The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-03-10
 JOHN BULL IN THE ORIENT.
His Island of Hong Kong and How He
 Got It.

Ills Island of Hong Kong and How He Got It.
 (From the Baltimore Sun.)
 The Britisher comes as near being omnipresent as any mortal on this ter restrial ball, and his motherland comes as near having her flag floating over a piece of real estate under every star as any nation on the globe. The oratori- cal curl about the sun never setting on England's possessions is not fiction, The little island that looks like a speck on the worlds map has managed, by one way and another, to plant her colo nies in every cline, and from the home- land to far India and China her war and mercantile ships can touch British possessions at convenient distances, without the line being broken during all these thousands of miles.
 In this paper I desire especially to speak of Hong Kong, British island in eastern waters.
 In the year 1889 the Chinese anthori- ties took strong procedures against the foreign opium merchants; British prop erty was destroyed, a large number of foreigners imprisoned, and every effort was made by the Chinese to put a stop to this traffic that has proven to be such curse to the nation. Matters were brought to crisis on the 26th of August, 1899, when foreigners were ex pelled from the island, war was imme- diately declared, and, as might have, been expected, in less than two years the British flag was planted on the is- land, the Bogue forts at the mouth of the Canton river were silenced by Eng fish guns, and the provincial authori- ties were forced to accede to the de- mands of a superior power by allowing trade to be carried on at Canton and
 Whampoa. The settlement of Hong Kong was commenced in May, 1S41. The following month Hong Kong was declared q free port, and before the close of the same year the population l had increased to fifteen thousand l But John Bull did not have smooth sailing for some years. The Chinese emperor severely censured the imperial
 commissioner for the cession of Hong | Kong, and war broke out afresh. It was not until after the treaty of Nan i king In 1S42 that 1t was definitely set l tied that the island should be British colony, and the charter bears the date of April 5, 1843. But during the coming 1 years the trend of affairs proved, re- peatedly, that one John yielded to the other John simply because the one 1 John was weaker than the other John. 1 Here, as in so many other places where i she has planted her foot. 'the other
 John acted on the principle that might makes right'-especially has i this been her motto when she has beeD 1 in the heavenly business of introducing
 the opium trade-fit harbinger, indeed | to English Christian missions.
 I In October of 1856 some Chinese sail- OTIS serving on the British lorcha Arrow
 were taken from the vessel by the na- | tive authorities, which led to the bonn bardment and capture of the city of Canton and the cession of the peninsu- la of Kowloong and the payment of an
 indemnity of eight millions of taels by
 the Chinese government to England.
 Although I am told by the English at
 Hong Kong that the colony is now
 firmly established, have it from the
 best authority that it is viewed with
 hatred and suspicion on the part of the
 native mandarins. and the repeated
 riots and the wholesale attempt to poi
 son the entire European community by
 means of the bread supplied by Hong
 Kong baker, which occurred some
 years since, prove that the situation is
 not altogether lovely.
 The island, lying off the coast of the l Kwangtung province, at the mouth of l the Canton river, and about ninety
 miles from the city of Canton, consists | of a rugged mountain ridge. running from east to west, broken into several l peaks, the largest of which attain an
 altitude of over eighteen hundred feet. It's greatest length is about seven
 miles, with a breadth of from two to four miles, and circumference of about twenty-seven miles. The word
 Hong Kong means fragrant streams. ' and long before the arrival of the Eng
 fish it was customary for Chinese ves- sels to get their water supply from the sparkling springs that abound through out the island. As you approach the
 city from the harbor you are reminded of Naples. The situation is truly 2
 magnificent one
 | Most of the houses near the beach are
 large and handsome structures, built of
 granite and well calculated to with
 stand the force of the typhoons, which
 have done much damage in the past J Broad roads, lined with trees, wind ur
 the hillside from terrace to terrace The private residences are situated
 principally upon the hills. rising tier
 upon tier to the height of several hum
 dred feet above the sea level, and the
 large gardens. covered with wealth oi
 tropical plants and flowers. give the
 landscape charming effect from tht sea.
 The Public Gardens are said not to b; Iexcelled by those of any other British
 colony, and not only are they admira- ply laid out and managed, seemingly
 with scientific skill, but they boast g number of rare trees and plants. The
 palm beds. the Australian ferns, ths
 Norfolk Island pines. and the ornamen-
 tai hedge formed of the aloe, attract, al he t,a