Eastward from Macao, about forty miles, lies the English colony of Hongkong, an island in lat. 22° 16-1/2′ N., and long. 114° 8-1/2′ E., on the eastern side of the estuary of the Pearl River. The island of Hongkong, or Hiangkiang (_i.e._, the Fragrant Streams), is nine miles long, eight broad, and twenty-six in circumference, presenting an exceedingly uneven, barren surface, consisting for the most part of ranges of hills, with narrow intervales, and a little level beach land. Victoria Peak is 1,825 feet. Probably not one-twentieth of the surface is available for agricultural purposes. The island and harbor were first ceded to the Crown of England by the treaty made between Captain Elliot and Kíshen, in January, 1841, and again by the treaty of Nanking, in August, 1842; lastly, by the Convention of Peking, October 24, 1860, the opposite peninsula of Kowlung was added, in order to furnish space for quartering troops and storehouse room for naval and military supplies. The town of Victoria lies on the north side, and extends more than three miles along the shore. The secure and convenient harbor has attracted the settlement here, though the uneven nature of the ground compels the inhabitants to stretch their warehouses and dwellings along the beach.
The architecture of most of the buildings erected in Victoria is superior to anything heretofore seen in China. Its population is now estimated at 130,000, of whom five-sixths are Chinese tradesmen, craftsmen, laborers, and boatmen, few of whom have their families. The government of the colony is vested in a governor, chief-justice, and a legislative council of five, assisted by various subordinate officers and secretaries, the whole forming a cumbrous and expensive machinery, compared with the needs and resources of the colony. The Bishop of Victoria has an advisory control over the missions of the establishment in the southern provinces of China, and supervises the schools in the colony, where many youths are trained in English and Chinese literature.
The supplies of the island are chiefly brought from the mainland where an increasing population of Chinese, under the control of the magistrate of Kowlung, find ample demand for all the provisions they can furnish.