sub-committees for supervising the removal of old graves from Mount Davies to Telegraph Bay, which latter site was chosen by the Government on his recommendation. He personally supervised, and was responsible for, the decoration on the Ko Shing Theatre on the occasion of the banquet to T.R.H. the Duke and Duchess of Connaught in 1892, and he performed the same service when Their Royal Highnesses returned to the Colony in 1907 accompanied by Princess Patricia. He supervised the Fish Lantern procession on the occasion of the coronation of H.M. the King; and, in 1907, organised and carried through a large procession with the object of circulating money in the Colony among the business people who were complaining of bad times. In fact, he never tires of well-doing. In the cause of education he has given three annual scholarships to the Kadoorie School, one to the Diocesan School, and two to Queen's College, for the encouragement of learning and especially translation, upon which much stress is laid by the Government. He was responsible, also, for the free distribution of carbolic acid to the plague-stricken poor, the beneficial result of which has been reported upon by the Hon. Dr. Atkinson. Principal Civil Medical Officer and President of the Sanitary Board. To poor Chinese who cannot afford to bury their dead he is always ready to give a coffin, and his charity in this direction has contributed materially to lessen the number of bodies dumped into the streets of the Colony, upon which practice a report was made to His Excellency the Governor in 1906. Mr. Ho Kom Tong was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the Colony in 1906; was chairman of the Tung Wah Hospital in 1907; and has been on the committee of the Chinese Club ever since its establishment. He takes a great interest in flowers, and at the last flower show he carried off numerous prizes. As an exhibitor at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition (on the committee of which he served) in 1907 he was most successful; and in various photographic competitions which have been held in the Colony, some beautiful pictures which he has taken with his camera have gained various awards. Mr. Ho Kom Tong lives at No. 7, Lower Castle Road.
MR. HO TUNG, J.P.—No nationality has done more towards furthering the Colony's prosperity than the Chinese, the original owners of the island, and no man amongst the Chinese has borne his part in local, commercial, and social life with more conspicuous ability, or with greater credit to himself and his nationality than Mr. Ho Tung, J.P., or, as he is sometimes known, Mr. Ho Hai Shang. Though in recent years he has been compelled to relax to some extent his public activities, he is still known to be one of the most enterprising and public-spirited men in the island, and his purse is always open to the cause of charity. He was born in Hongkong, and was educated first in private Chinese schools and afterwards at the Central School, now known as Queen's College. At the age of seventeen he joined the indoor staff of the Chinese Imperial Customs, but resigned in 1880 in order to take up the position of assistant compradore to the well-known firm of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co., as well as the posts of manager of the native branches of the Hongkong Fire Insurance Company, Ltd., and the Canton Insurance Company, Ltd. During that period he carried on an extensive business on his own account, principally in refined and raw sugar, in Shanghai, and most of the Yangtsze and northern ports of China. Failing health, however, obliged him to hand over his responsibilities to one of his brothers. Mr. Ho Tung has been connected with many public movements in the Colony, his fluent English always rendering his services valuable in connection with questions relating to the Chinese population. In education he has always taken the greatest interest. He built and presented to the Colony the Kowloon School for children of European parentage. The foundation-stone was laid by His Excellency Sir H. A. Blake, K.C.M.G., on July 20, 1900, and the school was formally opened by Major-General Sir W. J. Gascoigne, K.C.M.G., on April 19, 1902, during Sir Henry Blake's absence in England for His Majesty's Coronation. This was the first civil European school opened in the Colony of Hongkong. Mr. Ho Tung has also founded a scholarship at Queen's College. The Tung Wah Hospital, of which he was formerly chairman, has claimed a large share of his attention, and, when the original building became inadequate, he started, and was chiefly responsible for, a fund of $100,000 for its extension and for the establishment of a plague hospital. He was also instrumental in obtaining the necessary sites from the Government. He is a large owner of landed property in Hongkong and Macao, and has built many of the fine residences which are the pride of the British Colony and the admiration of the visitor. His own residence, "Idlewild," is not the least beautiful of them. It commands a splendid view of the harbour, and attached to it is a garden in which Mr. Ho Tung and his wife take the greatest delight, and for which he was, in 1907, awarded the prize for the best private garden in the Colony. Mr. Ho Tung's proprietorial interests have led to his becoming a director of the Humphreys Estate and Finance Company, Ltd., and of the Hongkong Reclamation Company, Ltd. For some years he was a director of the Hongkong Hotel Company, Ltd., and as a shareholder in many other local ventures he has done much to promote the general welfare of the Colony. In recognition of his position in the Chinese community he was made a Justice of the Peace in 1890. Mr. Ho Tung has travelled extensively, and has twice visited Europe and America. He occupies a leading place in Chinese social life, and was chiefly instrumental in founding the Chinese Club, an influential institution, of which he was the first chairman. His services have always been at the disposal of charitable organisations, as is evidenced by the fact that he served on the committees appointed to administer the Diamond Jubilee Fund, the South African War Fund, the Japanese War Fund, and the Kwangsi Famine Fund. Lastly, Mr. Ho Tung is proud of the fact that he was able to be of service to one of England's greatest sailors, Lord Charles Beresford, when he was commissioned by the Home Government and the Associated Chambers of Commerce to furnish an exhaustive report upon British trade and commerce in the Fat East; and also that he was, and is, a personal friend of Sir Henry Blake, a former Governor of the Colony; Mr. J. H. Stewart Lockhart, C.M.G.; Sir Thomas Jackson; the Hon. J. Whitehead; and many other well-known men at one time resident in Hongkong.
MR. CHAU SIU KI, J.P., head of several important companies, owes his position entirely to his own initiative and keen business instinct. He was educated at the Government Central School, now known as Queen's College, and, after completing his studies, was for some time a pupil teacher at that institution. He then joined the legal firm of Brelerton, Wotton & Deacon, and subsequently entered the Government service at the Civil Hospital. After some time he was transferred to the Harbour department, but relinquished that post to become secretary to the Man On Insurance Company, Ltd. In this position he was so successful that he has since promoted several other companies. At the present time he is secretary to the Chun On Fire Insurance Company; manager of the Hongkong and Kowloon Land and Loan Company; general manager of the Yuen On Steamship Company, Ltd.; managing director of the Shiu On Steamship Company, Ltd., and manager of the Tai Foong Chinese Bank. Mr. Chau Siu Ki is a Justice of the Peace, and was at one time chairman of the Tung Wah Hospital. He has twice served on the committee of the Po Leung Kuk. He is married and has several sons who are receiving an English business education similar to that which served their father so well.
MR. CHOA LEEP CHEE, J.P., is the present head of a good old Chinese family that has been prominently connected with the British Colonies for more than five generations. It was probably two hundred years ago that his ancestor, Mr. Choa Su Chiong, emigrated from the province of Fukien, China, and established himself as a merchant in Malacca. He speedily made a good name, and built up a successful business, in which he was succeeded by his son, Mr. Choa Ch'ong Keat. The son was as successful as his father had been. He carried on a large trade between Malacca and China, and acquired considerable real estate in the heart of the town of Malacca. Afterwards he was given the title of Captain China by the Dutch, and, although such titles were practically all abolished after the British occupation, the new rulers found he was a man with such large influence over the Chinese community that he was allowed, as a special favour, to retain his. Mr. Choa Ch'ong Keat was succeeded by Mr. Choa Yeng Keng, Mr. Choa Leep Chee's great-grandfather. He increased the estate, and built the present Malacca Markets on the property, at the same time erecting the bridge which now connects the markets with the town. The next head of the family, Mr. Choa Sek Kim, was a landowner and merchant of Malacca, a well-known man and highly respected. His eldest son is Mr. Choa Leep Chee, who was born at the family house, No. 14, Heeren Street, Malacca. After completing his education he went to Singapore, but, in 1874, decided to come to Hongkong. He obtained a small post under the China Sugar Refinery Company, Ltd., and, by diligence and perseverance, won gradual preferment until, ten years ago, he was given the position of compradore and chief of the Chinese staff. His time is devoted chiefly to this business, in which he has now two sons assisting him, but he is also a shareholder in many local companies, and is, generally, very largely concerned in the sugar trade between the Colony and Java and China, the great experience which he gained when working his way through the refinery being of the utmost value to him. For many years he has been a prominent member of the Chinese community, and has taken part in many public functions. He is on the committees of the Alice Memorial Hospital and of the Nethersole
