1933

$62
IIONGKON'G
dition and he was tjhe first to propose thfe raising of local loans for public
works.' This idea however fbund littie favour* during his. period of office
and was never put into force. His government was marked by the progress,
made, in texploHhg proj)osdls‘ for the transfer of military lands, in, port and
harbour developnient, Water, supply seheiiles, improved me^us of communica¬
tion and fbwh planning. Sir R. E. Stubbs was succeeded as Governor >by Sir
Cecil Glcmenti, k.c.b., ini the autiimn of 1$25 when a strike) and boycotb were
in'progress.
It is too early yet to estimate the value of Sir Cecil dementi’s work as
Governor of Hongkong. It was not of the usual kind. It did not express
itself in roads, typhoon shelters and buildings, as did, that of Sir Reginald
Stubbs, hut his memorial is to, be found in the hearts of the Chinese people.
He succeeded to the governorship, at a time when the exchequer was depleted
and the state of feeling between the English and Chinese was very, embittered.
It was his work to heal this breach and his function ter restore harmony, which
an interchange of friendly visits in, March 1928 between Sir , Cecil and Mar¬
shall Li Tsai-hsin did much to accomplish. Two acts of his helped greatly
towajrds, the solutiop of this problem, the. appointment of a Chinese member
tp the Executive Council and of a third Chinese member: to the Legislative
Council. During his administration Sir Cecil adopted a policy of paying for
large public works ,by means of local loans, thus freeing current revenue for
necessary though smaller improyements. ; The establishment of a Language
iSchopl at Hongkong University will always be : associated with his name, and
his ‘deep interest in and the support he gave to the University and learning
in general will long be remenibered.
The third decade of the century was rtiarked by immense development of
the Colony and'also by many striking public etfehts. As elsewhere, there has
bepn in Hong Kong a surprising increase in the facilities, fpy mubUc. enter¬
tainment and recreation. In 1921 ffewer'than S0<) Jpotox vehicles werp .licensed :
in 1931 the number was well over .3,QOO., Rickshas and chairs are accordingly
reduced in number. MbVing picture theatres of modern type have also, in¬
creased, and considerably extended hotel accommodation (including provision
for rtmsic and dancing) attracts riiany more people into the centres of popula¬
tion than was formerly the case. Wireless developments have advanced the
science of meteorology and increased the valuable services of the Hong Kong
Observatory to'navigation; the public also has now the advantage of radio
brdadc’asting. In the pferiod tindpr review the Chipese' first, developed a keen
intefest in football and bathing.. Chinese. football teams ClQW frequently defeat
such practised exponents of the game as members of the garrison. New motor
roads have developed extensive ?building areas on which innumerable single
residences and streets of house's have been built. A motor road to the Peak
was the largest of these enterprises subsequent to the road round the Island
and the New Territories. Building development has occurred especially in
Kowloon where town-planning schemes have attracted a population shown by
the 1931 census to be more than double that of 1931. Numerous Services of
motor buses serve the transport needs of the population, leading to the con¬
struction of the first reinforced concrete roads in the Colony. Development
has been accelerated by pressure of arrivals from China where disturbed con¬
ditions..have prevailed practically throughout the decade. The Chinese realised
that the Colony afforded a safe refuge for person and property: they came
in such numbers as to cause a considerable advance in the cost of living and a
land boom from 1921 to 1924 (3^ million dollars worth of land was sold by the
Government on long lease in 1923 alone, and 95 millions in. four years). In
times of drought there have bnen acute water shortages, notably in 1909 when
wTater had to be imported by steamer and supplied to the public from, tanks on
the, water-front. Waterworks: extension, referred to elsewhere, •should make
shortages a thing of the - past. On the island the most notable achievement
was the completion of the Pray a East Reclamation Scheme, which doubles the
area of Wanchai, while in Kowloon the construction of what will be a model
city of vast dimensions progressed year by year as hill after hill was cut down