Part 10

We steam round the eastern headland, with its white lighthouse 44 nestling below the gloomy hills, and soon a wide bay begins to open out ahead of us. We have reached the end of our voyage. The bay forms a rough semicircle, about six miles across, ringed in by hills to the south and west, but open to the northeast, except where for two miles across the entrance stretches the island of Liukung, hilly in the west but tapering off to a long low reef in the east. The island and the northeastern bend of the mainland enclose an anchorage sheltered from the northerly gales which sweep in from the sea in winter. This is the harbour of Wei-hai-wei. In the midst of the broad southern channel, a mere dot upon the water, is a rocky islet, _I-tao_, or Sun Island, crowned with the ruins of strong fortifications. There are other such ruins on the high ground to the north and south, commanding the two entrances to the bay. These relics contain the history of Wei-hai-wei.

It was here that the Chinese fleet, during the war with Japan in 1895, took refuge after the loss of Port Arthur and the defeat off the Yalu. Japanese troops landed further east and captured the forts on the mainland, while their fleet attacked the booms drawn across the wide entrances. The nearness of the mainland was a source of weakness to the island and the Chinese fleet; and Admiral Ting, assailed both from land and sea, was at length compelled to surrender, so that Japan now held the two defences of the passage-way to Peking, and China’s case was hopeless. Early in 1898, Germany obtained a lease of Kiaochau, as compensation for the murder of some missionaries; a few weeks later Russia seized Port Arthur, and in July of the same year Wei-hai-wei was leased to us. It was not merely by chance that the three events followed one another so closely.

Wei-hai-wei was adopted as a naval base and for the protection of our commerce, since Hongkong is over a thousand miles away. The control of a considerable zone on the neighbouring mainland is necessary for the security of the harbour, so that the leased territory covers in all an area of 285 square miles, or about twice the size of the Isle of Wight. The case is like that of Kaulun. We are fortunate in the time of our visit, as the fleet 45 is at anchor in the bay and the crews are practising mining operations; but at another time we might find the place deserted. There is no permanent garrison, as Wei-hai-wei is only to be used as a flying base and practice ground for the fleet. On the island are the marine barracks, which remind us of England, and 46 the naval hospital, which looks quite Chinese, in spite of its English occupants. The hospital is the more important, since our squadrons in the Eastern seas have great need of a sanatorium, and Wei-hai-wei, with its temperate climate, is the most healthy of all our positions in this part of the world. There is a cricket pitch on the parade ground and English sailors are everywhere to be seen in the little town; but we turn a corner and come upon a building which is peculiarly Chinese, 47 an open-air theatre, to remind us that we are merely visitors among a foreign people with customs very different from our own. Let us climb the hill towards the golf links, and crossing over look down on the northern channel. There is no town here, as the shore is rugged and unsheltered and lashed by heavy seas in the winter storms. The island is a natural breakwater and this is the seaward side.

We will now cross in the steam launch to the mainland and 48 step ashore at Port Edward. Here is a general view of the new town, with its ugly modern hotel and its European houses scattered about the lower slope of the hill. The territory (44) on the mainland is rather more interesting than the island. It is little more than a strip, ten miles wide, along the coastline of the bay, though we have certain rights over a larger area. Mountain ridges, rising to over a thousand feet, with sharp peaks still higher, cross it from west to east, dark and bare with deep-cut ravines which are torrents in rainy weather. A low isthmus divides the high ground round Port Edward from the main mass of the Territory; through it runs the new road towards Chifu, and at its eastern end, close to the sea, stands the Chinese walled town of Wei-hai-wei, from which the whole district takes its name. Far away in the southwest are the high mountains of Chinese Shantung. The old city, though within sight of Port Edward, is not like the surrounding territory under British control. Let us pay it a short visit to see what a Chinese provincial town is like. We can go in by the eastern gate 49 and look along the street and visit the temple of Confucius, 50 the great Chinese teacher and philosopher, who was a native of the Shantung province. Much of the space within the walls is not built on; the whole town seems sleepy and decaying, and our ideas as to cleanliness and sanitation are quite unknown to the Chinese. In the British area there are no such towns, but hundreds of little agricultural villages scattered about in the low-lying parts of the country. The Chinese peasant here is very different from the coolie or shopkeeper of Hongkong and is governed in a very different way. A Civil Commissioner, assisted by a few Europeans and a small force of police, is responsible for the control of over 150,000 Chinese. At one time there was a regiment of soldiers, recruited from the natives; when this 51 force was disbanded, some of its members became police. Even in the central offices many natives are employed on the staff, while the villages practically rule themselves through the local headmen. Here we have a portrait of a typical 52 headman, and here a group receiving medals as a reward for 53 good service. The Governor of Shantung is the nearest high official representative of China; and we may see him here in his 54 chair of state on his way to pay a formal visit to the 55 Commissioner. Here again is a group of the two high officials and their respective staffs. We are a long way from those early days, in the middle of the nineteenth century, when Chinese officials refused even to write to our representatives on terms of equality.

Let us now see something of the natives and their occupations. It is market day in Port Edward; the streets are alive with crowds, buying, selling and haggling, and crowding round the 56 food stalls with their piles of strange delicacies in bowls and saucers. In one corner they are bargaining for pigs, in another are piled loads of fuel, scrub oak and fir, brought in from the country round on the backs of donkeys and mules. There is no coal, and the peasant has stripped the country of most of its woods, here as in other parts of China. Here again we have a 57 village market and a group of peasants with sacks of grain and bundles of brushwood for sale. Outside the village they are 58 threshing the grain in a primitive way with a roller, and drying peanuts on the threshing floor. Everywhere, on the banks of the streams, we find the village washing-places, where clothes 59 are washed and pounded in the fashion which the Chinese adopt all the world over. Down on the shore we see the fishermen 60 cutting up sharks for the fins, which are greatly prized by the Chinese as a relish. _Mat’ou_ was a fishing village on the site of the present port before the Japanese occupation, and fish of all kinds swarm in the neighbouring seas. Agriculture and fishing are still the main business of the people. It is true that 61 here at Port Edward we see them repairing junks, and a great quantity of timber is lying about; but the timber must all be brought from the Yalu river, and the old iron which is piled 62 near has been salved from the sunken warships at Port Arthur. Notice the pony, with his load of brushwood, in the foreground. There are as yet no materials for local industries, and it does not seem likely that Wei-hai-wei, in its isolated corner, will grow into a great commercial centre. None the less we may see an important European settlement develop on the site of the old native fishing village. It is not too far away from Peking and Shanghai; the rainfall in the year is about the same as in London, though there are far fewer rainy days, as the rain falls more in heavy showers; while the summer is dry, and cooler than in most of China. There is already a school for European boys at Port Edward, and it seems well fitted as a summer watering-place for those whose work takes them to the Far East. In winter it is less pleasant. The northern gales bring snow, as we see in this 63 picture, and the cold is so severe that the thick ice is collected, as in northern Europe, to be stored for use in summer.

We have visited Canton and Shanghai because there we find a few Englishmen, living on Chinese soil, but under their own laws and with certain limited powers of self-government. In Shanghai, even these privileges are not exclusive, as they are shared with other foreigners; and they do not imply any interference with the political sovereignty of China. Wei-hai-wei and the New Territory behind Kaulun we govern, but only on lease; Hongkong and the peninsula of Kaulun alone are ours in full possession. So we return to Hongkong, as the last outpost of British power in the Far East and the real terminus of our voyage.

Let us pause here, on the outer rim of our Eastern Empire, and 64 try to realize its position with reference to the great lines of the world’s traffic. South of us lies the route which we have traced from Singapore and India; while another route, as yet in its infancy, leads past Borneo to Australia. Across the Pacific, from the eastward, come the steamers from British Columbia and San Francisco; and soon, when the Panama Canal is finished, there will be direct communication from the Atlantic seaboard of the United States. So we see a great concentration of routes on our Eastern Empire, in the region where the influences of India and China meet and overlap. The key to this frontier region is in Singapore, but behind Singapore lies India.

We have approached India from the northwest, by the passage of the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal; and we have seen how our interests in the Mediterranean, at first purely European, have become more and more related to the control of the seaway to India. Southwest is the older route, by way of the Atlantic and the Cape, a route still valuable for some purposes. Here the control of the route led us on to the occupation of the neighbouring mainland of Africa. Southeast again we reach Australia, either directly across the ocean or threading the island group of Malaya; while the Indian Ocean has its own system of minor local routes. So we have lines of traffic from every part of the world converging on the Indian region, with its vast trade and swarming population; the natural junction of all these sea roads, great and small, is Colombo, close to the mainland of the Peninsula, yet at the same time well out in the open sea, the centre of control from which India reaches out in every direction and dominates the Indian Ocean.

List of Slides

[_The titles printed in heavy type are those of the Maps and Illustrations appearing in the book._]

SET I

_Slide No_

1. Map of the Roads from Europe to the East. 2. Map of Strait of Gibraltar. 3. Distant view of Gibraltar. =4. Nearer view of Gibraltar.= 5. Gibraltar, Town and Harbour. =6. Map of Gibraltar.= 7. The Rock from Devil’s Tower Road. 8. The Causeway and Bay from above. 9. Southport Street. 10. The Old Moorish Castle. 11. Outside one of the Galleries. 12. View from a Gallery Window. =13. The Isthmus and Linea from the Galleries.= 14. Water Catchment on North Peak. 15. The South Gate. 16. In the Alameda Gardens. 17. Troops, on parade. 18. The Southern Suburb, from the Alameda Gardens. 19. The Dockyard, from Europa Main Road. 20. Europa Pass. 21. The Lighthouse, Europa Point. 22. The Rock, from the Governor’s Cottage. 23. The Rock and Europa Advance Battery. 24. The Ridge, looking North. 25. Catalan Bay. 26. Genoese Fishermen, Catalan Bay. 27. The Signal Station, Gibraltar. 28. Map of the Western Mediterranean and the Channel. 29. Map of Malta and the Mediterranean. =30. Plan of Valetta Harbour.= 31. Valetta, from the Sea. 32. Fort Ricasoli. =33. Fort St. Angelo.= =34. Valetta Harbour, looking towards the Sea.= 35. Valetta Harbour, from the Lower Baracca. 36. Sadtar San Giovanni, Valetta. 37. Portrait of a Maltese Gentleman. 38. Maltese Lady, in faldetta. 39. The Armoury Corridor, Governor’s Palace. 40. Connaught Hospital, Citta Vecchia. 41. House in Balzan Village. 42. Auberge de Castile. 43. The Cathedral of St. John. 44. The Old Aqueduct. 45. View towards Citta Vecchia. 46. View from Ramparts of Citta Vecchia. 47. Underground Granaries, Valetta. 48. Working in the Granaries. 49. Gateway of Citta Vecchia. 50. A Norman House. 51. Roman Villa. 52. Maltese Regiment, at drill. 53. Map of the Maltese Islands. 54. Rabato, from the East. 55. The Cathedral, Rabato. 56. View across Country, from Rabato. =57. Lacemakers, Gozo.= 58. Old House, Gozo. 59. Gigantea, Gozo. 60. Hagar Kim, Malta; the North Apse.

SET II

1. Map of Railway from Calais to Brindisi. 2. Map of the Eastern Mediterranean. 3. Phœnician Rock Tomb, Cyprus. 4. Ruins of Temple of Zeus. 5. Slag Heaps at Scariotissa. 6. Limassol. 7. Othello’s Tower, Famagusta. 8. Old Lusignan Palace, Famagusta. 9. St. Sophia, exterior. 10. St. Sophia, interior. 11. In the Monastery of Kikko. 12. Abbey of Bella Paise. 13. The Cloisters, Bella Paise. 14. Modern Greek Church. 15. A Tekkye: Shrine of Mohammed’s Aunt. =16. Map of Cyprus.= 17. View of Nicosia and the Messaoria. =18. Famagusta, from the roof of St. Sophia.= 19. Troodos, from the South. 20. Vineyard near Limassol. 21. Harvesters: Noonday Siesta. 22. Forest Guards. 23. Threshing Floor, with Oxen. 24. Orange Orchards of Lefca. =25. Turkish Villager, at Well.= 26. Bronze Cannon and Stone Cannon Balls. 27. Site of Ancient Salamis. 28. View of Old Famagusta. 29. St. Hilarion. 30. St. Hilarion, the Banqueting Hall. 31. Guard at St Hilarion. 32. Bay of Salamis. 33. The Landing Stage, Famagusta. 34. Railway Station. 35. Map of Euphrates Valley Railway. 36. Coaling at Port Said. 37. Street in Port Said. 38. Suez Canal Offices, Port Said. 39. Steamer in Suez Canal. 40. One of the Bitter Lakes. 41. Map of Lower Egypt. 42. The Dam at Assuan. 43. A Pyramid. 44. Southern end of the Suez Canal. 45. Egyptian Bumboats at Suez. 46. Map of Upper Egypt. =47. Map of Aden.= 48. The Signal Station, Aden. 49. Off Steamer Point, Aden. =50. Arab Boats, Aden.= 51. The Akaba; Aden. 52. In the Akaba; the Main Pass. 53. Aden, from the top of Shumshun. 54. A Tank, Aden. 55. A Tank, Aden. 56. A Well at Sheik Othman. 57. Scene at Sheik Othman. 58. The Camel Market, Aden. 59. Shipping Camels for Somaliland.

SET III

1. Berbera, from the Sea. 2. The Shah Jehan. 3. Part of the Native Town, Berbera. 4. A Spring at Duba. 5. Reservoir of hot water Spring. 6. Plateau, on the Road to Sheikh. 7. Stream between Lower Sheikh and Sheikh. 8. A Native Caller, at Sheikh. 9. View from Bungalow of Political Officer, Sheikh. 10. View from Sheikh, looking towards Berbera. =11. Ant Hills on the Road to Wagga.= 12. Ant Hill and Horseman. 13. Vegetation on the Slopes of Wagga. 14. View from Wagga, looking East. 15. View from Wagga, looking West. =16. Portrait of Somali Guide.= 17. Map of Somaliland. 18. Watering Camels. 19. Cattle, round the Wells. 20. Watering Cattle. 21. Loaded Baggage-Camel. 22. Group of Somalis. 23. Mounted Somalis. 24. Havildars of Coast Police. 25. Coast Police, Review Order. 26. Drummers and Buglers, 6th Battalion King’s African Rifles. 27. C. Company: 6th King’s African Rifles. 28. Map of the Indian Ocean. 29. Palace of Sultan, Zanzibar. 30. Cathedral, Zanzibar. 31. Group of Natives, Zanzibar. 32. Zanzibar, from the Sea. 33. A Street in Zanzibar. 34. Mombasa, from the Sea. 35. Plan of Mombasa and Kilindini Harbours. 36. The Old Caravan Route. 37. Uganda Railway. 38. Port Louis, Mauritius. =39. Map of Mauritius.= 40. Port Louis, general view. 41. Moka Mountains. 42. Pieterboth Head. 43. Chamarel Waterfall. 44. Savanne River, Falls. 45. Railway Viaduct. 46. Sugar Estate. 47. Indians and Hut. 48. Port Louis after a Cyclone. 49. Map of Mauritius, the Seychelles, Zanzibar and Pemba on the same scale. 50. View of Victoria, Seychelles. 51. Albert Street, Victoria. 52. Oil Mill and Palms, Seychelles. 53. Coco-de-mer palm. 54. Coco-de-mer. 55. Giant Tortoise. 56. Maldive Trading Fleet. 57. Sultan of Maldives, on British Warship. =58. The Sultan, receiving a British Official.= 59. Maldive Embassy to Ceylon.

SET IV

1. Approaching Colombo. =2. Plan of Colombo Harbour.= 3. The Coast Railway to Galle. 4. Galle Lighthouse. 5. Fishing Boats, Galle. 6. Hindu Temple, Galle. 7. View of Trincomali. =8. Map of Ceylon.= 9. Sinhalese in the Street, Colombo. 10. Portrait of Sinhalese Gentleman. 11. Sinhalese, with Native Theatre. 12. Sinhalese Girl. 13. Coolies road-breaking, Colombo. 14. Tamil Coolie, in Ricksha. 15. Native Bullock Carts. =16. Open-air Market in the Pettah.= 17. Main Street in the Pettah. 18. Hindu Temples in the Pettah. 19. Washing-place, on the Lake, Colombo. 20. Canal from Colombo to Negombo. 21. Ploughing Padi-field, with Buffalo. 22. Native House, with Palms. 23. Palmyra Palms. 24. Tea picking. 25. Tea-withering House. =26. View of Kandy and the Lake.= 27. Street in Kandy. 28. Group of Kandyan Chiefs. 29. Portrait of a Chief. 30. Audience Hall, Kandy. 31. Vedda Huts, in Forest. 32. Vedda Rock Shelter. 33. Vedda with Bow. 34. Temple of the Tooth, exterior. 35. Entrance to Temple of the Tooth. 36. Temple of the Tooth, interior. 37. A Buddha. 38. The Ruanweli Dagoba. 39. The Ruanweli Dagoba, near view. 40. The Thuparama Dagoba. 41. Isurumuniya Rock Temple. 42. Ruins with Moonstone. 43. Entrance to the Bo Tree, Anuradhapura. 44. The Bo Tree. 45. Buddhist Priests. 46. Interior of Temple. 47. Dumbara cloth-weaving, Kandy. 48. Native Jewellers at work. 49. Yapahu Native School. 50. Yapahu Native School. 51. Public Letter-writer, Colombo. 52. Bamboos, Peradeniya. 53. Talipot Palm. 54. Talipot Palm, in bloom. 55. Scribe with Palm-leaf Book. =56. Rainfall Map of Ceylon.= 57. Forest, Plantation and Waterfalls. 58. Patana Country. 59. Patana Country with Cattle. 60. Mail Coach. 61. An Elephant Drive. 62. Embarking on Canoe. 63. On the Kalu Ganga. =64. Elephants bathing.=

SET V

=1. Map of Malay Peninsula, political.= 2. Map of Malaya. 3. An Island in the Cocos. 4. Flying-fish Cove, Christmas Island. 5. The Quarries, Christmas Island. 6. Government House, Singapore. 7. Singapore Roadstead. 8. Plan of Singapore. =9. The River, Singapore.= 10. Commercial Square. 11. Cathedral and Cricket Ground. 12. A Chinese Residence. 13. Chinese Garden with Lilies. 14. Pineapple-tinning Factory. 15. Botanical Gardens, Singapore. 16. The River, Malacca. 17. Street in Malacca. 18. Group of Native Rulers and British Officials. 19. Palace of Sultan of Selangor. 20. British Residency, Pahang. =21. Map of Malay Peninsula, physical.= 22. A Forest Trail. 23. On the Pahang Road. 24. Malay Houseboats, on the Pahang River. 25. Bamboo Raft. 26. Mouth of Krian River. 27. A Padi Field. 28. Malay House. 29. Malay House. 30. A Street in a Malay Town. =31. Group of Malays, on Plantation.= 32. Group of Malays. 33. New Mosque, Kuala Lumpur. 34. Village Mosque. 35. The Forest, from the Railway. 36. Fern and Creeper in the Jungle. 37. Young Rubber Trees. 38. Rubber Plantation. 39. Collecting Latex. 40. Tamil Coolies, and Planter’s Bungalow. 41. A Tin Mine. 42. A Tin Mine. =43. Palace of Sultan of Kelantan.= 44. Sakai. 45. Map of British Isles on Borneo. 46. View of Brunei. =47. A Street in Brunei.= =48. Market Boats, Brunei.= 49. Village of Brassworkers, Brunei. =50. Map of British North Borneo.= 51. Jesselton, British North Borneo. 52. Portrait of Rahman, Captain of the _Petrel_. 53. Pitcher Plants. 54. Mount Kinabalu and the Abai River. 55. A Raft Race. =56. A Sumpitan Match.= 57. Group of Muruts with Sumpitans. 58. Sea Dyaks, from Sarawak. 59. Clearing the Jungle. 60. Picking and carrying Tobacco. 61. The Tanu; before the Signal. 62. Group of Hill Dusuns. 63. Sandakan.

SET VI

1. Map of South East China. =2. Map of Hongkong Island.= 3. Panorama of the Peak, Hongkong. 4. Panorama of the Peak, further East. 5. Victoria Harbour and Stonecutter Island. 6. Victoria Harbour, and Kaulun. 7. Victoria Harbour, and the Lai-i-mun. 8. Map of Hongkong and the New Territory. 9. Queen’s Road, Victoria. 10. Pottinger Street, Victoria. 11. Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. 12. Statue of Queen Victoria. 13. A Chinese Street, on New Year’s Day. 14. Coolies road-mending. =15. Chinese Boats, on the Water-Front.= 16. View from Battery Path. 17. Government House, Victoria. 18. Stanley Village, Hongkong. 19. Fishing at Aberdeen, Hongkong. 20. Reclaiming Land for Docks, Kaulun. 21. Granite Quarries, Kaulun. 22. Kaulun Observatory. 23. The Storm Signal. 24. Rice Fields in the New Territory. 25. Rice Fields in the New Territory. 26. Cattle Depôt, near Kaulun. 27. Market Street, Tai-wo-shi. 28. The Village Well, Tai-wo-shi. 29. Potter at Wun-yin. =30. Portrait of Hakka Woman, Wun-yin.= 31. Reservoir in the New Territory. 32. Chinese Boats, on Canton River. 33. View from the Shameen, Canton. 34. The English Church, Canton. 35. The Creek, Canton. 36. The English Bridge, Canton. 37. The Great Flowery Pagoda. 38. Inside the British Yamen. 39. Gardens of the British Yamen. 40. Old Shanghai. 41. On the Bund, Shanghai. 42. Chart of the Hwangpu and Shanghai. 43. Map of North East China. =44. Map of Wei-hai-wei.= 45. British Fleet at Wei-hai-wei. =46. Naval Hospital, Liukungtao.= 47. Chinese open-air Theatre. 48. Panorama of Port Edward. 49. Interior of Wei-hai-wei City. 50. Temple of Confucius. 51. Chinese Guards. 52. Headman of Feng-lin Village. 53. Headmen receiving Medals. 54. Visit of Governor of Shantung. 55. Governor of Shantung and British Commissioner. 56. A Food Stall on Market Day, Port Edward. 57. Group of Villagers, Feng-lin. 58. Threshing Grain with a Roller. 59. A Village Washing-Place. 60. Shark Fishers. 61. Repairing Junks, Port Edward. 62. Old Iron, Port Edward. 63. Winter Scene. =64. Map of World Routes to the East.=