3-086-452 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Chinese Question: the harbour of Hong Kong..., 1898. '...showing the strip of territory acquired by the British Government. All the high land in the background is Chinese territory; British Kowloon comprises only the low, narrow peninsula in the centre. Thus, all the principal establishments that make Hong-Kong a valuable naval base are within range of possibly hostile country...British defences at Hong-Kong have been strengthened by a considerable acquisition of territory opposite the island. On June 9 Sir Claude Macdonald signed a Convention with the Tsung-li-Yamen leasing to Britain a portion of the territory on the mainland behind Kowloon. The line of demarcation is drawn from Deep Bay on the west to Starling Inlet, a portion of Mirs Bay, on the east. The new concession also includes the island of Lan-tao. The lease is for ninety-nine years...Formerly our rights on the mainland opposite Hong-Kong, secured by the Convention of 1860, covered only the Kowloon Peninsula, the extent of which barely reached six square miles. In terms of the Convention, China continues to hold the north shores of Mirs Bay and Deep Bay, but the waters of both are leased to Great Britain. China, however, reserves right of entrance for her own ships.' From Illustrated London News, 1898.