H. A. Cartwright

“ The many public halls belonging to guilds in Canton prove that trade unions are not merely the product of modern civilisation; indeed, it is doubtful whether the principle of combination, specialisation, and boycott is anywhere carried to greater perfection than in China. The Execution Ground, which most visitors to Canton include in their tour of inspection, is merely a potter's yard in which, when capital sentences are not being carried out, the gamin of the neighbourhood are wont to disport themselves. ”

“ RUGGED ridge of lofty granite hills, rising almost sheer out of the waters of the estuary of the Canton River, off the south-east coast of China, the island of Hongkong is well fashioned by Nature to serve as an outpost of the British Empire in the Far East. ”

“ In not a few instances the representatives of one particular trade or craft are found clustered together, but butchers' shops, stocked with a variety of dubious delicacies, from which even the rat is not excluded, appear to be scattered with a generous hand throughout the length and breadth of the city. For the benefit of the tourist there are innumerable curio shops containing jewellery, jade, China ware, lacquer ware, feather work, brass work, carved ivory, and stone, blackwood, silk goods, and a hundred and one things. ”

“ A pleasing feature is the high-class artistic wrought-iron work imported from Germany, which is used for the grilles and doorways on the ground floor and for all the verandah balustrading. The available space has been utilised in the most economical manner, and the building as a whole can well be styled a model of its kind. It was designed and constructed by Messrs. Purnell & Paget, architects, of Canton, who are responsible for quite a number of fine buildings in Shameen and Canton, and it was erected by Mr. Lam Woo, a Chinese contractor, of Hongkong. ”

“ Since the occupation of Canton by the Allied Forces, in 1860, the British Government has had a yamen in the native city, forming a part of the then Tartar general's yamen, but, owing to the great inconvenience of transacting business there, the Consul resides on the Shameen. The Consulate is an imposing building, and has a staff consisting of a Vice-Consul, two European Assistants, and a number of Chinese writers. No regular permanent guard is maintained, but there are always three small British gunboats in the West River. ”

“ The ground floor is occupied by a machinery exhibition room, covering an area of about 2,500 square feet, and a godown of about 8,000 square feet. The first floor contains the general offices, and the second and third floors the living apartments of the managers and the principal assistants. The roof is utilised for kitchens and servants' quarters and, further, for a roof garden, which in the hot summer months will add greatly to the comforts of life. An electric lift with all the latest improvements — the only one in existence in Canton — runs from the ground floor to the roof. ”

“ A large open space on the river frontage is used for recreation purposes, and here a number of tennis courts are rented by the Canton Tennis Club for a nominal sum from His Britannic Majesty's Board of Works, Shanghai. The remainder of this space is occupied by a public garden and a football ground, both under the control of the Council. Rowing is a favourite form of exercise among the residents, and new premises, for the accommodation of boats and "hong" gigs, have just been erected by the Council at a cost of $10,000. ”

“ It consists of a labyrinth of streets, many of them very narrow, closely packed at all hours of the day with a jostling mass of humanity. Here are to be seen reproduced all the familiar phases of Chinese life—squalid-looking shops packed with a strange medley of things; artisans patiently and deftly plying their trades as braziers, tinkers, or carpenters ”

“ A busy, clamorous life prevails on every side. Steam launches dart hither and thither, innumerable sampans wriggle their tortuous courses backward and forward between the ships and the shore, junks pick their way up and down the fairways under lateen sails, and ocean-going steamers move in stately fashion to and from their moorings. ”

“ In the case of wealthy families it sometimes happens that the site is not selected for years. In the meantime prayers for the repose of the dead are recited by the priests—in some cases for forty consecutive days. The family pride of the Chinese is shown in numerous ancestral temples, one of the finest of which is that belonging to the Chan family. As a specimen of Chinese architecture the Chin Chew Club is worthy of inspection. The old water clock, which was damaged in the last British attack on Canton, is an interesting relic of the past. ”

“ The headquarters of the Company were removed to the British Colony some time ago, but, nevertheless, the branch at Canton still carries on an extensive trade with the native city and the countries of Europe. Raw silk and almost every kind of Chinese produce are exported, while goods are imported from Europe, America, and Australia. The firm also acts as agents, in Canton, for the Hamburg-Amerika line of steamers (which have large and splendidly constructed new godowns on the back reach of the river below Canton) , and represents a number of insurance and shipping companies. ”

“ Both the cheap and high-grade brands of cigarettes are in great favour with the Chinese, and their well-known "Three Castles" are to be obtained in every part of the Empire. The Company are also agents for, and do a large business in the high-class cigarettes "Bouton Rouge" and "Felucca," manufactured by Maspero Frères, Limited, Cairo, Egypt. The head office for the South China territory is at No.18, Bank Buildings, Hongkong, and there are branch offices in Canton and all the important coast ports. ”

“ The only Chinese product of any consequence, which figures in the last item, is raw silk, of which between 40,000 and 45,000 bales are shipped direct from the Shameen, representing a yearly trade, in round figures, of some thirty million dollars. This is the largest industry with which the Europeans have any connection, as other products are exported direct from the native city. A slight revenue is also obtained from various licences, of which those for native boats are the most important. ”

“ A Chinese monthly magazine of sixty pages is issued, which circulates throughout the Empire, and also in other countries whither the Chinese have gone. The Society prints "New East," a quarterly magazine in English, which is the organ of Baptist missionaries in China. Steps are being taken to erect a new and more commodious publishing house on a large site which the Society has recently purchased. The Society has large plans for the future, which should make it one of the leading mission presses of the world. ”

“ Since then Kowloon City has remained in the hands of the British, but Samchun, an important town on the border between China and the New Territory, was handed back to the Chinese in November, 1899, and has, unfortunately, become a convenient asylum for Chinese criminals who are "wanted" by the Hongkong authorities.
On the western side of the peninsula lies the important village of Yaumati, which is very thickly populated by Chinese, and contains the gas works from which the gas is obtained for lighting the peninsula. After passing through this village the open country is met. ”

“ The local Government of the British area, comprising four-fifths of the island, is vested in the Shameen Municipal Council. The members of this body are elected annually by the ratepayers, but as the total population of the Shameen, exclusive of the Chinese, does not exceed from 180 to 200, there are comparatively few residents entitled to exercise the franchise. The Chinese, except those in the service of the various "hongs," are not allowed to live on the island, nor are they permitted to become house or property owners there. ”

“ It is worthy of note that this is the first important building in South China of any considerable size in which re-inforced concrete construction has been so universally used. The Kahn system of re-inforcing is the type used throughout for floors, beams, girders, columns, partition walls, &c., and it has given entire satisfaction.
The Teutonic thoroughness which has characterised the firm from the beginning is still one of its features, and it is, therefore, not surprising to find that each of the more important articles in which it deals is handled by an expert. ”

“ The building will occupy a prominent corner site, more than half an acre in extent, with frontages to Connaught Road, Pedder Street, and Des Voeux Road. The principal elevation, facing Pedder Street, will be a free treatment of the Renaissance style carried out in local granite and Amoy bricks. The line of the parapet, 78 feet from the ground, will be broken by ornamental gables, and each of the eastern angles will be surmounted by a graceful turret. In the centre of the northern front, overlooking the harbour, a bold square clock-tower will rise to a height of over 200 feet. ”

“ At the present time, the tea business having dwindled into comparative insignificance, the firm acts as merchants, commission, shipping, and insurance agents, representing, among others, the Peninsular and Oriental Company, the Union Assurance Society, Ltd., the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, and the Hongkong, Canton, and Macao Steamboat Company, Ltd., who operate a regular service of fast river boats carrying His Majesty's mails to and from Hongkong. ”

“ At the other end of Pedder Street may be seen the unpretentious and ill-arranged structure, containing the Post Office, Supreme Court, and some of the other Government Offices, which these two new buildings are intended to supersede. In line with it, at the entrance to Queen's Road, stands an ugly clock-tower, erected by public subscription in 1862, at the suggestion of Mr. J. Dent, whose original design had to be stripped of its original decorative features, owing to the waning enthusiasm of the community. Chinatown stretches westward from Pottinger Street. ”

“ The Post Office, in close proximity to the wharf, is a small building, but is large enough for the present needs of the locality. Small residences, most of which are semi-detached, are scattered about close to the water, and behind these are terraces of small dwellings—each containing from four to six airy rooms—which are mainly occupied by those to whom the high rentals demanded in the island of Hongkong are prohibitive. All the roads on the peninsula are wide and lined with trees, and two in particular—Robinson Road and Gascoigne Road—are noticeable by reason of their width. ”

“ Vehicular traffic is confined chiefly to handcarts, rickshaws, chairs suspended from poles borne on the shoulders of coolies, there being but a few pair-pony gharries, and a Victoria or two used by Chinese.
The European business quarter lies in the centre of the town, between Pottinger Street and the Naval Yard. Within this small area of less than 50 acres are grouped handsome blocks of offices ranging from four to six storeys in height, that would not suffer by comparison with those of many cities in the United Kingdom. ”

“ Electricity is used for lighting throughout, but a small gas plant, which has been installed in the premises for heating and cooking, can also be used for lighting in case of emergencies. The house has cold and hot water service right through, and is replete with the most modern European and American appliances in the way of sanitary and electric fittings, dumb waiters, septic tanks, water pumping, water filtration, telephones, &c. ”

“ Chun Lai To, who has represented the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company at Canton for some years past, is a native of Canton, and received an excellent English education at Hongkong. His father, Chun yue Ting, was formerly a merchant of Chefoo. The China Merchants Steam Navigation Company is the only purely Chinese company having ocean-going steamers calling at the port. ”

“ The chief causes of mortality now are plague, dysentery, diarrhoea, malarial fever, and small-pox. The death-rate for 1907 was 22·12 per thousand of the inhabitants, but for the non-Chinese community it was as low as 15·46, which compares not unfavourably with many large towns in the United Kingdom. ”

“ The French community at Canton number about forty. Their business consists largely, almost entirely, of the exportation of raw silk, and, in this connection, it is worthy of note that practically all the silk from Canton, whether held by British or French merchants, is sent to France. There is a large college in the city where the French and Chinese languages are taught and where educational work of considerable value is carried on. ”

“ The total tonnage entered and cleared during 1906 was 4,924,031 tons, of which no less than 3,583,538 tons were British. Chinese junks lie huddled so closely together and in such numbers as to create the impression of a floating township; indeed, it is computed that more than 50,000 men, women and children know no home other than these little craft. The total population of Canton is placed at nearly 3,000,000 people by the Customs authorities, and this estimate is probably not far wrong, although a native official report in 1895 placed the number at about one-fifth of this figure. ”

“ For the convenience of those who seek to gain the blessing of the departed there is a City of the Dead in which bodies may be deposited until such time as the soothsayer shall discover a "lucky" spot for their interment. ”

“ The almost precipitous slopes of the hills, formerly as bare as the rocky escarpments on the opposite mainland, are covered from base to summit with luxuriant verdure, and a fine city of 300,000 inhabitants, who live amid all the advantages of Western civilisation, has sprung up along the northern shore and overflowed to the neighbouring peninsula. ”