successors to undertake. On 1st November 1873 ,
the Surveyor General (J. M. Price) proposed to secure, at the
cost of £300,000 , an efficient supply of water ( 18 to 30 gallons
per head) to be brought into the city by an aqueduct (with a
tunnel) from a large reservoir to be constructed at Taitam . As
objections were raised to the costliness of this plan, a reduced
scheme was proposed (March 4, 1874) to supply daily 15 gallons
per head at a cost of £230,000 . This reduced plan was con-
sidered in Legislative Council (March 5, 1874 ) , when a sum of
$5,000 was voted to make a detailed survey and borings which
were entrusted to Mr. W. Danby. On the basis of this survey,
Mr. Price proposed a new plan (July 10, 1875 ) , consisting of
an alternative scheme, viz. a high level project to cost £39,085 ,
and a low level project at an estimated cost of £ 122,596 . But
nothing further was done in this matter for the present. Another
great undertaking, the proposal to substitute a new and more
durable Praya wall for the one destroyed by the typhoon of 1874,
was reported upon (May 20, 1875) by a Commission (C. C.
Smith, Ch. May, Ph. Ryrie, H. Lowcock, J. M. Price), which
recommended that the Government should, at an outlay of
$212,000, build a new and stronger wall from White's Lane
488 CHAPTER XX.

(near Fire Brigade Station) to Murray Pier, repair the old wall
from the Gasworks to White's Lane and from the Arsenal to
East Point, but increase the width of the Praya all along. This
work was also left to the next administration to consider. But
the minor typhoon repairs were executed in 1874 and 1875 at
a total cost of £ 15,625.
As regards crime, the annual Police Reports of this period
give proof positive that from 1872 down to 1875 (inclusive)
there was a steady annual decrease in crime, and especially
as regards burglaries and piracies. It is specially pointed out
that, since the cessation of coolie emigration from Macao ( 1874),
even kidnapping diminished sensibly. But in the year 1876 crime
commenced again to increase slightly, and piracies began to
multiply. A change in the law was suggested so as to bring
marine hawkers under it, and the transfer, from the Registrar
General's office to the Police Department, of the licensing of
hawkers and chair-coolies, was also suggested. At the criminal
session of 18th January, 1877, the Chief Justice was presented
with a pair of white gloves, emblem of a session, the first since
1866, free from crime . On this occasion the Chief Justice
stated that during the past ten years crime had wonderfully
decreased ; that in 1866 there were 384 persons convicted of
highway robbery, and in 1876 only 24 ; that in 1866 there
were 24 murders and in 1876 only 3 ; that in 1866 there
were 26 piracies and in 1876 only 5.
The Gaol Department, which (since August 4, 1863) was
for so many years under the management of Mr. F. Douglas,
was, after the death of the latter, entrusted (June 8, 1874)
to Mr. M. S. Tonnochy and subsequently (March 11 , 1875 ) to
Mr. G. L. Tomlin . Now in 1872 there was re-introduced Sir R.
MacDonnell's system of legalizing the branding and deportation
to China of Chinese criminals, on their applying for conditional
pardons with the understanding that if they returned to Hong-
kong, after being branded and deported , they should be flogged.
The new Ordinance (4 of 1872) stated in its preamble that
crime had been found to increase after the discontinuance of the
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR A. E. KENNEDY. 489

practice of branding, deporting, and flogging (on return to the
Colony) . At the same time when this Ordinance became law,
the rules and regulations of the Gaol were made more severe
(September, 1872 ) . It is noteworthy that the above-mentioned
steady decrease in crime from 1872 to 1876 commenced when
severer measures, calculated to make prison discipline strongly
deterrent, were introduced. It is only to be regretted that
another measure, largely discussed in December, 1874, was not
attended to, viz. the segregation in Gaol of youthful offenders.
It was urged at the time that influences of hardened professional
criminals on youthful offenders was greater in China than in
Europe.
The condition and proper organization of the Police Force
had been a burning public question even before Sir A. Kennedy's
arrival . The Commission appointed ( December 22 , 1871 ) by Sir
R. McDonnell, advised Sir A. Kennedy in their report (July,
1872 ) , to increase the pay of the men, to form a detective staff,
and to give due encouragement to European and Indian constables
to study the Cantonese dialect, but as to the question of largely
increasing the number of Chinese constables, the members of the
Commission were equally divided . Sir Arthur at once telegraphed
(August, 1872 ) for an additional relay of Edinburgh constables
and altogether 45 Scotch policemen were enlisted in 1872. No
attention was paid to the strange suggestion, made by the
Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr. Th. F. Rice (who soon
after resigned, 30th September, 1872 , and joined the Japanese
Police Department) , to fuse all nationalities in the Police Force,
even if such a measure should occasionally place Westindians
or Chinese in command of Europeans. The Governor resolved,
contrary to the views of unofficial Members of Council, to increase
the Chinese contingent of the Police Force, and when the Hon.
Ph. Ryrie protested against this measure ( September 5 , 1872) ,
the Governor took the occasion to state that he was satisfied
with the general results of the Police administration and con-
tended that the Colony was in as good a condition of peace and
order as any of Her Majesty's dominions. After the resignation
490 CHAPTER XX.

of Mr. Rice, the office of Assistant Superintendent was abolished
and replaced ( 1873 ) by the post of Chief Inspector (G. Horspool)
who acted under the orders of the Deputy Superintendent (C. V.
Creagh) and Captain Superintendent (W. M. Deane), whilst the
Chinese portion of the Force was placed (January 14, 1873)
under a special Superintendent (H. E. Wodehouse) . The action
taken by Captain Deane during the height of the typhoon of
1874, in keeping those of the men, who were to go on duty next
morning, indoors during the night, and in not repeating the
alarm of fire which had been raised, aroused a strong feeling
among a section of the community. A petition for an inquiry
was addressed to the Governor, and when he refused the request ,
the three unofficial Members of Council (Ph. Ryrie, R. Rowett,
and J. Whittall) went so far as to protest at the next Estimates
Meeting (November 13, 1874) against any provision being made
in the Estimates for the salary of the Captain Superintendent .
Referring to these proceedings, Lord Carnarvon stated in a
dispatch (published in July, 1875) that the action of the
Superintendent constituted a case which only local experience
could decide, and that the Superintendent had evidently adopted,
from the best motives, that course which to him seemed , most
expedient.
The most flourishing corporation in Hongkong, the Hong-
kong and Shanghai Bank, acted like a thermometer indicating
the periodic condition of the commercial atmosphere of Hongkong
throughout Sir Arthur's administration. In February, 1872,
the Bank declared a dividend equal to 12 per cent. for the
year upon the paid up capital, and so also, with a little hesitation,
in February, 1873, but in August, 1874, the Directors declared
themselves unable to pay any dividend at all, and complained
of heavy losses and failures all round, and in March, 1875 ,
the Bank, though carefully managed in the face of adverse
surroundings, was still in the same position, so much so that a
Commission of Inquiry was suggested. But in September, 1876,
the Bank had fully recovered lost ground, changed its Manager,
rid itself of encumbered estates, and paid £ 1 dividend per share,
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR A. E. KENNEDY. 491

and on 15th February, 1877 , whilst continuing to pay the same-
dividend, the Bank increased its reserve fund to half a million
dollars, which called forth, in favour of the Chairman of the
Directors (E. Belilios) and the new Manager (Th . Jackson) ,
votes of thanks, with acclamation by the very men who stated
at the time that, 18 months previous, they had thought very
hard things about the prospects of the Bank. The history of
most local mercantile houses, and even of joint-stock enterprises
like the H. & W. Dock Company and the H. C. & M. Steamboat
Company, would be found, if examined, to run parallel with
the experiences of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, and to
furnish the same report concerning commercial affairs during
this period, viz. that a change, amounting to a complete
subversion of former conditions, came over the commerce of
Hongkong from 1872 down to the spring of 1876 , when the
general depression had passed its nadir, and commerce began
to emerge out of the gloom that had enveloped it for years.
and to enter upon a sunny period of prosperity under altered
conditions. The collapse of the Indo-Chinese Sugar Company,.
the failure of Norton and Lyall (August 8, 1873) , the liquidation
of the Distillery Company (August 3, 1873) , the closing of the
Pier and Godown Company (September 17 , 1873 ) , the failure-
of Augustine Heard & Co. (April, 1875) , the winding up of
the Victoria Fire Insurance Company (May 25, 1875), form
the most conspicuous milestones of the period of commercial
decline which commenced in 1872, but reigned particularly from
1873 to 1875. The annual amounts of liabilities set forth in
Bankrupts ' Schedules filed in Supreme Court tell the same tale,.
for in the successive years from 1873 to 1876 these amounts were
respectively as follows, in 1873 $ 108,396 , in 1874 $ 121,707 ,
in 1875 $ 1,996,391 , and in 1876 $ 75,676 . The only puzzle is
that in 1872 the respective amount was $ 110,743, which would
indicate that the depression had already commenced in 1872 .
Proceeding now to mention particular questions which
agitated commercial circles during the period under review,
precedence is claimed by the brokers who came largely to the
492 CHAPTER XX.

front all through the year 1872. The system of doing business
through foreign brokers had for many years quietly made its
way, cutting out the Chinese compradors who formerly were the
only medium of settling transactions between foreign houses and
native buyers. Yet, even in 1872 , there were still influential
foreign merchants in Hongkong who saw no need for European
brokers except for bullion and exchange operations, and who
stubbornly adhered to the comprador system. In January, 1872 ,
it was publicly urged that the system of foreign brokers, having
now obtained a recognized footing, should be subjected to
Government control, or that the brokers should themselves
establish an exchange and frame their own regulations. As
nothing was done in the matter, the Chamber of Commerce
(April 25 , 1872) fixed a scale of brokerage charges, but the
brokers, not having been consulted, defiantly resolved to adhere
to their former rates. At last a Bill was framed, which met the
views of the leading foreign brokers, and it was read a first
time in Legislative Council (July 9, 1872) . The Bill was then
referred to a Select Committee (Th . C. Hayllar, H. Lowcock,
J. Greig), published in Government Gazette (July 13, 1872),
and the brokers received an invitation to communicate their
views to the Committee. This Bill proposed to enact a rule
that no person should act as a broker without having obtained
a licence ; that licences, subject to an annual fee, be granted by
the Governor in Council ; that brokers, in taking out a licence,
should file a declaration not to trade, buy or sell, on their own
account, and that any one committing a fraud or acting in con-
travention of that declaration , should be disqualified acting as
broker. Whilst the Bill was under the consideration of the
Committee, the brokers held a meeting (August, 1872 ) , condemned
the Government measure, resolved to incorporate themselves as
a Brokers' Association, and appointed a Committee to frame
by-laws. When the Bill came up in Council for its second
reading, the Select Committee reported that there was a difficulty
in applying the Ordinance to Chinese brokers (who in most of
their transactions are both principals and partners ), that the
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR A. E. KENNEDY. 493-

Ordinance was favourably regarded by a majority of bill and
bullion brokers, but that the proposed Ordinance would not affect
exchange brokers in any way, and that therefore the object
of the Government would be better fulfilled by means of an
Association invested with certain powers of regulation over its
members. Legislation was accordingly postponed, in order to
give the brokers time and opportunity to form such an Association,
and the Bill was withdrawn . This was virtually the end of the
whole movement, for the proposed Association was not formed ,
and although a spasmodic effort was made a year later ( December
18, 1873 ) to start an open stock exchange, where shares were
to be sold by public auction, the attempt was a conspicuous
failure.
Another set of questions, which troubled the mind of the
commercial community off and on, from 1872 down to 1876,
was connected with the systematic adulteration of grey shirtings
in England and of tea leaves in China and in England. What , in
the history of British manufactures, is known as the sizing
question, troubled the minds of Hongkong merchants , particularly
since 1872 , under the name of the mildew question , sizing and
mildew being related as cause and effect. During the American
War, the British manufacturers of cotton goods had to use bad
and short-fibred cotton, which required proportionately more
sizing with flour and tallow. But when the Russian War raised
the price of tallow, the practice arose of substituting, for tallow,
the cheaper China clay which increased the weight of the fabrics
considerably. Now to counteract the destructive effects of the
clay on the fibre of the cotton stuffs, it became necessary to use
certain deliquescent salts which, while invisible in the fabrics
before shipment in England, developed mildew whilst in the
hold of steamers in transit through the Suez Canal. But what
irritated Hongkong merchants in the matter was further this,
that, whilst they looked upon this system of sizing as a fraud
practiced by the manufacturers, the advocates of the latter repre-
sented sizing as a practice resorted to by order of British merchants
in China, who asked for cheap and inferior goods , necessarily
494 CHAPTER XX.

requiring more sizing than superior qualities . The use of steam
in the manufacture of the yarns and the imperfect ventilation
of steamers' holds and of godowns in China were also named
as subordinate causes of mildew. Mr. (subsequently Sir) John
Pender, of Manchester, recommended (October 30, 1872 ) a formal
investigation and a Committee, representing both China merchants
and Manchester manufacturers, was appointed to inquire into the
matter with a view to remove all cause of complaint. The
problem was, however, too complicated to admit of a ready
solution . Strange to say, it was also found (February, 1873)
that goods which, on arrival in Hongkong, were found, by official
inspection , to be badly mildewed, condemned and returned to
England, were, on arrival there, when inspected by official
surveyors, found perfectly free of mildew. The mildew had
evidently been developed by the tropical temperature and re-
absorbed on return to a temperate climate. On 27th January,
1873 , the Hongkong Chamber of Commerce resolved to co-operate
with the Shanghai Chamber in making representations to Mr.
Pender's Committee, both Chambers being convinced that the
remedy must be found at Manchester. No tangible solution of
the difficulty was, however, found and it appeared to all concerned ,
that the evil had to be left to work its own cure. Oversizing
and dressing was continued by Lancashire manufacturers with
little abatement, and in consequence Hongkong merchants en-
countered occasionally losses which kept up the irritation , whilst
Chinese buyers began to take up Indian cotton goods in place of
the Manchester fabrics. The same process went on in the tea
trade, especially since 1874, when the import duties on tea were
reduced in England by about one half, and when increased
exports from China were accompanied by increasing complaints
of the admixture of strange leaves and other materials and an
undue proportion of tea dust. It was the mildew question over
again, only in another form. The complaints were the same and