ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF HONG KONG—?THE OPIUM TRADE—?IMPORTANCE OF THE STATION IN THE EVENT OF A FRESH WAR—?CHUSAN—?HOW TO RAISE A REVENUE—?CAUSES OF ALLEGED INSALUBRITY—?RAPID PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENT—?PORTUGUESE PENURY—?MARKETS—?SANATORY HINTS.

Having spent twelve months in Hong Kong, I will now endeavour to give an impartial sketch of its situation as to trade, its importance in the event of another Chinese war, and of its climate, general appearance, and commercial progress.

Situated as this island is at the mouth of the Canton river, and in the immediate neighbourhood of an immense trade, one can hardly question the prudence of the choice that fixed upon it for a British settlement. It has not yet (July 1844) been two years in our possession; and already its magnificent harbour is crowded with the ships of England, America, and other nations, while its warehouses on shore are filled with the manufactures of those countries, brought here direct from the places where they are produced, to be distributed to the different Chinese ports recently opened to the commerce of the world by the arms of Great Britain. Hundreds, nay, thousands of Chinese boatmen, fishermen, porters, bricklayers, carpenters, blacksmiths, shoemakers, tailors, bakers, shopkeepers, &c., are already earning their bread here. Since the ratification of Sir Henry Pottinger's Treaty, and the confirmation of the cession of the Island as part and parcel of the dominions of Queen Victoria, many wealthy Chinese merchants have been making arrangements for the establishment of branch-houses here; and more than one of them had, previously to my departure last March, chartered British ships, and despatched them to the northern ports, loaded with British goods. As a dÉpÔt for goods intended for the Chinese market, I conceive the situation of Hong Kong to be unrivalled, and, in this single point of view, of great importance. On the arrival of a ship from London, Liverpool, or Glasgow, with a general cargo of British goods, the consignees unload them, and send the ship home again with tea or such other produce as they may have ready for her, storing and holding the goods in readiness for any opening that may present itself: such portion of them as may be suited for markets in the immediate vicinity, are either sold on the spot, or sent to Canton, while the rest is shipped off in fast-sailing vessels, kept for the purpose of making sure of their voyage against the monsoon, to Amoy, Chusan, and other ports to the northward.

Great complaints used to be made at Canton and Macao, because goods could not be landed, unless they were sold, or the consignees chose to advance the duty, and let the articles lie till an opportunity of disposing of them occurred: in other words, the want of a bonding system was universally felt and complained of. The establishment of Hong Kong completely obviates this inconvenience, and enables the ship from Great Britain or elsewhere to dispose of her cargo in a few days after her arrival, and proceed home again, thus saving time, expense, and trouble to an incalculable extent.

A decisive proof of the eligibility of Hong Kong as a place of trade, and of its importance in the eyes of the Chinese themselves, is afforded by the immense sums paid by some of them for ground on which to build Hongs, where they can deposit their goods with safety, beyond the reach of their grasping Mandarins. This advantage to a China-man is something so new, and so far beyond any thing he ever dreamed of enjoying, that I conceive the benefits likely to accrue from it to Hong Kong to be incalculable.

Goods stored in Canton or Macao, the property of a China-man, were never safe in the event of their owner getting into trouble with the Chinese Authorities; and, if the property of foreigners, they could not be insured against fire, the risk arising from the universal carelessness of the Chinese, and the consequent very frequent occurrence of extensive conflagrations, being considered too great by the under-writers. Both these difficulties are completely obviated in Hong Kong; and every substantially built house and warehouse, together with the property in them, were insured against fire, previously to my quitting the Island. One China-man had, in March last, completed buildings for the storage of property collected from the different ports on the coast, on which upwards of 40,000 dollars had been laid out; and what is more, they were already well filled.

As a convenient and safe dÉpÔt for opium, (a trade, in my opinion, quite as legitimate and honourable as that in brandy, gin, and other spirits,) Hong Kong is admirably situated: the purchaser from the western ports, as well as from the northeastern, finds the distance he has to travel moderate, and, on his arrival, has no one to dread, no Mandarin daring to shew his face on shore. The ships that bring the drug from India, here find a safe and commodious harbour, where they can unload their cargoes in open day, without hinderance or molestation, and where they are not driven to the necessity of carrying on their operations in the dark. Were the opium-trade actually one of mere smuggling, I would be as ready as any one to condemn it, and to raise my voice against those concerned in it; but when one considers that not a hundredth part of the quantity sold annually is really smuggled,—that ninety-nine chests out of every hundred pay a heavy duty, (mis-called a bribe,)—that the Chinese Government derives from it indirectly, but not the less certainly, a very considerable revenue,—and finally, that large quantities of it are known to be consumed within the walls of the imperial palace at Pekin,—I confess I see no reason for the clamorous indignation with which this traffic has of late been assailed by European moralists. I have said, that the Chinese Government derives a considerable revenue from the opium trade; and I will prove it. A Mandarin who pays for his situation, and is left to make the most of it by squeezing the inhabitants of his district, will give a great deal more for an appointment where an extensive opium-trade is carried on, than he would for any other. Knowing the handsome sums paid by the dealers in the drug, to "make Mandarin shut eye," he hesitates not for a moment about paying his Imperial Master in proportion for the situation which puts him in the way of reaping so rich a harvest. What is more; his said Imperial Master knows perfectly well what makes the situations in certain districts so much coveted, and enables the parties to pay so high for them. Away, then, with all the mawkish cant about corrupting the morals and ruining the health of the Chinese by selling them poison! The Chinese are just as capable of taking care of themselves as their would-be guardians are; and as for their morals, many of them lead lives that might be copied with advantage to themselves and families, by thousands of gin-drinking Englishmen. China is decidedly an over-populated country. Opium-smoking checks the increase, and thereby does good; a view of the question not altogether unworthy of attention. Checking the increase of population in this way is, at all events, better than adopting the plan of drowning female infants; not an uncommon one in China.

The importance of Hong Kong in the event of another Chinese war, (an event, in the opinion of many, not very improbable,) cannot, I conceive, for a moment be doubted. Should our merchants again be expelled from the ports of China, they will here find a safe asylum for their persons and property, while their ships may ride in the harbour under the protection of two or three of Her Majesty's ships in perfect security, in defiance of all the marine of China. Here also Her Majesty's Government may have dÉpÔts of military stores, provisions, coals, &c., all stored in perfect safety, in place of being kept, as they were during the late war, in transports hired at an enormous expense for the purpose. Now that passages along the coast of China are made, even by sailing vessels, at all seasons of the year, in defiance of monsoons, a steamer sent from the seat of war (wherever it might be) to Hong Kong, would be sufficient, at any time, to procure ample supplies of money, ammunition, and other stores for the army, from India, if need be, in a few weeks. Every one at all acquainted with the inconvenience and expense suffered by the late Expedition for want of proper and regular supplies, will appreciate the value of the Island in this point of view. What was it that carried off so many of the Cameronians and Royal Irish stationed in Chusan during the first expedition to the North? Not the climate of that beautiful island, certainly; for the troops that have since occupied it, have been remarkably healthy; and I saw four hundred of them land at Hong Kong, en route to England, much against their will, looking as rosy and stout as if they had just come from home! What occasioned the mortality among the troops, was, the want of a dÉpÔt from which they could obtain supplies to replace the putrid, ill-cured Calcutta beef and other unwholesome stores that were served out to convalescents, who died by hundreds for want of nourishing food to restore their exhausted frames.The diseases from which those unfortunate soldiers suffered, were originally contracted from improper food and bad accommodation; and all this took place on a Chinese island overrun with cattle, pigs, and poultry, and with the town of Ting Hae, deserted by nine-tenths of its inhabitants, under their feet. The Commander-in-Chief's over-scrupulous conscience would neither allow the cattle to be purchased, nor the empty houses in the town to be occupied by the sick and dying. No better stores were to be had nearer than Calcutta,—a six months' trip to and fro! So bad were the beef and pork, that I afterwards saw hundreds of casks of both sold by public auction at Singapore, for three quarters of a dollar (3s. 4¹/₂d.) per cask. The meat was used for manure, and the barrels were used for firewood. The possession of Hong Kong will prevent the possible recurrence of any thing of this kind.

I am not prepared to say that Chusan would not have been a better situation for a military dÉpÔt than Hong Kong. Her Majesty's Government, however, thought proper to prohibit the permanent occupation of the former, while that of the latter was sanctioned, so that we have now no choice. For mercantile purposes, the absolute and permanent possession of both these islands would have been highly advantageous. Chusan, I have never had the good fortune to visit, but have invariably heard it spoken of as a delightful place, in a high state of cultivation, possessing an extensive commerce, with fine harbours, and, lastly, with a numerous population already made acquainted with the difference between living under a free and enlightened Government and under that of a despot. These people (if one can credit even half of what one hears from them) are, one and all, anxious that Great Britain should retain their island, and seem to dread the day, now fast approaching, when, according to the Treaty, it must be evacuated by the British, consigning them again to the tender mercies of the Celestial Mandarins. Several English merchants have erected warehouses on Chusan, in the hope that it will ultimately be retained by Great Britain, or that the Chinese Authorities will not object to their remaining on the Island subsequently to its restoration to their Imperial Master. I hope that their expectations may not prove fallacious.

Hong Kong is a free port, and, in my opinion, ought never to be otherwise than free. Let its harbour be a refuge for the shipping of all nations, and its stores will then be filled with their goods. I would not encumber the commerce of this Island with one single dollar of charges: no port-charges ought for a moment to be thought of; and, as for import and export duties, the most moderate charges of this kind would ruin the place. What brought Singapore forward so rapidly, was, the entire freedom of its trade. If Hong Kong is but treated in the same way, its progress will be, if possible, still more rapid than that of its sister settlement.

A revenue more than sufficient to remunerate Government for the annual expenses of Hong Kong, may be raised on the spot, without hampering its commerce, by taxing the retail opium-trade, the retail spirit-trade, carriages and horses, licensed gambling-houses, rents from public markets, ground-rent on building and other lots, and an assessment on rents, say of five per cent. The revenue derived from such sources in Singapore, is cheerfully paid, and it more than pays the expenses of the place. That all the houses in which opium is smoked, spirits are drunk, and gambling is carried on, should be under a strict surveillance, is absolutely necessary. To check either the one or the other, is impossible; and, as they are legitimate objects for taxation, I see no reason why Government should not derive benefit from them. The opium-smoker and the rum-drinker pay as much for the indulgence of their appetites, under existing circumstances, as they would do, were the privilege of supplying them farmed out to individuals, who would be responsible to the Authorities for the good conduct of their establishments.

I should advocate the suppression of gambling-houses in toto, did I not know the utter impossibility of effecting this among either a Chinese or a Malay population. As their existence, then, must be tolerated, and as they are, to my certain knowledge, the scene of robbery and murder, much more frequently than persons unacquainted with the criminal calendars in our Asiatic courts of justice suppose, I say, let them be registered, taxed, and made subject to the visits of the police at any hour of the night or day. By the means I have pointed out, a revenue amply sufficient for the purposes of the Hong Kong Government might be raised; and I should have no hesitation in undertaking to defray every fraction of its expenditure, had I the privilege of farming the opium-tax and the spirit-tax.

Of the climate of Hong Kong, I have little that is favourable to report. Hitherto, it has been decidedly inimical to the European constitution; and hundreds of our countrymen are already buried there. Last summer (1843), from the first of August till the end of October, a very malignant fever raged among all ranks, and carried off soldiers, sailors, Government servants, mercantile men, and tradesmen. There were some peculiarities attendant upon this fever, however, which I shall mention, in the hope that my observations may lead future residents to be a little more careful of their health, than most of the present inhabitants have shewn themselves to be. In the first place, then, the fever, with few exceptions, was limited to particular localities. Secondly, not one European female died of it, and only two suffered from it severely. Thirdly, those who occupied spacious upper-roomed, well-aired houses, almost to a man escaped. Fourthly, those who exposed themselves to the sun, suffered most. And, lastly, the new comer from Europe was more subject to take this terrible fever, which the medical men characterize as a mixture of the yellow fever of the West and the bilious fever of the East Indies.

A stranger landing in Hong Kong, particularly if coming from many parts of India, and acquainted generally with tropical countries and climates, would naturally, on hearing of its insalubrious climate, express surprise, since he could see no exciting cause. I have stated, that the fever attached itself to particular localities. These were, the eastern and western extremes of the town of Victoria. At the eastern end, to the eye the most delightful spot in or near the town, there are several patches of paddy-fields, situated in deep valleys between the hills, of limited extent, but which, under this climate, seem to generate malaria in quantities quite disproportionate to their size. In the morning, these valleys may be seen, from the middle of the town, completely filled with a dense fog, which rolls down from the neighbouring heights immediately after sun-set, settles upon them all night, and does not clear off till nine or ten o'clock in the morning. I know of no other reason why this neighbourhood should be unhealthy: that it proved so last summer, the number of its victims sufficiently testify. Of six gentlemen who took up their quarters here, five died; and the other had a very severe attack of fever, from which he ultimately recovered.[23]

The land at the western extremity of the town is swampy, the grass, even on the declivities, being of a rank, spongy nature, and quite unfit for any thing. Here the Government built barracks, in which a detachment of Her Majesty's 55th regiment was for some time quartered: its ranks were decimated by fever, which latterly became so virulent, that the Authorities chartered shipping in the harbour, to receive the men still alive. Unfortunately, the poor fellows, being weakened from the effects of the summer, and having in all probability the seeds of disease in them before they embarked, died afloat in great numbers. It has been thought, that many lives might have been saved at West Point Barracks, had that building been raised off the ground so as to admit a free circulation of air under the rooms. This, however, is but problematical, as the deaths at the other end of the town took place in two-storied houses.

From what I observed at West Point, there appears to be a constant drain of water down the hills, about six inches under the surface of the soil. This water settles under improperly ventilated houses, rots the beams, and throws up a crop of mildew in every room, as I can testify from actual observation.

That no European female has fallen a victim to this fever, is certainly a remarkable feature in its history; but it must be borne in mind, that there were no ladies residing in the immediate neighbourhood of the two localities just mentioned. Perhaps, the Morrison Education Hill may be an exception, where two families passed last summer. None of the females suffered a day's illness, though a young man living in the house, who was occasionally exposed to the sun, caught the fever and died.

I have no doubt, (and I have heard others express a similar opinion,) that regular habits and non-exposure to the sun, are the principal causes to which those Europeans who have escaped illness when their friends and neighbours have sickened round them, owe their preservation. The occupants of spacious, two-storied, well-aired houses escaped, with only a single exception, in the case of a young man who probably brought on his illness by imprudent exposure to the sun for hours together, although he was repeatedly warned of the consequences. I know several instances of families passing last summer in houses of this description without any interruption of health. My own household was composed of two ladies, three children, myself, and a European female attendant: not one of us had an hour's illness during all the hot weather; yet we took no further care of ourselves than is customary with people who have resided for several years within the tropics.

That exposure to the sun in that zone is uniformly prejudicial to the health of Europeans, does not admit of a question; but, in China, the sun's rays seem to exert a more injurious effect than in most other places I have visited. The residents in Hong Kong, it is true, were somewhat careless in the matter. Few, if any of them were provided with carriages or other conveyance to protect them from it when business called them abroad during the day; and it was quite common to see them moving about, on foot and on horseback, with no other precaution than an umbrella carried over the head, in spite of the daily examples of parties suffering from such imprudence.

The number of European inhabitants in Hong Kong will this summer (1844) be trebled by the removal of most of the merchants from Macao; and the general health of the place will be anxiously watched. Should it prove as bad as last summer, (which God forbid,) it will drive many people away, and injure the settlement irreparably. The prejudicial effects of going into the sun might be avoided, almost entirely, even by men of business, were they to adopt the Calcutta system of note-writing. There, a merchant seldom or never moves from his office; and when he does, it is in a covered vehicle. Let the Hong Kong residents follow their example, and their numbers will not be thinned as they have hitherto been.

That the European fresh from home, full-blooded, and in robust health, should be more liable to fever than his acclimated countrymen, is not to be wondered at; but many of the new comers might escape disease by common prudence. Confident in their strength of constitution, and wearied with a long confinement on ship-board, they sally forth, day by day, to take a walk, just as they would in England, heedless of the fierce luminary that is pouring his rays on their exposed heads, and bent only on amusement or variety. A week of such folly (to call it by no stronger name) has sufficed to bring many a youth to a premature grave.

The weather begins to grow warm in China (I speak of Hong Kong, Macao, and Canton) about the middle of April; in June, it is oppressively hot; and during the following three months, which are the most unhealthy, the thermometer in the shade ranges from 85° to 90°. This is a degree of heat that ought not to be much felt by experienced Indians; and in Java, or in the Straits of Malacca, I should not complain of it; but there is a peculiarity, an oppressiveness, in the heat of China, that makes even respiration difficult, and excites such copious perspiration as to weaken the frame. In October, the weather becomes cooler, and, for the next five months, is sufficiently cold to render fires a comfort morning and evening; and occasionally during the whole day. Were it not for their winter, I know not what would become of the European residents in China: this season braces them up for the coming summer, and, in short, saves their lives.

The progress made in Hong Kong since its occupation as a British Colony, is astonishing, and perhaps unsurpassed in the history of civilization. Owing to the peculiar features of the locality in which Victoria stands, that town has been extended along the beach, till it is now upward of four miles long, with three short streets extending a little way up the hills about its centre. The Queen's road extends along the beach the whole of this length, and has been cut with great labour and expense. The lots between this road and low-water mark are considered as the best for mercantile purposes, and are nearly all in the possession of mercantile men, who have built, in most cases, handsome warehouses with dwelling-houses above. There are, however, some exceptions, a portion of the ground being occupied by Chinese shopkeepers, who inhabit low ill-built houses, which, as ground with water-frontage becomes more valuable, will have to give way to better buildings, raised by a higher class, who will buy out the present occupants. The lots on the south side of Queen's Road are not so valuable as those opposite; nevertheless, they are nearly all in the possession of monied men, who will before long find it to their advantage to level the many wretched buildings that now disfigure the road, and to erect houses worthy of a town bearing the royal name.

On my departure from the Island, building was going forward in all directions, notwithstanding the somewhat illiberal terms on which alone lots were obtainable; and I have no doubt that, by this time, many smiling cottages adorn the hills in and near the town, while more stately buildings rear their prouder elevation on the level below.

House-rent, as might be expected, is very high, and will probably continue so for ten years to come. It took that time to reduce the rents in Singapore; and as I expect that Hong Kong will become a place of still greater trade, and attract a larger European population than the Straits' settlement, I see no reason that the owner of property in houses there should not look for a handsome return for his outlay for ten years, and for a fair remunerating price at the expiration of that time. Something like a hundred per cent. per annum has been got for the small houses occupied by Chinese shopkeepers, while twenty-five, thirty, and even forty per cent. is a common return for substantially-built warehouses.

Some idea of the rapid progress which this settlement has made, may be formed by the reader, when I state, that one firm had laid out upwards of 40,000l. sterling in building, and was still laying out more, when I quitted it. This is, certainly, by far the largest expenditure that has been made by any single establishment: but many others have spent from 6000l. to 10,000l. in a similar way; and the outlay by individuals on speculation, is by no means inconsiderable.

The Chinese population of Victoria and the neighbourhood amounted, last January, to ten thousand souls; certainly not the choicest collection that could be wished, as the number of robberies that take place in and about the town sufficiently testify. This evil the magistrates were, however, doing their best to remedy; and some scores of idle vagabonds had been sent across the Channel dividing the Island from the main land of China. Some of the chiefs of the robber-gangs had been apprehended and set to work on the roads, in irons; a proceeding that alarmed their confederates not a little.[24]

The general appearance of Hong Kong, from the sea, is picturesque and curious. That part of the Island on which the town is situated, is hilly, and, with the exception of the few paddy-fields already mentioned, presents no level space on which to build. The hills stretch completely down to the sea; and Queen's Road has been formed by cutting away their projecting spurs, throwing the earth into the sea in front, filling up the gaps on each side the spur, and thus forming a long strip of level. Above the level of Queen's Road, many terraces have been cut in the hills, upon which private dwellings have been perched; and to a person sailing into the harbour, these look suspended on the hill side, and inaccessible. To speak the truth, the approaches to them are not the most practicable; particularly in rainy weather, when, from the clayey nature of the soil, they become extremely slippery. Several water-courses descend from these hills, forming miniature ravines and a few water-falls, which have a pretty effect after a day's rain. They occasionally wash away an ill-built house; but this is the fault of the clumsy and foolish builders.

Many of these hills are covered with a hard, tough, useless sort of whinstone, which adds considerably to the expense of building on them. Others are well stocked with granite, which the Chinese masons split very neatly into any shape, by driving innumerable wedges into the blocks. The adroitness with which they do this, is quite surprising. The China pine (or fir) grows all over Hong Kong; but the young trees no sooner attain the height of two or three feet, than they are cut down by the natives, and carried off in bundles to clean the bottoms of the countless boats that ply about the harbour. Thus, with one or two exceptions, these hills are quite bare, and, in winter more particularly, exhibit any thing but a lively spectacle. In summer, their green covering of coarse grass improves their appearance.

The only thing that reconciles one to the site chosen for building the town of Victoria, is its beautiful harbour: in every other respect, the choice was decidedly bad. A more awkward place on which to erect a town, could not have been fixed upon; and its northern aspect adds, I suspect, to the unhealthiness of the place, as it exposes the town to the cold winds of winter, and completely shuts out the southerly breezes of summer, which are so much wanted to refresh the worn-out colonist There are situations in the Island much more eligible for a town, but their harbours are exposed, so that, when we consider how well the shipping are protected in Victoria bay, we feel disposed to allow that a better choice could not have been made under all the circumstances.

The market of Hong Kong is well supplied with fish, flesh, and fowl, vegetables, fruit, and game; and those who choose to take the trouble of seeing to it themselves, may obtain supplies on reasonable terms: those who leave these matters to their servants, are of course robbed, and are apt, without making any inquiry, to come to the conclusion, that every thing here is dear. The retail price of every sort of provisions is pasted up on the market-gate, once a week, by authority of the magistrates, in Chinese and English characters; so that the exorbitant rates charged by compradores may be easily detected and put a stop to. Chinese boats of all descriptions, sizes, and sorts may be hired at every wharf, at any hour from daylight till eight at night: their moving about after that hour, is prohibited by the Authorities, who had strong reason to suspect their being connected with the gangs of robbers that occasionally land from the opposite shore, commit some daring robbery, and disappear again before daylight.

When the fleet of men of war and transports arrived here, from the North, in October 1842, the troops, amounting to upwards of fifteen thousand, were regularly supplied, during their stay in the harbour of Victoria, with fresh provisions, eggs, &c.; and no rise of prices took place. On the departure of the fleet, the daily supply was reduced by the Chinese to just sufficient for the consumption of the place. No portion of the supplies for the market is produced on the Island: the whole is brought from the innumerable creek and river-banks in the neighbourhood. It is to be hoped that this state of things will, before long, be altered, since, as matters now stand, the Cow Loon Authorities could, at any time, deprive the inhabitants of Hong Kong of their daily bread.

American, French, and English Missionaries are already congregated in this infant settlement. The first have built a neat little chapel, where Divine service is performed every Sunday morning in the Presbyterian form, and, in the evening, in Chinese. The French Roman Catholics have built a stately and handsome chapel with a good dwelling-house attached to it: they have a large congregation among the Irish soldiery and the Portuguese from Macao. The English Missionaries had only just arrived with their establishment from Malacca, and, when I left the Island, had neither house nor chapel, but had commenced building. A chaplain of the Church of England had arrived, appointed by the Home Government: no English church, however, had even been commenced, and the congregation meet every Sunday in a neat house, where, if they escape fever during the summer, and colds and ague during the winter, they ought to deem themselves very fortunate.

Grog-shops and other resorts for the depraved and idle, are already plentiful in Victoria. They are, however, all closed on Sunday; and the sailor ashore, on liberty on that day, is fain to content himself with a walk along the road, during which he may be heard muttering deep curses on the heads of those who framed this (according to his notion) unjust and tyrannical regulation.

Before concluding my remarks on Hong Kong, I will add a few words on what I consider as the best means to be adopted with a view to render the settlement more healthy. Much must be done by the Government; and the rest may be left to the inhabitants themselves.

In the first place, the paddy-fields at the east end of the town must be thoroughly drained, and the cultivation of paddy in the neighbourhood entirely stopped. Proclamations on this last subject had been published in March last. That the draining of these lands would decrease the quantity of malaria generated in the valleys, there can be no doubt; but, that it would entirely do away with it, I deem very problematical. At all events, it would not stop the volumes of fog that descend from the hill-tops at sun-set, and completely envelop the valleys and the houses. Draining, indeed, would do good, and ought to be tried at once. The owners of property in the neighbourhood were very sanguine as to the result of the experiment. More good, however, would be done in the way of purifying the air of these valleys, by entirely removing the small hill on which the Morrison Education buildings stand. The task, at first sight, may seem herculean; but is not so in reality. Thousands of men are to be hired in the villages on the opposite coast, who would gladly work for three dollars (13s. 6d.) per month. Were a couple of thousand of these put upon this job for a twelvemonth, there would not be much of the hill left. The pecuniary outlay would be considerable; but the returns would do much more than pay the interest on it. The base of the hill itself is of considerable extent; and the earth carried from its top, if thrown into the sea at its foot, would create a large level space for building, that would yield quit-rent enough to render the speculation (were the work undertaken by private individuals) a highly profitable one. This hill completely shuts up the largest of the paddy-growing valleys; and its removal would admit into it the easterly and northerly breezes, which might do more than any thing else towards preventing the descent of the fog. There are other hills, near the one alluded to, that might be levelled with great advantage to the neighbourhood, as well as to the parties who might undertake the task. In this case, there are individuals ready to execute the work on their own private account, who actually made offers to the Government on the subject; but their terms were rejected by the Authorities, and the hills remain in statu quo. The sea being very shallow at the base of these hills, the space filled up by cutting them down, would be very considerable, and the task by no means difficult. Sir Stamford Raffles removed one at Singapore, in size equal to the one known in Hong Kong as Leighton's Hill, without incurring a shilling of expense to his Government. To the parties who removed the soil, he gave the ground they had made, charging them the same quit-rent that others paid on the grants made to them.

At West Point, draining seems to be the only plan that can be recommended to render the situation more salubrious. Neither there nor any where else in the Colony, is it safe to reside in houses having only a ground-floor. Of those who have done so, few have escaped the fever; and still fewer of those who caught it, recovered. Draining upon a large scale, is the part of the work I would leave to the Government: upon the inhabitants, I would impose the task of making proper sewers all over the town. The few that existed there last summer, were not simply a disgrace to every person connected with the place, but tended in no small degree to thin the population by the abominable effluvia they threw out. In the immediate vicinity of every house or shop belonging to the Chinese, might be seen a collection of impurities sufficient to create a pestilence anywhere, much more in a place with the thermometer frequently above 90° in the shade. The assessment of five per cent. on all rents, would create a fund sufficient to purify the town, to keep it clean, to provide a regular scavengers' establishment, and, moreover, to pay night watchmen to protect the property of its inhabitants from the gangs of robbers that infest the place. Were these suggestions carried out, if the citizens of Victoria were but careful to avoid the sun, and if not a few would but reduce by one-half their allowance of brandy-and-water and cigars, I will venture to predict, that the medical men of the place would have a comparative sinecure.

Among other arrivals in Hong Kong during the year 1843, were some fifty or sixty emigrants from Sydney, (N. S. Wales,) consisting of mechanics of different descriptions. They alleged, that the bad times in Australia had driven them away. Poor fellows! I fear they have made a sad mistake in the change they have sought. Here, they will find times, for persons of their class, worse than those they have had to complain of, a climate to contend against, from which they have not the means of protecting themselves, and hundreds of Chinese artisans, who can afford to work for less than half what they can live upon. Most of them were badly housed; and it was to be feared, that the end of summer will see very many of their number in their graves.

The colonists of New South Wales appear to hare formed the most extravagant ideas of the benefit they are to derive from the new settlement of Hong Kong. With the exception of salt provisions, I know of nothing they can send to the new settlement with even a chance of profit; and the prices of these must be lower than those ruling in Sydney by the last accounts, to yield a profit. Some small lots of timber have been found to answer; but the demand for this article will cease, when the buildings now in progress in Victoria shall have been completed. Cattle, horses, and sheep have been tried, and the experiment has proved an utter failure.