Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/796

788 TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF HONGKONG, SHANGHAI, ETC. European Assistants, and a number of Chinese writers. No regular permanent guard is maintained, but there are always three small British gunboats in the West River. Since the riots in 1883, when the island was attacked and a great deal of property destroyed by the mob, a guard, furnished by the Chinese Government, has been in charge of the bridges leading from the Shameen to the Chinese city.   Mr. Robert William Mansfield, C.M.G., was born on September 16, 1850, and is the son of the Rev. J. Mansfield, Rector of Blandford St. Mary's, Dorsetshire, and Emily Le Poer Trench. Educated at Cheltenham College, he entered the Consular service in China in 1870 and has acted as Consul at Shanghai, Canton, Foochow, Swatow, Wuhu, and Chinkiang. He was appointed Consul at Chungking, in 1891, but did not take up the duties of the office and, while acting for a period as Consul at Foochow, he went to Kutien, in 1895, to institute an inquiry into the massacre of eleven missionaries. Later he acted as Consul-General at Shanghai and in 1899 was appointed Consul at Amoy. The last two years he has spent at Canton. He married, in 1878, Marie Thérèse, daughter of Comte Cahouёt de Marolles, and has issue.  

The French community at Canton number about forty. Their business consists largely, almost entirely, of the exportation of raw silk, and, in this connection, it is worthy of note that practically all the silk from Canton, whether held by British or French merchants, is sent to France. There is a large college in the city where the French and Chinese languages are taught and where educational work of considerable value is carried on. The French hospital, built at a cost of $200,000 and subsidised by the Government of Indo-China, is the only hospital in Canton which is not connected with any missionary enterprise. Last year over twenty thousand patients received medical treatment and attention at this institution, which is fully equipped with the most modern surgical appliances, and contains a department for bacteriological work, an X-rays department, and an excellent little operating theatre. The splendid laboratory was the gift of Max Lebaudy, the Indo-China sugar millionaire. Attached to the hospital, also, is a medical college. Upon the Shameen there is a French post office, a French bank, and other public offices. The whole of the interests connected with these phases of Colonial enterprise are represented by the French Consul, who is, ex officio, chairman of the Municipal Council governing the French Concession. At the present time M. Veroudart is acting in this capacity, but his appointment as Consul is not a permanent one, and he is leaving Canton shortly.   Dr. Walther Rössler, the Consul for Germany in Canton, has the supervision of German interests in the provinces of Yunnan, Kweichow, and portions of Kwangsi and Kwangtung. There are fourteen large German commercial houses with branches in Canton, and the number of Germans resident on the Shameen and in the neighbouring districts is about 103 ; there are also some thirty Swiss registered at the Consulate, over whom, of course, Dr. Rössler exercises full jurisdiction. The offices of the Consulate form a splendid pile of buildings on the Shameen. They were completed in August, 1906, at a cost of $185,000.   The Portuguese Consulate was established in Canton, in 1870, and has jurisdiction over one of the largest foreign communities in the Settlement, for the Portuguese residents of Canton number about seventy-five, and, in addition, there are about two hundred Chinese, born in Macao, claiming its protection. Mr. J. D. da Costa de Moraes, the Consul-General for Portugal in South China, is the doyen of the Consular Corps at Canton. Born in Lisbon, he has been in the Consular service for a quarter of a century, having served previously at Barcelona, Gibraltar, Paris, and in Cadiz (Spain). He received his present appointment some six years ago.   Amongst the merchants who have contributed largely to the development of China's commerce a prominent position is taken by Arnhold, Karberg & Co. This firm was established in 1866 by Mr. Jacob Arnhold, a German gentleman whose photograph we reproduce on another page, and Mr. Peter Karberg, a Danish merchant. It started on a small scale in Honam, opposite to the city of Canton, where all the foreign offices used to be, and later on removed to Shameen, when this Settlement was founded by the British and French. By perseverance, acumen, and integrity it rapidly increased its business and extended its sphere. A branch was soon opened in Hongkong, and on January 1, 1881, an office was established in Shanghai. New branches, with a European staff, have since been opened in Tientsin, Hankow, Tsingtau, Wuhu, Kiukiang, Newchwang, Chungking, and Mukden, whilst offices with only Chinese in charge are kept in quite a number of towns, including Peking, Tsinanfu, Kirin, &c. Besides these, the firm has numerous Chinese agencies ; indeed, its name can be found all over the Empire. With the ever-growing business in China it became necessary for Arnhold, Karberg & Co. to replace their principal home buying agents by offices of their own. The first of these was opened in London, and was followed later on by two more in New York and Berlin, all of which have developed very fast, so that a large staff has to be employed in each of them. Besides these branches, the firm still employs a number of buying agents in different parts of the world, and has a still larger number of agents for the sale of China products.

The firm occupies the most conspicuous commercial building in Shameen. This has only just been finished and takes the place of the firm's old hong, which was erected in 1872. The building is most imposing, and is visible for some miles when Canton is approached by the back reach. The front, up to the first floor, is constructed of granite, the outer walls of bricks laid in cement, and everything else of re-inforced concrete. The ground floor is occupied by a machinery exhibition room, covering an area of about 2,500 square feet, and a godown of about 8,000 square feet. The first floor contains the general offices, and the second and third floors the living apartments of the managers and the principal assistants. The roof is utilised for kitchens and servants' quarters and, further, for a roof garden, which in the hot summer months will add greatly to the comforts of life. An electric lift with all the latest improvements — the only one in existence in Canton — runs from the ground floor to the roof. Electricity is used for lighting throughout, but a small gas plant, which has been installed in the premises for heating and cooking, can also be used for lighting in case of emergencies. The house has cold and hot water service right through, and is replete with the most modern European and American appliances in the way of sanitary and electric fittings, dumb waiters, septic tanks, water pumping, water filtration, telephones, &c. A pleasing feature is the high-class artistic wrought-iron work imported from Germany, which is used for the grilles and doorways on the ground floor and for all the verandah balustrading. The available space has been utilised in the most economical manner, and the building as a whole can well be styled a model of its kind. It was designed and constructed by Messrs. Purnell & Paget, architects, of Canton, who are responsible for quite a number of fine buildings in Shameen and Canton, and it was erected by Mr. Lam Woo, a Chinese contractor, of Hongkong. Valuable assistance and suggestions were given by Messrs. Arnhold, Karberg & Co.'s own engineering office. It is worthy of note that this is the first important building in South China of any considerable size in which re-inforced concrete construction has been so universally used. The Kahn system of re-inforcing is the type used throughout for floors, beams, girders, columns, partition walls, &c., and it has given entire satisfaction. The Teutonic thoroughness which has characterised the firm from the beginning is still one of its features, and it is, therefore, not surprising to find that each of the more important articles in which it deals is handled by an expert. There are in the Canton office three silk inspectors, a matting expert, specialists for the various export and import articles, mechanical and electrical engineers, &c.

The firm deals in nearly every article, imported or exported, that is handled in Canton, and in many its name heads the list as to quantity. The firm also transacts shipping, fire and life insurance, and banking business, &c.

Besides being merchants, Messrs. Arnhold, Karberg & Co. are also engineers and contractors, and with their qualified engineers they are in a position to deal with any scheme that comes to their notice. They are well placed for this kind of business as they have the strong financial backing which is so often necessary to enable the Chinese to carry out their engineering schemes. Though a German firm, Arnhold, Karberg & Co. ought to be called Cosmopolitan, British and American manufacturers figuring just as often as German on their list of agencies. This list contains the best names in their respective lines that either country can produce. The firm supplies machinery, &c., to the Chinese Government and the various railways, and has on its books, also, numerous private customers. In order to demonstrate to the Chinese the advantages of the employment of machinery, the firm as we have stated has recently opened on the ground door of its new building a well-appointed, lofty machinery showroom, and no doubt much benefit will be derived from this advertisement, which is somewhat novel