Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/254

246 busy — one at Yaumati, and the other at Praya East, Wanchai — and afford employment for close upon five hundred workmen. The firm holds contracts from the French Government

kong, China, and Europe, the different varieties including billian, selangen, batu, camphor, several kinds of kruen, and cedar. In Borneo the Company has two l.irge saw- [•4«»r. contented. Locally the Company operates well-equipped saw-mills at Yaumati, having a capacity of i,ooo cubic feet per day. The general manager of the Company is Mr. J. Wheeley. Mr. W. G. Darby is the manager in Borneo, and Messrs. Cape and Jupp are the out door superintendents. Messrs. Bevaii, Murray, Thomas, and Schuider are the jungle assistants, while Mr. McCrath is in charge of the saw-mills, and Mr. Bridger of the engineering shops and .slipway. Mr. Kennett is the saw-mill manager at Yaumati. r. BLACKHEAD Si CO.'S SOAP FACTORY. at Saigon, and is entrusted with the execution of repairs for the Indo-China, the Hamburg- Amerika, and the Japanese lines of steamers. Upwards of a hundred steam launches have l)een built by this firm for Manila. One launch was 140 feet in length, and fitted with triple-expansion engines. The proprie- tor of the firm. Mr. I^n Fat, was born in the San On Province, China, received his education in Hongkong, and was afterwards apprenticed as a draughtsman to Messrs. Fenwick & Co. for nine years. He was then for nearly two years engineer to Messrs. Marty & Co., until, in 1895, ^'^ joined Messrs. Tung Tai Tseung Kee & Co. as manager. In this p<jsltion he remained for ten years, when he purchased the business. Mr. Lan Fat is married and has a family of four sons and three daughters. At Wanchai the busi- ness of the firm is managed by Mr. S. Ahmet, who was born in Macao and educated at Queen's College. Hongkong. He served an apprenticeship of five years at the Gordon Foundry, East Point, and then joined the Amoy Engineering Works. Three years later he entered the service of Messrs. Tung Tai Tseung Kee & Co., becoming assistant manager in 1901, and receiving his present appointment in 1905. THE CHINA-BORNEO COMPANY, LTD. The China-Borneo Company. Ltd., is the only local company engaged in the timber trade. It was formed in 1888, but has been twice reconstructed. Now it has a capital of $720,000, is established on a firm footing, and has paid good returns to shareholders for years past. The Company holds valuable timber concessions, extending over some thousands of miles, in British North Borneo, and from there it supplies timber to Hong- mills, as well as a patent slipway and en- gineering shops. It does all its own repairs, lays its own jungle railways, builds launches and lighters, and does general engineering. F. BLACKHEAD & CO.'S SOAP FACTORY. No account of the industrial life of the Colony would be complete without a passing reference to the manufacture of soap, which is a comparatively new enterprise so far as Europeans are concerned. The idea of start- ing a soap factory in Hongkong originated, some twelve years ago, with Mr. Smith, a former partner in the firm of Messrs. F. Blackhead & Co. An admirable site was purchased at Shaukiwan, a little village about two miles east of the city of Victoria, and upon this some excellent buildings were erected and equipped with the necessary machinery, including large boilers made by the Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Company. Under the capable supervision of a gentleman who had formerly been connected with the soap trade in Japan, operations were quickly in full swing. The proprietors found that competition with Japanese, Chinese, and im- ported soaps was very strong, but, in spite of many difliculties, they have made gratifying progress by producing an article of good quality at a moderate price. From time to time the plant has been added to, and often between sixty and seventy Chinese are em- ployed, for, besides the manufacture of all CHOr FONG'S GINGER FACTORY. [Sec page 248.] The labour staff numbers about a thousand Malays and Javanese, many of whom were born on the concession. They are fed and housed by the Company and are quite kinds of soap, soda crystals and disinfectants are also made. The raw materials are obtiiined from the Philippines and adjacent islands. After the various ingredients have