Page:Through China with a camera.pdf/159

Rh those lands where as yet only males have found their way from China. Besides this there are countries in which the Chinese are as yet almost unknown—Africa, for example—where, with wives and children around them, a congenial climate, and a rich soil to cultivate with produce, which they have been accustomed to grow, vast tracts of the waste lands of the earth might be colonised and redeemed. Thus would the parent country be relieved from the pressure of over-population, which hitherto has been mainly kept in check by famine, infanticide and civil war.

Macao is interesting as the only Portuguese settlement to be found on the coast of China. It may be reached by steamer either from Hongkong or Canton, and it is a favourite summer resort for the residents of our own little colony. In that pretty watering-place we may enjoy the cool sea-breezes, and almost fancy, when promenading the broad Praya Grande, as it sweeps round a bay truly picturesque, that we have been suddenly transported to some ancient continental town. Macao is a magnificent curiosity in its way. The Chinese say it has no right to be there at all; that it is built on Chinese soil; whereas the Portuguese, on their part, allege that the site was ceded to the King of Portugal in return for services rendered to the Government of China. These services, however, cannot have been properly appreciated, for the Chinese in 1573, built a barrier-wall across the isthmus on which the town stands, to shut out the foreigners. The place has had a chequered history since the time of its original foundation, sometimes being under its own legitimate Government, and at others being claimed and ruled by the Chinese. But its history, however important to the parent country, had better be left alone, more especially as there are passages in it which reflect no great lustre on the