^^6 Voyage of tJie Novara. 



documents, strongly recalls another renowned British pos- 

 session, Gibraltar. A mere uninviting granite rock of about 

 9 miles in length, 8 in breadth, and 26 in circumference, 

 Hong-kong, situate as it is at the mouth of the Canton River, 

 is one of the best harbours in the Chinese Empire. Owing 

 to the barren, treeless surface, which consists for the most 

 part of chains of hills, the highest point of which is 1825 

 foot above sea-level, with narrow valleys between, and a 

 small extent of level ground around the bay, hardly a twen- 

 tieth part of its sm-face is adapted to agriculture. The 

 modern cheerful town, thoroughly European in character, 

 has within these few years rapidly attained large dimen- 

 sions, and its numerous palatial structures speak volumes for 

 the wealth and prosperity of the residents. The buildings 

 of the colony rise terrace-like one above another, and extend 

 in rows all along the steep- slope of the granite, for a distance 

 of nearly three miles. Besides the population inhabiting the 

 town, many tliousand Chinese of the very lowest class with 

 their wives and childi-en live here in small boats year after 

 year, so that the total population of the island amounts to 

 about 80,000 souls. 



Twenty years back Hong-kong was but an insignificant 

 place. Only since the peace of Nangking in 1842, which 

 shook to its foundation the exclusive system till then pre- 

 valent, and among other important advantages secured the 

 island of Hong-kong to the English, besides bringing into 

 the community of nations the huge unwieldy empii-e with its 



