THE CLUB LUSITANO.
This Club, the membership of which is confined to the Portuguese, was founded some forty years ago, and is consequently one of the oldest social institutions in the Colony. A limited number of debentures ($75 each) are held by the members, who have to pay an entrance fee of $5, and a monthly subscription of $3. The Club passed through various vicissitudes, but now, largely owing to the efforts of Mr. F. J. V. Jorge and other friends and supporters of the institution, it is in a sound condition. The premises in Shelley Street were specially erected to serve the purposes of a club, and are, therefore, very conveniently arranged. The billiard room contains four tables, and the library, the "Bibliotheca Lusitana," stocked with some ten thousand volumes, chiefly Portuguese literature, is one of the most extensive in the Far East. A spacious ballroom is often used for the presentation of amateur theatricals, for which the Club members have gained quite a high reputation, and there are also several rooms for residential purposes. Mr. F. J. V. Jorge is president of the Club, which is managed by a committee of six directors and a salaried secretary.
THE NIPPON CLUB.
The Japanese, of whom there are quite a large number in the Colony, also have a social institution of their own. It was founded, owing to the efforts of Messrs. K, Matsda and Todon in 1903, under the name of Yamato Kai (Association of Japanese), and in August of the following year premises were obtained in Queen's Road. In February, 1906, the Club moved to its present quarters in Ice House Street, and the name was changed to the more appropriate one of the Nippon Club. Membership is confined to Government officials and employees in the banks, the shipping, and the larger commercial houses. There are at present 78 names upon the roll, and the accommodation provided is ample, including billiard, dining, and reading rooms, as well as quarters reserved for the convenience of guests. All the leading Japanese passing through the Colony pay a visit to the Club, and the visitors have included Prince Fushimi, Prince Kuni, Count Otani, and Admiral Tamari. Many of them have made liberal donations to a fund for the Club's improvement. The president is Mr. Kobayashi, of the Mitsui Busan Kaisha.
THE CHINESE CLUB.
What the Hongkong Club is to Europeans the Chinese Club is to the Chinese—the leading social institution of the community. Founded by Mr. Ho Tung, the first occupant of the presidential chair, in 1899, the Chinese Club had then a membership of 240, During Mr, Fung Wa Chun's term of office the numbers fell to 165, and whilst Mr. Tam Tsz Kong was president there was a further decline to 152 members. In 1905 Mr. Sin Tak Fan assumed the direction of affairs, and he succeeded in raising the membership to upwards of 200. He still holds the office of president, and has the satisfaction of knowing that the Club is now in a very prosperous condition. The large premises, situated in Queen's Road Central, are well furnished, and contain a fine library, as well as provision for billiards and other forms of recreation. The rules of the Club are modelled on those of the Hongkong Club, and, as in the European institution, the members extend their hospitality to distinguished men passing through the Colony. Prince Shun was lavishly entertained when on his way to the Coronation of King Edward VII., and the recent Chinese Embassy to Berlin, also, were the guests of the Club during their stay in Hongkong.
SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHIES.
SIR HENRY SPENCER BERKELEY, KT., formerly Attorney-General, Hongkong, was born on September 6, 1851, and having been educated for the legal profession was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple, in 1873. He went to the Leeward Islands in 1877 as Attorney-General, and became, in 1878, Solicitor-General, and, in 1883, Acting Colonial Secretary. From 1885 to 1889 he was Attorney-General for Fiji, and in the latter year he became Chief Justice. For a time he acted as Administrator, until in June, 1902, he arrived in Hongkong to take up the position of Attorney-General. On two occasions he acted as Chief Justice. He resigned his appointment in 1906, relinquishing the duties early in the following year, upon the arrival of Mr. Rees-Davies. Sir Henry, who is married to Katherine, a daughter of S. S. Cassin, of Antigua, West Indies, is a member of the Junior Carlton (London) and Hongkong Clubs, and is chairman of the Hongkong Volunteer Reserve Association. He resides at the Peak, Hongkong.
MR. MATTHEW JOHN D. STEPHENS, Hongkong's senior legal practitioner, comes from an old legal family, his father and grandfather having practised as solicitors in Chatham, Kent, for over 100 years. Admitted a Solicitor at home in 1863, Mr. Stephens came to Hongkong in August, 1872, and was admitted a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Colony in January, 1873. At that time there were only three legal firms established on the island, including the one which Mr. Stephens joined. He is a Conveyancer, and Proctor of the Supreme Court of Hongkong, Notary Public, and Patent and Trade Mark Agent. He is also a member of the Law Society and a Solicitor of His Britannic Majesty's Supreme Court for China and Korea. His residence in the Colony has only been broken by short trips to England, with the exception of one lasting about two years, so that all his interests are centred in Hongkong. His offices are at No. 18, Bank Buildings, Queen's Road Central.
MR. CHARLES DAVID WILKINSON, senior partner of the legal firm of Messrs. Wilkinson & Grist, is one of the oldest practitioners in the Colony. Born on June 21, 1860, he was educated for the legal profession, and in 1882 was admitted a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Judicature, England. Four years later he sailed for Hongkong, where he quickly made his way to the front rank of the local Bar. He is Notary Public and Commissioner to take acknowledgments of married women. He has written several books on legal subjects, including an authoritative volume on the local law relating to trademarks, and is a member of the committee of the Hongkong Law Society. He lives at "The Falls," a picturesque residence on the Peak, and is a member of the Peak, Hongkong, and "Thatched House" (London) Clubs.
MR. GEORGE ANDREW HASTINGS, who is at the present time managing the practice of Messrs. Hastings & Hastings, is a member of the committee of the local branch of the Law Society. He was born in 1865, and was educated at Uppingham School. He is a member of the Hongkong Club, and lives at the Peak.
MR. JOHN HASTINGS, the other partner in the firm of Messrs. Hastings & Hastings, was born in January, 1862, and was also educated at Uppingham. He is a member of the "Thatched House" Club (London), the Hongkong Club, and the Royal Hongkong Yacht Club. His address is "Slemish," the Peak, Hongkong.
MR. GODFREY CORNEWALL CHESTER MASTER, head of the legal firm of Johnson, Stokes & Master, came to the Colony in March, 1884, and joined the firm of Edmund Sharp & Toller, which since the year 1890 has been known as Johnson, Stokes & Master. Mr. A. B. Johnson and Mr. A. P. Stokes have no longer any connection with the firm, which now consists of Mr. Master and Mr. Herbert Johnson George, who came out to the Colony in 1890. The following solicitors are at present connected with the firm as managing clerks: Messrs. H. G. C. Bailey, R. F. C. Master, W. J. Daniel, and A. G. Jackson (a nephew of Sir Thomas Jackson, one of the most prominent men in the financial history of the Colony). The firm is well represented in the field of sport. Mr. Master has for many years been connected with racing, both as an owner and as an amateur rider, and for a good many years rowed regularly in the annual regattas of the Victoria Recreation Club with no little success. Mr. Bailey and Mr. Daniel are both seen to advantage on the football field, and a representative of the firm is more often than not to be found taking part in local sport and amusements, but pleasure is never allowed to interfere with business.
