Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/795

Rh over one of the two bridges that give access to the Shameen with its wide, trimly kept walks, shaded with well-grown trees, its modern European residences, its riverside promenade, and its tastefully laid out pleasure garden. All foreign business relations with the city of Canton are conducted from this settlement. 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. The members of the Municipal Council never exceed five in number, and, at the present, there are only four—Mr. H. Bent, of Messrs. T. E. Griffith &amp; Co., who is the president; Mr. T. E. Griffith, also of Messrs. T. E. Griffith &amp; Co.; Mr. A. V. Hogg, of Messrs. Reiss &amp; Co.; and Dr. Davenport; with Mr. H. W. Hine as Secretary.

The Council carries out all the functions attaching usually to local municipal government. It has charge of the streets, roads, lighting, sanitation, police force, and fire brigade, and is empowered to levy rates for their maintenance. Under its direction and control the Shameen has obtained, and deserves, the reputation of being one of the best kept and most picturesque concessions in China.

The whole of the land on the British Concession has been leased from the Government for 99 years, and all but five plots of ground have been built upon. The Council's principal revenue comes from a house tax of 5 per cent. on an annual assessment, which yields roughly about $10,000 per annum. In addition, there is an annual tax of $25 on each plot of land, and this brings in some $2,000, while some $4,000 are derived from wharfage dues. 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. The total income, from all sources, may be considered, roughly, as $20,000 per annum; in 1906, which is the latest period for which exact figures can be obtained, $21,364·46 were collected, and $19,000·46 expended. The police force, the upkeep of which constitutes the largest item in the expenses, consists of a European superintendent, three Chinese sergeants, and 22 Chinese constables, or "lukongs" as they are called. The police station and barracks are on the Shameen, and here the whole of the staff is housed. The fire brigade is composed of volunteers.

The health of the concession is good and has greatly improved during the last three years as a result of the completion, at a cost of $22,000, of a system of open drainage. There can be no doubt whatever that the community has benefited enormously by the adoption of this scheme, for last year there was a total absence of communicable diseases amongst the European residents. 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.

The means of communication with Canton have increased rapidly of late years, and are still being added to. Three lines of steamers, conveying both passengers and cargo, ply daily between Hongkong and Canton, a distance of about 95 miles; a daily service is maintained between Macao and Canton; and there is regular connection with Wuchow and West River ports, and with Shanghai, Newchwang, and Kwangchu Wan. A railway between Kowloon and Canton is now under construction; another line to Hankow is partly opened for traffic, and, when completed, will give access to Peking; while a third line runs from Canton to Samshui, bringing the West River ports within twenty-four hours' distance of the city. Surveys have been made for a Chinese-owned line from Canton to Whampoa and thence to Amoy, but so far only one-fifth of the capital of forty million dollars has been subscribed. A concession for a line between Macao and Canton was granted to a Sino-Portuguese syndicate in November, 1904. An overland line of telegraph was laid between Canton and Kowloon in 1883, and another overland line was completed from Canton to Lungchau-fu, on the Kwangsi and Tonkin frontier, in the following year. This proved of great service to the Chinese Army during the Franco-Chinese War, and since that time many branch lines have been opened. Owing to the success of the telegraph line constructed from Peking to Shanghai in 1886, the Chinese Government decided to extend the line south to Canton. The work of extension, entrusted to Danish engineers, occupied more than twelve months, for the route chosen lay through the mountainous provinces of Chekiang, Fokien, and Kwangtung, and took in all the Treaty ports.

The telephone was introduced into Canton in 1905. At first it was managed by Japanese engineers, and Japanese instruments and materials were largely used. During the last two years, however, the Chinese have assumed control. At present there are over one thousand subscribers each paying a rate of $5 per month. Trunk lines extend to all the principal parts of the city and across the river to the Honam side, where there is a branch exchange. The outlook for the future is very promising, for within a few years the Chinese authorities expect to make extensions to all the neighbouring business centres.



British Government is represented in Canton by the British Consul-General, Mr. R. W. Mansfield, C.M.G. Besides his local functions he acts as the intermediary between the Government of Hongkong and the Chinese authorities, and, except for those municipal matters relating particularly to the British Concession of Shameen which, by a set of land regulations, have been put under the control of the Municipal Council, he is solely responsible for upholding the interests of the British community. 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