Sir Le Fleming Senhouse had partaken of all the privations of the troops on shore, and exposed himself on every occasion in which his zeal and example could serve the cause. He was, moreover, undoubtedly chagrined at the unlooked-for termination of his labours by a truce, the provisions of which, right or wrong, scarcely accorded with his own views of the exigencies of the moment. All these causes combined, acting upon a not over-strong constitution, sufficed to hurry him by sickness to his grave. On the 17th, his remains were removed to Macao, according to a wish which he had expressed before his death, as if he retained a lurking doubt whether Hong-Kong would not some day or other be restored to the Chinese. The Nemesis was employed upon this melancholy occasion, to carry over his remains. At Macao, the body of the gallant veteran was buried, with all the honours due to his rank, in the English burial-ground.
The loss of Sir Le Fleming Senhouse and other officers, as well as a good many men, and the prevailing sickness on board all the vessels of war and transports, at length threw a gloom over the whole expedition, which was hardly to be relieved until the expected movement upon Amoy should take place: this was accordingly looked forward to with great anxiety.
The island of Hong-Kong, which was originally ceded to us by the terms of our treaty with Keshen, but, in consequence of the disallowance of that treaty by the emperor, was afterwards only held by us by right of occupancy during the progress of hostilities, was at length confirmed as a possession of the crown of Great Britain by the ratification of the treaty of Nankin. It was proclaimed as a part of the British empire, and, together with its dependencies, erected into a separate colony, on the 26th of June, 1843, under the designation of the "Colony of Hong-Kong."
It is difficult to ascertain what are the actual dependencies of Hong-Kong. They, probably, include all the small islands immediately adjacent to it, particularly on its southern side; but whether Lamma Island is comprised in them or not, we have little means of judging. In the proclamation, dated at its capital town, Victoria, and published by the authority of Sir Henry Pottinger, the colony is said to be situated between twenty-two degrees, nine minutes, and twenty-two degrees, twenty-one minutes, north latitude, which would give it an extent of twelve miles from north to south; so that Lamma Island, as well as the smaller adjacent islands, would appear to be included in the dependencies. The extent of the colony from east to west is not distinctly laid down, as only one meridian of longitude is given-namely, 114° 18' east longitude from Greenwich.
The position assigned to the island of Hong-Kong in the maps is, probably, incorrect, as it does not coincide with that laid down by Sir Henry Pottinger in the proclamation. The greatest length of the island itself is from east to west—namely, eight miles; but the breadth is extremely irregular, varying from six miles to about two miles only.[53]
The present capital, Victoria, extends for a considerable distance along its northern shore, and, from the nature of the ground, has of necessity been, built in a very extended, straggling manner. The distance across to the mainland of China, if it can be so called, (for part of the opposite coast is probably an island,) varies considerably. The breadth of the Lyemoon Passage to the eastward is little more than a quarter of a mile, but from the town to the nearest point opposite to it is about a mile and a quarter, while the greatest breadth is upwards of four miles.
The roads of Hong-Kong and the Bay of Victoria form an excellent anchorage, having deep water very near the shore, and only one small shoal having sixteen feet water upon it. There are, however, two disadvantages under which it labours: it is exposed to the full fury of the typhoons whenever they occur; and the high mountains of Hong-Kong intercept the genial breezes of the south-west monsoon during the hot season, when a movement in the atmosphere is most necessary, not only to moderate the sultry summer heat of a tropical climate, but to dissipate the unhealthy vapours which are generated after the heavy rains which occur, particularly during the night, at that season.
In other respects, the lake-like appearance of the harbour is beautiful; it forms a sort of basin, lying between the mountains of Hong-Kong and the mountains of the mainland opposite. For this reason, however, the rains which fall are sometimes excessively heavy: the dark, threatening clouds seem banded across from one side to the other, pouring down their waters in torrents upon the basin between them. The mountain sides of Hong-Kong, steep though they are, occasionally appear almost covered with a sheet of moving water, so torrent-like do the streams pour down their declivities. To this succeeds the burning, tropical sun of July, with a sort of death-like stillness in the atmosphere, which, little influenced as it is on that side of the island by the south-west monsoon, cannot fail, if it last long without any change, to produce fever and sickness.
Almost all tropical countries are occasionally subject to these visitations; but, as a proof that Hong-Kong is not always exposed to them, I may be permitted to mention that a gentleman who was once at anchor there, in company with a fleet of full fifty sail of merchant ships during a period of nine months, including the whole summer season, declared that he observed no prevailing fever or sickness of any kind.