and Godown Company was formed, and still continues to be the leading firm in that line of business.
In 1874 an Ordinance was passed to regulate emigration from the Colony. This business is a most flourishing one, and brings in quite a respectable income to the Government. Last year (1907) 105,967 emigrants left the Colony, each paying 25 cents (about 6d.) for medical examination.
In 1875 the first lighthouse in the Colony was lit and light dues were first imposed. This subject is treated of later.
In 1879 the first Merchant Shipping Consolidation Ordinance was passed. Previous to this there had been many little Acts passed dealing with separate details, now these were all consolidated in one measure, with additions and alterations. There were further Ordinances passed in 1891 and 1899 for the same purpose. The latter did not come into force until 1903.
In 1883 the Observatory at Kowloon was opened, and in the following year the time ball, dropped at 1 p.m. local time, was instituted.
In 1884 the cargo-boat men again struck work in consequence of certain of their number having been fined for refusing to work for French ships. At the time France was at war with China, and pressure had been brought to bear from Canton in order to establish a boycott in the Colony.
In 1888 Captain Thomsett retired, and his place was taken by Commander Robert Murray Rumsey, R.N., who held the several appointments until 1903. During his regime many important events occurred, the principal among them being the passing of 1889 Emigration Ordinance. This measure, still in force, was intended to place emigration upon a more satisfactory basis, but it is so involved that it is difficult to say what it means. Certain amendments enacted from time to time have introduced new details, but have failed to render the measure clearer or more coherent.
In 1894–95 the China-Japan War affected the Colony slightly.
In 1895 a signal station was erected on Blackhead's Hill, above Chin sal chui Point, and in 1900 another was built upon the summit of Green Island.
The acquisition of the New Territories in 1898 has necessitated the establishment of seven additional branch harbour stations, of which there are now eleven in all, viz., at Aberdeen, Stanley, and Shaukiwan, on the Island of Hongkong; Hunghom and Sam Shui Po, on the Kowloon Peninsula; Taipo, Long Ket, Sai Kung, and Deep Bay, in the New Territories on mainland; and at Tai O on Lantau Island, and at Cheung Chau, on the island of the same name in the New Territories.
During Captain Rumsey's time the following titles, with corresponding duties, devolved upon the Harbour Master:—Collector of Light Dues, Registrar of Shipping, Superintendent of Imports and Exports (Opium), and Agent for the Commercial Intelligence Department of the Board of Trade.
During this period also the tonnage of the shipping entering the harbour increased from 6,500,000 to 10.750,000 tons.
In January, 1904, Captain Rumsey retired. He was succeeded by Captain Lionel Aubrey Walter Barnes-Lawrence, R.N., who, in February, arrived from Gibraltar, where he had held the post of Captain of the Port. During his tenure of office the work of the department was greatly increased by the Russo-Japanese War. Enforcement of neutrality devolved principally upon the Harbour Department, while the search for contraband of war, in the absence of any Customs staff, rendered the work onerous. Considerable trouble was also experienced with European crews of vessels bound for the seat of war, many of them refusing to proceed any further in their ships, in circumstances which were held to be unwarranted by the facts. In one or two of these cases, during the later stages of the war, the Courts at home have since decided that the men were justified in their refusal.
During the war, in spite of the complete absence from the harbour of ships belonging to the belligerents, the shipping returns showed no decrease. This was due to the enormous influx of tramp steamers of many nationalities, principally British, which arrived to take up the Japanese trade in these waters.
In consequence of the Brussels Sugar Convention of 1903 further duties devolved upon the department in the following year, the Harbour Master becoming "Fiscal Authority," in order to issue certificates of origin of sugar exported from the Colony.
In 1904, also, an Ordinance was passed providing for the examination and licensing of pilots. Previous to this, there were a certain number of Chinese who called themselves pilots, but had no certificates or anything else to show that they were in any way qualified for the work, nor had they any authority to charge for their services. As a matter of fact, I believe they made no charge as a rule, so long as the custom of the ship brought in was given to the particular "Compradore" in whose employment the pilot was. Ten Europeans and 13 Chinese passed the necessary examination and were given certificates, and a scale of charges was laid down.
In 1905 the much-needed improvements of the Colony's lighthouse service were commenced by the erection of the new light at Green Island.
In July, 1906, the staff moved into the new Harbour Offices. In September a disastrous typhoon struck the Colony, which it found all unprepared to meet it. Among the many victims was Captain Barnes-Lawrence, who died some days later from the effects of exposure. He may well be said to have perished at his post. In the following month the British river-steamer Hankow was burnt alongside her wharf, nearly in front of the Harbour Office, and many Chinese were burnt or drowned.
The year 1907 saw the commencement of the railway to Canton, a work which those who favour it appear to think will bring new prosperity to the Colony. As the Colony depends entirely upon shipping for its existence, I do not feel so hopeful. The telegraph cable ground has been moved further east, thus providing more room in the harbour, improved typhoon signals have been instituted, and further improvements have been made in the lighting of the waters of the Colony.
Typhoons.—From time to time the Colony has been visited by these most destructive storms, and has suffered greatly by them. Few years pass without one or more making a near approach to us, with the result that the work of loading and unloading cargo is totally suspended for a time, the lighters and cargo-boats making for shelter at the first indication of danger. Fortunately, the centres of the storms usually succeed in passing well clear of us, but on fifteen occasions since the British occupation it has passed, if not actually over the island, very close to it. The following is a list of these fifteen storms, with the amount of damage done by them:—
July 21–22, 1841.—Considerable damage.
July 25–26, 1841.—Considerable damage.
August 31 to September 1, 1848.—Considerable damage.
August 8, 1867.—Praya wall destroyed. Several large vessels and many junks lost, with considerable loss of life.
September 26, 1870.—Great loss of life and property.
September 2, 1871.—Damage to shipping and houses.
September 22–23, 1874.—Thirty-five European ships and two thousand lives lost in six hours, and over 5,000,000 dollars' worth of damage done to property.
October 14, 1881.—Damage to small craft.
May 29–30, 1889.—Great storm, in which 33·11 inches of rain fell (16·16 inches in seven hours). The principal thoroughfares on the low level were flooded, and much damage was done to property.
October 5, 1894.—Damage in the harbour. Gap Rock Lighthouse lantern (133 feet above sea) badly damaged. The lantern glasses and lenses were broken by water, and the lighthouse and quarters flooded.
July 29, 1896.—Considerable damage to shipping and property.
November 9, 1900.—H.M.S. Sandpiper, dredger Canton River, ten steam launches, over one hundred junks, and innumerable small boats sunk or destroyed, and over three hundred lives lost in three hours.
September 18, 1906.—One hundred and forty-one European vessels foundered or badly damaged, 2,413 Chinese craft lost, 15 Europeans (including Anglican Bishop and Harbour Master) and some ten thousand Chinese lost their lives in about an hour and a half.
September 28, 1906.—Gap Rock Lighthouse considerably damaged. One Japanese steamer (damaged in typhoon of 18th) foundered in harbour, several junks sunk, and some lives lost.
September 13–14, 1907.—Further damage to Gap Rock Lighthouse, a few small craft damaged in harbour, and three lives lost.
In consequence of the many reclamations that have been made in the harbour, all the little shallow nooks and corners, and little bays, where boats could take shelter have gradually disappeared. In 1883, in order to afford an artificial shelter for these craft, a breakwater, 1,400 feet long was built in Causeway Bay, enclosing an area of some 100 acres. This shelter is now insufficient, the number of craft requiring shelter having greatly increased while the available area has been greatly diminished by silting up, and by further reclamations. The Causeway Bay shelter, also, is in the wrong place, being situated near the eastern limit of the harbour. As the wind in the initial stages of a typhoon almost invariably blows from the eastward, the boats to the westward find it very difficult to make their way to shelter to windward. A new shelter is contemplated, but I fear the proposed site will be no improvement.
Reclamations.—Very early in the history of Hongkong as a British possession there were reclamations of parts of the harbour, and these have steadily increased in number and size until a decided alteration has been made in the shape and size of the harbour, as the published series of charts shows. The
