Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/165

 As it was established beyond doubt that the Chinese authorities were by no means innocent in the matter of this disturbance, the Home Government, to mark their sense of the duplicity of the Chinese, directed the military authorities to occupy Kowloon City and Samchun. This instruction was carried out in May. The Hongkong Volunteers cooperated in the attack on Kowloon City, but it proved to be a bloodless campaign, no resistance being offered to the British force. 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. A splendid road winds along the high range of hills which divides the peninsula from the mainland, rising gradually higher until a break in the hills is reached, when the road turns sharply to the right and descends into the Shatin Valley. The road passes the extensive waterworks which have been completed in recent years, and winds to the east at Kauprkang, near which stands the largest reservoir in the Colony. The country to the north of the hills is extremely fertile, and large areas are taken up in the cultivation of paddy. The broad expanse of the valley is dotted here and there with small farmhouses and fields of paddy, while at the base of the hills, and ascending for some little distance up the slopes, are tiny rice fields arranged in terraces one above the other. Primitive ploughs, drawn by carribous [sic], are used in these fields, and irrigation is carried out by hand. Chinese women work in the fields, which are usually covered with water several inches deep. Pineapples, peanuts, and many other like products are grown in this valley, but not to any large extent. Hilly country, intercepted by valleys, continues as far as Taipohu—the headquarters of the British administration—on the shores of Tolo Channel, in Mirs Bay, after which a wide expanse of level country stretches to the border of the British sphere of influence and beyond.

Although the industries of the territory are few, there is promise of development in the future. Iron ore and silver have been found, but little beyond prospecting has been done up to the present, owing, no doubt, to the absence of coalfields in the vicinity. The country is being opened up by means of roads, peace and order are being preserved by the establishment of police stations, and a system of administration is being organised by means of village committees.

problems have of late years confronted the authorities responsible for the sanitary administration of Hongkong. One of these arises out of the prevalence of bubonic plague, which first made its appearance in 1894, and towards this question the efforts of the Sanitary Board have been directed, with such success that, as the returns show, a decided check has been placed on the spread of a dreaded scourge. The second and more serious problem relates to the insanitary areas in the city of Victoria, where the surface-crowding is greater than in any other town or city of British occupation in the world. In some quarters the buildings are much too crowded, and the streets and lanes too narrow to admit the amount of air and light necessary for public health, and from a sanitary point of view these areas should be re-laid out. In England, in such cases, the local authorities have power to acquire the property and effect the necessary improvements, on payment of full and fair compensation to the owners, the cost being chargeable to the rates as a public improvement. But in Hongkong the Government demur to the wholesale resumption of property for the reason that the finances of the Colony do not justify the expenditure necessary, and so the trend of legislation has been to compel owners to carry out the many improvements at their own expense, by which, of course, the returns on their investments have been seriously affected. In view of the fact that in the majority of cases the buildings have been erected in accordance with the Government laws and regulations prevailing at the time, an injustice has been created in Hongkong which would not be tolerated in England. For, although the laws are enacted by a Legislative Council composed of unofficial, as well as of official members, the latter are in the majority, and, being obliged to vote as the Government direct, the community is left practically helpless. The community is perfectly willing that all the sanitary laws now in force in England should be extended to Hongkong, provided that private interests are protected in the same manner and to the same extent as they are in the Home Acts.

Before dealing with the constitution of the Sanitary Board, and detailing its functions and powers, a reference to the circumstances leading up to its formation will prove of interest. In the early years of British rule large percentages of European troops and civilians succumbed to fever. Hospitals were established for the reception of patients, and in 1843 a Committee of Public Health and Cleanliness was appointed by the Government, with authority to enforce rigid sanitary rules amongst all classes of the community, but no