freed from the guidance of his sages, "which began in words and ended in words."[1]
Having touched lightly on some points of character in the Chinese as one finds them abroad, I will now proceed to pass them in review as I saw them on their native soil in Hongkong. This spot, moored to our little island by an electric cable that sweeps half round the globe, rises like a political beacon out of the China Sea, and has by no means been without its influence in preventing the Tartar dynasty from foundering, in maintaining peace and casting the light of a higher civilisation over some dark corners of the Flowery Land. It stands alone on the fringe of the great continent of Asia, with its mixed population, its British rule, its noble European edifices and Chinese streets, its Christian Churches and Buddhist Temples, a Crown Colony of which we have no reason to be ashamed. The geographical position of the island, its climate, its mineral and material products are so well known as to require no comment at my hands, but its native population present some curious phases of life and character, and with these I propose to deal. On its hospitable shores we again find the Chinaman free to follow the lucrative channels of commerce and of labour. His industry, his thrift and his placid contentment with his surroundings cannot fail to impress the most casual observer. The city of Victoria with its solid granite buildings, its magnificent esplanade and palatial residences are the handiwork of this much maligned alien; by his labour the island rocks have been hewn and fashioned and reared into a city that has no equal in Eastern Asia. The initiative lay with the Government, with the British architects and designers, but the practical details and solid work are
- ↑ Macaulay, vol. I, page 399.
