Hong Kong 1862-1919

Table of Contents

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Illustrations. Photos and Illustrations appear between page 82--83

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Foreword

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pp. vii-x

When my father died in 1962 he left me the manuscript of a follow-up to his book Hong Kong: birth, adolescence, and coming of age. The manuscript was entitled ‘Hong Kong 1862一1919: years of discretion' and had never been published. ...

Editor's Preface

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pp. ix-xii

There are few original works of history written by persons who lived and worked in Hong Kong. The names of Eitel, Norton-Kyshe and Endacott spring to mind since their works have all been re-published recently. Perhaps not so well known is Geoffrey Robley Sayer whose Hong Kong: birth, adolescence, and coming of ...

Preface

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pp. xiii-xiv

My narrative opens in the year 1862, twenty-one years after the foundation of the Colony. Of the events leading up to its foundation and of its early struggles I have attempted some account in a sketch entitled Hong Kong: birth, adolescence, and coming of age published, in 1937, by Oxford University Press; and to this I must ...

1. The Treaty of Tientsin

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pp. 1-9

For a description of the colony at its coming-of-age in 1862 we have the choice of several memoirs by military officers employed in the Second China War, and similar birds of passage who have committed their impressions to print. Some were clearly unlucky in the season of their visit and have little good to say of the place. ...

2. Sir Hercules Robinson 1862-1866

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pp. 10-19

It was not only territorially that Victoria increased its stature as it came of age. Sir Hercules Robinson, energetic and far-sighted, completed his first term in 0ffice. As the first Governor to be relieved of the concurrent post of Superintendent of Trade he had been able to concentrate his entire energy and talent on the young ...

3. Sir Richard Macdonnell 1866-1872

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pp. 20-31

The new Governor, Sir Richard Macdonnell, arrived on 11 March 1866, to terminate an interregnum which had lasted for almost exactly a year. He was Irish, had graduated at Trinity College, Dublin, and had served a considerable apprenticeship in colonial administration in the Gambia and other parts of Africa. ...

4. Sir Arthur Kennedy 1872-1877

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pp. 32-39

The new Governor, Sir Arthur Kennedy, and his predecessor were both Irish and had served in the Gambia. But here the similarity ends for while Sir Richard had corne to Hong Kong at the age of fifty-two, Sir Arthur brought to his task the ripe experience of sixty-two. In character the two men presented a great contrast-...

5. Sir John Pope Hennessy 1877-1882

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pp. 40-49

Under the appeasing influence of Kennedy the agitations of the previous administration had subsided. An unusual calm had fallen upon the Colony and British and Chinese had settled down side by side to make hay while the sun shone. In these circumstances one might have expected that the continuance of so happy a state ...

6. Sir George Bowen 1883-1885

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pp. 50-60

For twelve months followmg Hennessy's departure the Government was administered by W. H. Marsh, the Colonial Secretary, whose services had recently earned him a knighthood. Sir John had gone ostensibly on leave, but, as Phineas Ryrie, senior unofficial member, had delicately noticed when wishing...

7. Interregnum 1885-1887: Sir William Des Voeux 1887-1891

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pp. 61-70

On his return to England Bowen had received the high distinction of a privy councillorship and, when a successor, Sir George Strahan,* was nominated to the Governorship of Hong Kong, he looked forward to a quiet retirement after his long colonial service. But on the sudden death of the Governor ...

8. Sir William Robinson 1891-1898

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pp. 71-79

The year 1891 was the Colony's own jubilee, and the occasion was marked by a telegram, dated 21 January, from the Secretary of State convey�ng to the Governor Her Majesty's congratulations and good wishes for its continued prosper�ty. The express�on was d�ctated by notor�ous facts, for not only had the Secretary of State ...

9. Sir Henry Blake 1898-1903

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pp. 80-95

Following the procedure adopted by his predecessor, Sir William Robinson handed over on his departure in March 1898 to his General 0fficer Commanding, Major General Wilsone Black, and the latter continued to administer the Government for eight months until the arrival in the autumn of the new Governor, Sir Henry Blake. ...

10. Sir Matthew Nathan 1904-1907

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pp. 89-95

On 21 November 1903, Sir Henry Blake, promoted to the Governorship of Ceylon, left Hong Kong after exactly five years' service and F. H. May, now Colonial Secretary in the place of Stewart Lockhart (who had assumed the Commissionership of Weihalwei) fillled the gap until the arrival in July 1904 of the new ...

11. Sir Frederick Lugard 1907-1911

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pp. 96-103

Once more Mr. F. H. May admimstered the government for three months until the arrival of the new Governor in July 1907, and the first section of the Tai Tam Tuk waterworks being finished within this per�od, the honour of declar�ng open Hong Kong's latest reservoir fell to him. It was an occasion of general ...

12. Retrospect

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pp. 104-110

With the vast upheaval of the Chinese revolution a new chapter in the Colony's history opens, and before we turn the page it is appropriate to try to provide in some detail a picture and description of Hong Kong as it was then. For this purpose I offer the reader the recollections of an eyewitness of the period. ...

13. Sir Henry May 1912-1919

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pp. 111-123

ln the spring of 191 I Sir Henry May had left on promotion to the Governorship of Fiji, being succeeded as Colonial Secretary first by Mr Warren Barnes and then, when Barnes had died suddenly on the polo ground shortly after taking up his duties, by Mr Claude Severn, also a civil servant from Malaya. The...

14. Conclusion

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pp. 124-129

With the return of peace I bring this narrative to an end. Subsequent events must be allowed time to recede before they can be viewed with the necessary detachment. Having frequently remarked on the pace at which the Colony progresses it is high time to take stock, to take note of the direction in which it is going ...

Appendices

Additional Notes

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pp. 145-154

Index

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pp. 155-166