At the eastern extremity of Victoria Bay is a considerable valley, shut up by mountains on every side, except towards the sea. It is laid out almost entirely in rice-grounds, and the waters of a natural stream, descending from the mountains at the end of the valley, had been diverted from their natural channel, and conducted by innumerable streamlets to every part of the valley, for the irrigation of the rice-grounds. Several houses have been built upon the declivity of the hills around it, in the expectation that this would be the ultimate site of a second town, as soon as the very limited space between the mountains and the harbour, along the front of Victoria Bay, should be completely occupied, which it bids fair soon to become. The draining of this valley would essentially improve the condition of that important portion of the island.
A good road has already been nearly completed across that valley, and over the mountains to the other side of the island, leading down to Tytam Bay, and the important village of Chek-Chu. Beyond this valley to the eastward, on the other side of Matheson's point, are fine bold rocks, running down to the water's edge, being also more open to the draught of air along the Lyemoon passage, this position would probably be a healthy one.
Having thus spoken so much concerning the northern side of the island in particular, it may be asked what is the state of the southern side, as regards its healthiness. Undoubtedly, the southern side, being open to the south-west monsoon, is comparatively healthy, but there is no harbour fit for mercantile purposes on that side, nor was any land appropriated there for building purposes in the first instance, because the unhealthiness of Victoria Bay was not fully ascertained, and because, where a man's treasure or his business is, there will his heart and his occupation be also. Doubtless, in a very short time many of the Europeans will reside on the southern side of the island, and cross over the mountains daily to transact their business.
The principal Chinese village, which numbered a population of about two thousand, even when we took possession of the island, is prettily situated on the southern side, in a sheltered bay, well open, however, to the south-west wind. It is called Chek-Chu, and, at the suggestion of Major Aldrich, cantonments have been formed for a detachment of troops there, so as to separate them from the Chinese population. A detachment of the 98th regiment, which was quartered there during the last season, remained almost entirely healthy; and there is little doubt that in a short time many Europeans will take up their residence in that neighbourhood.
It is extremely difficult to form any tolerable estimate of the Chinese population on the island. It varies continually, a great part of the people being migratory. When we first took the island there were probably about five thousand Chinese upon it, exclusive of the boat-people, casual labourers from the opposite coast, and others of a migratory description. They were distributed into fourteen or fifteen villages or hamlets, of which the principal, as before stated, was Chek-chu, on the southern side, situated in a bay partly formed by the long irregular headland which runs out and takes the name of Tytam Head. This bay, together with Tytam Bay, will doubtless soon become a favourite spot for the retired residences of Europeans.
Since we have held possession of the island, the Chinese have naturally been attracted to it in great numbers. The tradesmen, mechanics, servants to English residents, labourers, boatmen, and market people, are all Chinese. Add to these also, a small body of Chinese police, and we shall find that the population must be considerable. In all the warehouses of the merchants a vast number of porters and attendants are employed; all the houses are built by Chinese workmen, and a vast number are also employed by government upon the public roads and works. The number of migratory, or trading people, who come down from Canton, Macao, and other parts, is also large; so that upon the whole the high estimate of 30,000 which has been given, may not be much overrated. But this number probably includes the Europeans, the number of whom, exclusive of the military, cannot be large, perhaps a very few hundreds.
The reputed unhealthiness of the town of Victoria has deterred many from coming over from Macao for the present, who otherwise contemplated establishing themselves on the island. The uncertainty which has prevailed respecting the liberty to store opium, has also tended to give a check to the originally rapid progress of the settlement.
In the meantime, the Portuguese, becoming fully sensible of the deterioration of the value of property at Macao, owing to the sudden rise of a rival European settlement in their neighbourhood, began to take into consideration the propriety of rendering Macao a free port, similar to Hong-Kong, and probably without any restrictions as to opium. Great efforts have been made to effect this object, and the Portuguese governor had gone up to Canton, attended by his suite, with a view to confer with the authorities, in the hope of procuring from the government the recognition of greater privileges than they had hitherto enjoyed. This circumstance, together with the momentary pause at Hong-Kong, had tended to reassure the European inhabitants of Macao, and to raise the value of houses (which had previously fallen) from ten to fifteen per cent.
If means should be found (of which strong hopes are entertained) of improving the condition of Hong-Kong, as regards its healthiness, no attempted rivalry of Macao could affect the new settlement to any extent. It has neither a harbour for ships to anchor in sufficiently near the town, nor ground upon which warehouses could be built, nor can the Portuguese officers ever possess more than a very restricted, and perhaps precarious authority.
The wonderful progress of our settlement at Hong-Kong, in the first instance, affords perhaps one of the most striking instances that has ever been recorded of the astonishing energy and enterprise of the British character. Great as were the early strides made even by some of the Australian colonies, situated too at the opposite end of the globe, their progress, compared with that of Hong-Kong, was slow and difficult. When our forces were assembled in the harbour of Hong-Kong, on their return from Canton, in June, 1841, there was not a single regularly built house fit for the habitation of Europeans upon the island; for the Chinese villages can hardly be taken into account. When the expedition set sail for Amoy, about two months afterwards, a few mat-sheds and temporary huts were all that indicated the future site of the town of Victoria, or pointed out what was soon to become the centre of British commerce in that part of the world, and the seat of British power upon the threshold of the most populous empire the world ever saw.