IN THE FAR EAST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2690, 4 October 1905, Page 77

IN THE FAR EAST.

II.— HONGKONG. EIANG KIANa: THE PLACE OF SWEET WATER!

A NEW ZEALANDERS NOTES BY THE WAY.

By H. Pemble, Wiakaka.

(For the Witness.)

Hongkong is some 1400 miles from Singapore, and we made tbe trip ia less than five days. The sun ./as just beginning to sink behind a bank of cloud as \re ' oame in sight of the dark blue outline of - Mount Stenhouse. We bad a verj fair pas- " 6a ge, and although we had sighted many ships and had a passing glimpse of a few ' distant islands' and the coast of Cambodia, . still it was very- welcome news when the man forward announced the "appearance of land. The high peaks of Hongkong are j seem a 'good many miles out at sea, and j as vr-e got in closer to tbe land ire were ; enabled to get a much clearer idea of j ■What the numerous islands of the south | toast of China are like. Before dark we were "in tihrough the narrow passage, acd •had cast anchor in front of the busy city j of Victoria. Hongkong is the name of the , island, Victoria that of its capital. In | o'd times Chuek-ohuen was the name of the capital, but! towards tie latter half of the eighteenth century the islands of the coast of Cowloon and Canton became infested by the worst class of pirates. The British took possession of the island in 1841, ' if I remember aright, as a result of the*| ■o-ar of '39, and the treaty of Nankin con- j firmed the British possession. It is under j tbe direction of a Governor and an Execu tive Council. Hongkong Roads is one of the most important seaports on the coast of Asia. The harbour, known locally as "The Roads," is considered on© of the best. If is surrounded by high, rocky ! islands and the deeply indented' coast of Cowloon. There ie said to be a depth of , -water varying from 20ft to 60ft. The .scenery on approaching from the west is very fine.

— The City of Victoria— runs up the hill, aai'd in the expressive | pidgin English "of the Chinese there is J "topside "up;" middleside; and blottom- ! side down!" We land on the "btottomside down." " The business portion of Victoria is mainly along the lower portion fronting the bay. Queen's road is the great business thoroughfare and main, street. -It is somewhat confined. All the principal places of business are along this' road— banks, post office, and large mercan- • tile houses? In-one direction you go down to • Chinatown, tihe great living hive of Hongkong ; in the other you go on to "Happy Valley," the valley of sorrow and the dead. In one direction you may study "how the living live, and in the other "how the English bury their dead." i It is a_ great object lesson, this small piece | of' consecrated ground. It is only about ] 67 years since Hongkong was a waste of ! rocks and bare hills; now" Victoria is a flourishing city. The names on the slabs, however, tell how Britain "has built with L her. living and -is marking with her dead " the onward march of the nation." Many a ' bright young life lies ajb rest in this out-of - the-way comer of the Empire. It is ' touching testimony to note how carefully • and tenderly the British mark their dead \in far-off Lands ; while to- cheer tbe living when they become melancholy the true spirit of the Old Land is kept alive in a neat little racecourse across the way. -The large business structures of Vie- j toria are erected mostly of stone, of which j there is plenty on the* island. The hotels i and clubs and eating-houses are up to i data, and you can get good accommoda- ■ tion at Hongkong at a very reasonable rate. Victoria is built in three storeys, j The first storey contains principally all : the business houses, and runs aloaig the j front of tbe bay; and the reclaimed por- ! . tkm, begum by -M. Chater, has enabled ! vast improvements to be effected. Besides the main European houses of business ; we have tbe vast coloured population of Victoria, swarming here like a luve of >. bees. The second storey runs uv> the , slopes of the hill, and is the general resi- i • dontial portion of the island, and reminds j one of the surroundings of Wellington — steep- streets and steps. The third storey takes in the highest poimt, Victoria Peak, i and this is where the merchant who has I . been frizzling 2000 ft below retires to cool I off. Residents who have been long here tell some pretty tall yarns about tbe heat and tlie steam and the worms and the grubs. Boots muist be locked up after being taken off, as almost everything that a cockchafer gets -at he destroys. °Food must be kept in tins, or mushrooms grow in a night. But you must not swallow all you are tnld, though fungoid life is rapidly destructive in all warm countries. The peak may be reached from the gaidens by train, and the fare up is veay reasonable, or, if you feel so inclined, you can get four coolies to carry you up for less than a shilling. The island was connected with Britain by cable in 1871, and now electric wires arid telephones, etc., are seen in every direction Electric trams ply in the street, and the Chinese motormen and conductors seem quite up to their work.

— Huge Docks. —

The- Hope Dock, opened in 1867, was the first built, and was thought to be at the time a wonderful work, bub the portion of the navy that is stationed here, the forts we see "all round, and possibly the mines that we don't see demand that the repair of damage in the event of war should be made as easy as possible. The Shekpy is provided with a huge granite dock, with a gate 60ft wide. At the Wampoa Docks ■work is said to be always pushing. a<ud 9000 to 10.000 men and women are always employed. Very similar to the system

1 th»t prevails in Singapore in some trades, j the men are assisted by the women, bub as often yon notice the women battling along on their own. Factories have sprung up, and the traveller may noties the anxiety that exists in every branch of trade to be doing something. The stimulating fire of gain is in. the veins of the people, and when they cannot get work on the surface the people of Victoria will dive for it!

The waterworks are over the range, and are one of the sights of Hongkong. There is a fine aqueduct three miles long, beautifully asphalted, used as a greaj, "Rotten Row"' show by the residents. Across on the other side of the chancel, on the mainland, the Cowloon Peninsula is now growing in importance. The fine observatory on the hill is a noted point. When tbe people on the water see the red ball run up on the pole it is a warning of the approach of the dread typhoon, amd the shipping scamper for shelter behind the Rock, or Stonecutter Island, like a "'flock of frightened birds. The frontier between Britain and China is here quite the narrowest boundary line in the- world, being only about two and one-third miles. A road runs on both the Chinese and tho British side, and a bamboo fence forms the barrier. There are gates, of course, and t prevent smuggling sentries are posted, amd are on constant duty. Opium is still the great bane, as in the beginning of the last century. The police here, and on the Hongkong * side, are recruited principally from India, and there is no question that tht Sikh is a very fine fellow when in- . vested with a little pow.er. The Victoria policeman has been lauded by every traveller calling here, a.nd there is no question but that he is just the man to deal with the swarming brown toilers. He is so much more the gentleman, and, like the London "bobby," he makes his calling an honoured one, and gains the respect of 'all law-abiding citizens. Crime is not much in evidence considering the conditions of life and the mixture of humanity that goes to make up the population of Hongkong. Th.« same thing is happening here that was noted at — viz., that the Chinese are getting hold of the business. Here, however, the British Government has adopted a form of partial representative government. It is in the Legislative Council that the reform is being worked out. Two Chinese are anpointed from among the representative Chinese to the Count/ 1 , and the people are privileged to return two more. I am given to understand that this is working very well. The Chines.e — and there are thousands who are British subjects here — are evidently very contented. The conditions of life are such that competition is pushed to the edge of the precipice, and life stands on the brink. It is ama/ing that under such conditions honesty — real honesty — among these struggling thousands has any existence at all. But the police are unquestionaWy a great restraining force. It is certainly a curious thing that here, right in the centre of the war area, business during the time I was in the isla.nd was said to be dull. In the city, and also aloaig the suniuy slopes of the range, the numerous fine houses and places of business bear testimony to the fact that the Chinese, in Hongkong at least, love good houses. They have a Volunteer Force here, as in Singapore, but it is not so strong. A force is always kept here by the Home authorities, as well ,'us the huge fleet of mem-o' war that are always to bo seen anchored not far from the city. They ai*e ever coining and going, a.nd remembering the days of piracy, when the.se islands were infested by a Dest of tha worst scoundrels to be found on any sea, England's watchdogs are certainly doing good work, but bow it will pan out for the taxpayer of Britain a few years hence who. can say? It seems a terrible uphill trade that the European agents are doing here now, and the competition will become keener in a few years. Houses doing business here, shipping companies, travellers, all realise that a day must come, whether near oi far, when "existing oonditioES must pass away. England's "householders are at present taxing themselves for the purpose of maintaining a fleet of waa- vessals at fhis great China station for the use iind benefit of international trade — on absurdity no other nation in the world would tolerate but Great Britain. Hongkong is a freetrad'6 island, and — The Greatest Transhipping Port On the

Coast of Asia. — The area of the harbour is considered to be about 1.0 square miles, and it has a depth of from five to 15 fathoms. The harbour is always filled with ships from almost every land, and tihe trade is ever growing.

(To be continued.)