Tuesday, June 19, 2012 | By: rudi butt

Top Taxpayers Now And Then -- Mostly Then


Updated (partial) on 9/4/2012

Seventy nine million Hong Kong dollars was the amount paid by the top taxpayer in 2012, who earned 170 million the year before, of which 157 million was a bonus. Inland Revenue Department does not, as a practice, disclose identities of taxpayers, but news media have singled out Canning Fok Kin-ning 霍建寧 (b.1951, Hong Kong- ) as our man. Fok is the group managing director of Hutchison Whampao, a part of the Li Ka-shing 李嘉誠 empire. Li, 83, the ninth richest man in the world with a net worth of US$25.5 billion, himself pays, in proportion, very little personal income tax. Surely 79 million is a lot of tax to pay, but it isn't anywhere near the record high, which was set in fiscal 2005-06, when Hong Kong was enjoying a property boom. The top taxpayer parted with $101 million, and without a challenge, he was crowned King of Employee 打工皇帝, or King of Salary-men as my Japanese friends would refer him to. Was it Fok? I don't have a clue, but Fok has been reckoned the King by Hong Kong media as far back as fiscal 2001-02.

Income tax has a relatively short history in Hong Kong of just over 72 years. The Hong Kong government was required by the Home government to raise money for its war chest in late 1930s when war in Europe became imminent. The government proposed in 1939, as a solution to the repatriation requirement, an income tax that would cover world-wide income of Hong Kong inhabitants as well as income derived from Hong Kong by non-residents. The proposal was severely opposed by the business community, particularly among the Chinese. Governor Geoffrey Alexander Stafford Northcote 羅富國 took a soft landing approach to tackle the situation. He appointed some of the most vocal businessmen to be members of a new committee he established on October 18, 1939, namely, the War Revenue Committee [1] 戰時收益委員會 and tasked it to develop a tax plan most likely would be acceptable by both the taxer and potential taxees. The Committee went to work and on February 14, 1940 submitted their report, proposing a three-part program: 1.) a property tax to be charged on the rental value of property; 2.) a salary tax to be charged on income from employment; and 3). a profit tax to be charged on the profits of business; all based on the source principle. The program was, as an expedient measure, accepted by the government with slight modifications. Accordingly, Ordinance No.13 of 1940. entitled “The War Revenue Ordinance, 1940” was enacted on August 29, 1940. In the following year an interest tax was added to the original three components. As mentioned just now, the program was accepted as an expedient measure to meet the wartime needs, the government's plan was to introduce a normal income tax to replace the businessmen tax program. That, time has told us, was merely wishful thinking on the part of the government.
[1] The War Revenue Committee was composed of 16 members (having an even number of members seems odd to me) and chaired by Chaloner Grenville Alabaster, the Attorney General. There were four government officials, three lawyers (from the private sector), three trading house men, two bankers, two scholars, one representative of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and one chartered accountant. Three of them had seats at both the Executive and Legislative Councils, another four were members of the Legislative Council. Five were Chinese. Below is a roster of members of the committee.
Members of the War Revenue Committee

 Name
Affiliation
Chaloner Grenville Alabaster 晏禮伯 (Chairman), EC, LC Attorney General
Sydney Caine 金錫儀, EC, LC Finanical Secretary
Henry R. Butters 畢打士, EC, LC Finanical Secretary (succeeded Caine on 12/8/1939)
Lo Man-kam 羅文錦, LC Solicitor
Leo D'Almada e Castro, Jr. LC Barrister-at-law
Li Tse-fong 李子方, LC Manager, The Bank of East Asia, Ltd.
W.N. Thomas Tam 譚雅士, LC Barrister-at-law
Vandeleur Molyneux Grayburn 祁禮賓 Chief Manager, HSBC
Duncan John Sloss 史樂詩 Vice-Chancellor, University of Hong Kong
David F. Landale Director, Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd.
R. Robertson Professor of Economics and Political Science, University of Hong Kong
Lawrence Kadoorie Partner, Sir Elly Kadoorie & Sons
Eric MacDonald Bryden Chartered Accountant; Partner, Lowe, Bingham and Matthews
Ng Chak-wa Vice-Chairman, Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong
T. Black Accountant-General, Hong Kong
Ronald Ruskin Todd 杜德 (Secretary) Assistant Financial Secretary
Names are listed in the order as they were published by the government.
EC: Executive Council; LC: Legislative Council
As an ad hoc committee, the War Revenue Committee was dissolved soon after the tax program they developed was accepted by the government. A small panel was established instead to assist the governor to oversee the war tax matters. On May 1, 1940, three lawyers and an accountant were appointed to Board of War Taxation, and they were John Alexander Fraser 傅瑞憲 (Assistant Attorney General), Lo Man-Kam, George Gwinnett Noble Tinson (a partner of Johnson, Stokes & Masters, Solicitors 孖士打律師行) and Eric MacDonald Bryden. Lo and Bryden were both in the War Revenue Committee. Arthur Grenfell Clarke 祈樂嘉, who was previously with the District Office, was appointed Assistant Commissioner of War Taxation in 1940, and became the Commissioner in 1941. Clarke went on to become the Financial Secretary in 1952 and was appointed Chairman of the First Inland Revenue Ordinance Review Committee established by Governor Alexander Granthan 葛量洪 in the smae year. Other related appointments in 1940 had included: Philip Appleyard as an Examiner (May 31, 1940), Charles William Tresise to the same position (June 4, 1940), and Douglas Harvey Collins Taylor as Clerk to the Board of Review.

In late 1870s and early 1880s, according to the Governor's Report on the Blue Book [3] signed by John Pope Hennessy in 1881, government revenue [2] was chiefly generated from house taxes, government opium monopoly, Crown rents, stamps, postages, taxes on shipping, licenses for the manufacture and sale of spirits, and various fees under the Emigration, Shipping and Registration Ordinances. Of these, the largest two items were house taxes and opium monopoly, each contributed to roughly 22% of the total revenue, or half of the government income when combined. 90% of government tax was paid by the Chinese inhabitants, which, said the report, at any time soon would go as high up as 98%. I don't have the 1882, or 1883, numbers to verify that; what I do have is a list of the top twenty taxpayers in 1881, and one dated five year back. It showed that (in the 1881 listing) there were only three non-Chinese entities: #3 Jardine Matheson, #17 Douglas Lapraik & Co., and #19 D. Sassoon, Sons & Co, whose combined contribution amounted to 14% of the aggregate sum of the lot.


 
1876
 
1881
 
1 Douglas, Lapraik & Co.
$11,108
Wo Hang
$11,398
2 Jardine, Matheson & Co.
8,453
Ng Sang
10,240
3 Kwok A-cheong
6,906
Jardine, Matheson & Co.
7,544
4 T.G. Linstead
6,528
Yeong Shu-lum
6,877
5 Siemssen & Co.
6,305
Lum Sow
6,004
6 Turner & Co.
5,914
Ho Lai-shi
5,863
7 D. Sassoon, Sons & Co.
5,499
Kwok Ying-kai
5,748
8 J.J. Dos Remedios & Co.
4,973
Ching Sing-yeong
5,730
9 Lum Sow
4,475
Lo Shing
5,624
10 HSBC
3,938
Ng Cheong
5,363
11 Wo Hang
3,373
Yeong A-mow
4,968
12 Lee Shing
3,155
Tang Leek
4,748
13 Choy Chan
2,988
Kowk Ying-shew
4,700
14 Coore Lind & Co.
2,965
Low Cheong
4,691
15 Chao Ying-yoong
2,585
Koo Mun-wa
4,597
16 Ng Sang
2,572
Ip Ching-chuen
4,516
17 W. Curtis
2,467
Douglas, Lapraik & Co.
4,473
18 J. Gerrard
2,261
Choy Chan
4,049
19 Yeong Shu-lum
2,212
D. Sassoon, Sons & Co.
4,021
20   Gibb, Livingston & Co.
2,110
Fung Wing
3,996
  
90,787
 
115,150
Source: Gt. Brit. SP. 1882 (44):287
[2] The government had collected $375,112.39 in revenue in 1881, about 31% of which came from the top 20 taxpayers. Government expenditure for the same year amounted to $258,162.43. [3] The Blue Book was a part of the annual reports that had to be sent back to London by the colonial government; it was a collection of all available statistics for Hong Kong, with details of all income and expenditure.
Tax the Vices Vices are addictive. People who run businesses to satisfy others' addictions are hugely profitable. Governments like (to milk) very profitable enterprises, and since governments make rules, they legalize operations of vices providers so they can be taxed. Clearly, this is a simple logic anyone can understand. Around 7% [4] of all taxes paid to the Hong Kong government came from the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which in 2010 paid HK$1.64 billion through direct and indirect taxes, and took the honor of being Hong Kong's single largest taxpayer. For me to go on further, I need to add a preamble here to say that I assume horse racing betting is a vice. Vice, by my definition, means an immoral act practiced by a sane person whilst in normal state of conscious awareness. Some, HKJC for instance, would say otherwise. And, along came cleverly invented jargon such as irresponsible gamblers, problem gamblers, and even pathological gamblers (I hope no such thing as anatomic pathological gambling would ever be dreamed up, or it would fate gamblers to be cut open so as to sort out the punters from the plungers). So you see, for the convenience of stakeholders, a vice could be skillfully repackaged as a mental illness. (And, why not, Tiger Woods did exactly that – a philanderer transformed into a mental patient of hypersexuality, which, as I've come to learn, is a bipolar disorder.) No self respecting government would openly allow immoral conducts to popularize of its own making; but the same government would, and should, and is expected to take proactive steps to “manage” illnesses. Here's how -- by monopolizing them to achieve best control. Metaphorically speaking, you are not allowed to contract flu unless the virus comes from a government authorized provider. Does it make good sense? Of course it does, ask the members of the Legislative Council who met on January 1, 1932 and voted in favor of passing the Betting Duty Ordinance, 1931. I haven't found the minutes of that meeting, so I am not able to tell you who they were at this point.
[4] 11.7% in 2002, 9.7% in 2005, 10% in 2009, 7.6% in 2010.
Gambling was outlawed in Hong Kong on June 10, 1844 upon the enactment of Ordinance No.14 of 1844, which was named “An Ordinance for the suppression of public gaming in the Colony of Hongkong”; and such ban remains today although the original ordinance had long been repealed (in 1876) and replaced by new ones. The monopolies granted to HKJC to run horse racing betting, lotteries and football betting are the only exceptions [5]. When authorizing certain gambling activities, the government says there are requirements which must be met: 1.) there has been sufficient large and persistent public demand for that type of gambling; 2.) the demand is now being satisfied by illegal means. In addition, the problem cannot practically and fully be tackled by law enforcement alone even with the devotion of substantial resources; and 3.) the proposition of authorizing the new gambling outlet commands public support. By public support, do they mean "punteral" support, and I don't mean Punteral in Venezuela.
[5]
The latest authorized gambling activity was football betting. After three separate readings, the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2003 was put to the vote at the Legislative Council on July 10, 2003, where 30 members voted YEH versus 24 NEH. It was absurd that the authorization for football betting was given despite an expert study [6] in 2002 told the Home Affairs Bureau 民政事務局, which funded the study, that, “158,221 to 242,353 Hong Kong residents (ages 15-64 years) could be classified as problem gamblers, whereas 65,171 to 116,523 residents can be categorized as probable pathological gamblers”. HKJC, who had been lobbying the government for the Bill, was granted a five-year monopoly, renewable subject to the approval of none other than the Secretary for Home Affairs. 50% of the gross profit of the betting operation goes to the government as tax. Additionally, HKJC was to pay $24 million during the first two years of the monopoly, and thereafter HK$12 million to $15 million each year to fund the research, studies, counseling and treatment of pathological gamblers [7]. In May 2004, HKJC released some mind boggling figures taken during the eight-month period next following the authorization of football betting. The HKJC online betting accounts surged from 35,000 to 95,000 while the number of telebet betting (phone betting) accounts has gone up by 200,000 and past the one million level. This benchmark of one million in 2004 meant one in five adults in Hong Kong would be a holder of a telebet account. I am most certain it would set a Guinness World Record, if someone were to submit them to Guinness. HKJC, clearly, wouldn't be keen on doing just that. Anyways, I should perhaps leave the subject of legalized gambling for another day, say when I am particularly cynical, and get back to discussing taxpayers.
[6] The survey on Prevalence of Problem and Pathological Gambling in Hong Kong was carried out in 2001 by Irene Lai-kuen Wong, Ph.D. 黄麗娟, Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Ernest M.T. So (no information about who So is). The study, following the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition) Criteria and based on a sample size of 2,004, showed the results of 4.0% and 1.8% of the respondents could be classified as problem and pathological gamblers respectively (lifetime). Wong and So were commissioned by the Home Affairs Bureau to carry out the survey. I was able to find some data on prevalence rate of probable pathological gambling in some nations, they were results of surveys conducted between 1998 and 2010 by different agencies and by using different criteria / methods, viz. SOGS, DSM-IV and Meta Analysis. Due to the time and methodology discrepancies, these numbers, as I've assembled them below, are only good as anecdotal notes to stick on the world map of pathological gambling, but not so as a base to make a ranking comparison. Here goes: Puerto Rico 7.4%, The United States 1.5% to 5.1%, Australia 2.1% to 5%, France 1% to 2%, South Africa 1.8%, Canada 1.6%, Japan 1.5%, Switzerland 0.2% to 0.8%, Britain 0.3% to 0.8%, Iceland 0.6%, Sweden 0.3% to 0.6%, New Zealand 0.5%, Norway 0.2% to 0.3%, Denmark 0.1%. [7] $24 million divided by 116,523 means each pathological gambler gets exactly $206 (US$26) a year to treat his / her gambling illness, the same amount a gp doctor in Hong Kong would charge for a single consultation, let say to treat your flu; provided further that we save all the money to treat pathological gamblers and leave the problem gamblers to rot.
Brief biographies of selected persons featured in this post. Chaloner Grenville Alabaster 晏禮伯 Chairman, War Revenue Committee, 1939-1940 Alabaster (b.1880-d.1958) and his father had identical names. His father was a diplomat stationed in China from 1855 to 1891, rising from an interpreter to British Consul General in Canton (1891, Consul since 1886). Alabaster 阿查理, the father, was a Freemason. He was made an K.C.M.G. in 1892, the year next following his departure from China. Alabaster, the son, was a barrister-at-law called in the Inner Temple, London in June 1904. He was admitted to practice in Hong Kong in 1909, the year he married Mabel Winifred Mary Mainwaring (b.1882-d.1951), daughter of Colonel E.P. Mainwaring of the Indian Army, in Canton (Guangzhou). Alabaster acted as deputy Cable Censor during the Great War, and for that he was awarded an O.B.E. His wife, M.W.M Mainwaring, received an M.B.E. in 1928 for services for the welfare of the troops in Hong Kong. Alabaster was appointed acting Attorney General in multiple occasions in 1911, 1922 and 1928. He became a member of the Legislative Council on April 10, 1919, and serve in the Law Committee. Alabaster was appointed a King's Counsel in Hong Kong on September 9, 1922, and had also served in the Sanitary Board for many years. He was elected president of the Hong Kong branch of the Royal Society of St. George for 1927-28. He was appointed Attorney General of Hong Kong on April 9, 1930 and held the position until his was interned in the Stanley Interment Camp during the Japanese occupation. I could not find the names of his wife and daughter, Dorethea Rosalie, from the roster of internees; they probably were in Britain. He was repatriated in 1945 and retired in Britain in 1946. Alabaster was a vocal advocate for anti-miscegenation eugenics, and had repeatedly pressed the government to impose laws declaring marriage between certain races invalid or a punishable offense. At the end, none of his recommendations were implemented. References for this biography: - Bashford, Alison and Levine, Philippa (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the History of Eugenics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. - Edinburgh Gazette, June 8, 1928. - Poy, Vivienne, Profit, Victory & Sharpness: the Lees of Hong Kong, York: York Center for Asian Research, York University, 2006. - Proceedings of Meeting, the Legislative Council, Hong Kong, April 20, 1911; July 20, 1911; April 10, 1919; March 19, 1931; and March 17, 1932. - The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, February 22, 1909; and September 23, 1922. - The Straits Times, October 11, 1928. William Ngar Tse Thomas Tam 譚雅士 Member, War Revenue Committee, 1939-1940 W.N. Thomas Tam (b.1906-d.1979) was a barrister-at-law admitted to practice in Hong Kong. He was Chairman of the Board of Po Leung Kuk 保良局 in 1936 and 1937, and had been a member of the Legislative Council from March 1939 until Hong Kong fell to the Japanese in 1941. During the Japanese occupation, Tam was appointed by the Chinese Representative Council 華民代表會 to sit in the Chinese Cooperative Council 香港華民各界協議會 as a member. The former was composed of four members: Robert Hormus Kotewall, alias Lo Yuk-wo, 羅旭龢 (chairman),  Lau Tit-shing 劉鐵成, Li Tse-fong 李子方 and Chan Lim-pak 陳廉伯; the latter was composed of 22 members. These puppet consultation bodies were established by the Japanese occupation government as cosmetics to adorn its ruthless governance. Tam also sat on the Chinese Rehabilitation Committee 香港善後處理委員會, which was instrumental in keeping the city running after the colonial  Hong Kong government ceased to function (exist), coping with the water, energy and food stresses to the least. A number of civic Chinese leaders previously close to the colonial government, as I have read, aligned themselves with the Japanese with the prior consent of the British government; their aim -- to maximize the prospect of stability, however small that prospect was, in Hong Kong during enemy occupation. Tam was probably one of them as I found no recorded that indicated he was punished after the war for being an enemy collaborator. Tam was appointed a Justice of the Peace and was awarded an O.B.E. (effective dates unknown to me). He was made a judge of the Central Magistracy 中央裁判司署 in 1947, and elected a member of the Court of the Hong Kong University in 1954. Tam was married to Jessie To 杜佩珍 (it's a pity I haven't been able to find ancestral information of Tam and To). Their daughter Eileen Barbara Tam 譚愛蓮 (b. unknown – d. June 24, 2006) married Yang Ti-liang 楊鐵樑 (b. June 30, 1929 - ), colonial Hong Kong's last chief justice, and, significantly, the first ethnic Chinese to be appointed (1988-1996). Tam and his wife had been benefactors in many charities, education and children welfare organizations in particular. The Jessie and Thomas Tam Charitable Foundation 譚雅士杜佩珍基金會, established in their names in 1988, still gives generous today. References for this biography: - Caroll, John M., A Concise History of Hong Kong, Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2007. - Historic Building Appraisal, No.128 Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong, Antiquities and Monuments Office, Hong Kong Government [internet]. - Proceedings of the Legislative Council, March 3, 1939.
Ho Mui-ling,
 daughter of Ho Lai-shi
Ho Lai-shi 何黎氏 No.6 in the top taxpayer ranking, 1881 Ho Lai-shi was the widow of the Rev. Ho Fuk-tong 何福堂, the first Chinese Protestant minister in Hong Kong. (The Rev.) Ho began investing in land in Hong Kong in 1846 while he was still studying theology under Scottish missionary James Legge 理雅各. By the time he died in 1871, his estate was sworn at over HK$100,000, which amounted to about a quarter of what the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation made as profit for the same year. The couple had eleven children, among them were Ho Shan-kai, 何神啟, alias Ho Kai 何啟, the most prominent, and Westernized, Chinese inhabitant of his time and the first to marry a British woman, Alice Walkden; and Ho Miu-ling 何妙齡, who married the reputed politician / entrepreneur Ng Choy 伍才, alias Wu Tingfang 伍廷芳. Unfortunately, there was almost nothing written about Ho Lai-shi other than her tax payment ranking. A substantial amount of assignments of her land holdings probably took place in fiscal 1880-81, hence the large tax payment of close to $6,000. Incidentally, she was the first woman taxpayer in Hong Kong to be listed. I don't have a picture of Ho Lai-shi, but have one of her daughter, Ho Miu-ling. Anyone interested in learning more about the Rev. Ho Fuk-tong and his family may read a story I wrote back in 2010, entitled "Ho Fuk-tong, Father of all Doctors".
- TO BE COMPLETED -
References for the post: - Balfour, Frederik, 'Gaming for Hong Kong's Jockey Club, the Race is Online', Bloomberg Businessweek, February 17, 2011. - Caroll, John M., A Concise History of Hong Kong, Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2007. - Global Times, November 4, 2009. - The Governor's Report on the Blue Book, Hong Kong, April 29, 1881. - The Hong Kong Government Gazette, May 3, 1940; June 7, 1940; November 8, 1940; December 13, 1940; May 16, 1941; July 11, 1941. - Hong Kong Asia City, Hong Kong Venue, Hong Kong Jockey Club [internet]. - Littlewood, Michael, 'The Hong Kong Tax System: its History, its Future and the Lessons it Holds for the rest of the World', Hong Kong Law Journal, 2010. - Littlewood, Michael, Taxation without Representation, the History of Hong Kong's Troublingly Successful Tax System, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2010. - London and China Mail, March 20, 1882. - Moy, Patsy, 'Top taxpayer puts $91m into public purse', The Standard, Top News, May 06, 2010. - Policy Models Rational Decision Making Model Case Study of Soccer Betting in Hong Kong, benaston.com [internet]. - Pomerantz-Zhang, Linda, Wu Tingfang (1842-1922): Reform and Modernization in Modern Chinese History, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1992. - Proceedings of the Legislative Council Meeting, Hong Kong, May 19,2004. - Ure, Gavin,Governors, Politics and the Colonial Office: Public Policy in Hong Kong, 1918-58, Hong  Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2012. - Wong, Irene L.K. And So, Ernest M.T., 'Prevalence Estimates of Problem and Pathological Gambling in Hong Kong', The American Journal of Psychiatry, July 1, 2003. - Wong, Olga, 'Biggest taxpayer forks out HK$79m', South China Morning Post, HK News Watch, May 5, 2012.
Sunday, June 10, 2012 | By: rudi butt

First Man Killed By Shark


Updated (partial) on August 19, 2012

Reg Harris [1], special (war) correspondent for several journals in Australia who was based in Hong Kong, filed the following report on September 25, 1945 for The Argus (Melbourne, 1846-1957).
Man Killed by Shark at Hong Kong

Police-sergeant H.W. Jackson [2] was the victim yesterday of the first known shark attack at Hong Kong while he was bathing at Tweed Beach [3] shortly before dusk. He was frightfully mauled and died within a minute of being rescued by Captain A.M. [sic] Braude [4], Hong Kong Volunteer Defense of the Hong Kong Telephone Company.
Tweed Beach is a popular swimming area near Stanley internment camp. Sergeant Jackson, who was interned for nearly four years, was awaiting repatriation to London.
Large sharks have never been seen in Hong Kong bathing waters. It is believed that this one must have followed a ship in.

Jim Vine and Reg Harris (right), both war correspondents
Pacific Area 17, Philippines, December 8, 1944
Photo by Clifford Bottomley
Source: Trove
[1] Reginald Leslie Harris was war correspondent for a number of Australian media, including Australia Morning Press, Sydney Telegraph, Melbourne Sun Pictorial, and Courier Mail. He was one of the first journalists to return to Hong Kong after its liberation in August 1945. Harris later became press secretary to several Federal Ministers in Australia. Books written by Harris have included Legendary Territorians, in which he told stories of 70 pioneers in the Alice Springs region, Northern Territory.

Police sergeants lined up at medal presentation
Central Police Station 1939
Source: Hong Kong Police Force
(Might one of them be Sergeant Jackson?)
[2] Herbert W. Jackson was a lance sergeant in the Hong Kong Police Force. There was a conflicting record that said he died on April 5, 1942 whiled interned.

[3] Tweed Beach, or Tweed Bay, refers to Pak Sha Wan 白沙灣 in Stanley (not to be mistaken with Hebe Haven in Sai Kung, which is also called Pak Sha Wan). The islet across the bay is called Tweed Island, or Lo Chau 羅洲. According to the Survey and Mapping Office of the Lands Department, there was no record that shows why Pak Sha Wan was called Tweed Bay, and Lo Chau - Tweed Island. “The earliest map found showing the name, “Tweed I.” (Tweed Island) is Sheet 23 of the 1:20000 map series GSGS 3868 published by the War Office in 1938. While the name “Tweed Bay” may also have existed by that time but not shown on the same map due to limited map space, our earliest map found showing the name “Tweed Bay” is the 1:600 survey sheet no. 248-NE-10 published by the Crown Lands and Survey Office in 1969.”, said the Survey and Mapping Office in reply to my email inquiry. I found a seperate reference in the British Army Order of Battle of 1939 that on September 3, 1939, the 4th Battery of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps was deployed at Pak Sha Wan; the record made no reference to the Tweed Bay naming. Incidentally, a new nickname for the island -- 棟頭洲 (Dung Dou Chau) appeared in 1940. Had this new nickname anything to do with the “Tweed” naming? Probably, but honestly, I am not going to spend any time on this further.

[4] Arthur Nathaniel Braude (b. February 1, 1902 – d. June 16, 1969) hailed from Edinburgh. He attended the George Heriot's School at Lauriston Place. Braude came to Hong Kong no later than 1928 (his name appeared for the first time on the common jurors list No.3 of 1928) and was an engineer with Hong Kong Telephone Co., Ltd. Before long after arriving here, he joined the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps. His appointment to second lieutenant from a NCO in the Corps Machine Gun Battalion's Signal Section on April 12, 1935 was announced in the Government Gazette of May 3, 1935 (item #341). Braude became a captain no later than 1941 and, during the Battle of Hong Kong, was in command of HKVDC's Signals Corps, which was comprised of two officers (he and a second lieutenant named Alan Dudley Coppin) and thirty eight men. Upon the surrender of the British forces in Hong Kong, he was imprisoned at the Shamshuipo POW camp. He received an Efficiency Decoration and was made a major after the war, and on June 1, 1953, on the occasion of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, appointed to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.). Braude's wife, Irene, was head of the Voluntary Aid Detachments. She commanded the Nursing Detachment 1, which was comprised of three officers (herself including) and 126 nurses. Irene Braude, daughter Patricia Braude, and her parents, Stuart Deacon (b. April 15,1885 – d. April 24, 1942) and Florence Maude Deacon (b. September 9, 1888 – d. December 12, 1962), were kept at the Stanley internment camp (designated for civilians). Both Braude and his wife suffered from amoebic dysentery as a result of their internments. Stuart Deacon died during interment at the Tweed Bay Hospital (room 419). He came to Hong Kong no later than 1922 and worked for the Hong Kong Electric Company as an electrical engineer; he retired months before the Battle broke out. 
Released British internees from Stanley Camp
being issued with tickets to board a troopship
that will carry them to England.
Photo by: Sergeant R. Watson. Source: Imperial War Museums
Arthur and Irene Braude were there on the beach when the shark attacked Jackson and they helped pull him out of the water. Irene Braude said he died from loss of blood. A story in the South China Morning Post of September 24 reported that Jackson was killed by a shark on Sunday, the 23rd. There was however a different report of a shark attack: Police Lance Sergeant H.M. Goldie of the No.8 Police Station (located at the corner of High Street and Bonham Road) was bitten by a shark or a large fish and bled to death soon after the Japanese surrender (the surrender took place on August 15). Additionally, a notice appeared in the South China Morning Post of September 29 put Goldie's name on the list for ex-internees to be repatriated 'on or about Tuesday next', i.e. October 3. The only repatriation ship (for civilians and uniformed civilians) I found that left around that time from Hong Kong was HMT Highland Monarch that sailed on October 5. A little bit of confusion there that I hope one day will become clear.

I found this brief description of Jackson's shark attack in Stanley written by Second Lieutenant John Dickson, a pilot with the 812 Naval Air Squadron who arrived Hong Kong on September 5 on board the brand new carrier HMS Vengeance (R71).

Bill Williams (first left), John Dickson (second left)
Kai-tak Airport, November 1945
Source: hms-vengeance.co.uk.
"I had a couple more trips out to Stanley and on the 23rd September went there by bus with Bill Williams (an observer serving on Dickson's Fairey Barracuda dive bomber 381/A PM 757). We enjoyed swimming with the girls (twin daughters of Dickson's family friends who lived in Hong Kong) but were horrified to learn that one of the male ex-internees who had been on the beach at about the same time, was attacked and killed by a shark soon after we left. A tragic end after 4 years in captivity. Needless to say we didn't go swimming for the rest of our stay. The twins and their mother sailed home on the "Highland Monarch" a couple of weeks later."


Fatal Shark Attacks In Hong Kong Waters

1991
- June 7 (Friday), 65-year-old woman, Yeung Tam-ho, was attacked while swimming at Silverstrand Bay 銀線灣 in Sai Kung.
- June 28 (Friday), 22-year-old man was attacked while swimming off Basalt Island, or Fo Shek Chau 火石洲 in Sai Kung.

1993
- June 1 (Tuesday), 42-year-old man was attacked while swimming near Sheung Sze Wan 相思灣, a part of the Clearwater Bay 清水灣 in Sai Kung.
- June 12 (Saturday), 61-year-old man was attacked while swimming at Silverstrand Bay.

1994
- Exact date to be verified, a woman was attack while playing beach volleyball (she probably went in the water to fetch the ball), location to be verified.

1995
- June 1 (Thursday), 44-year-old man, Tso Kam-sun, was attacked during a scuba diving session at Silverstrand Bay.
- June 2 (Friday), 29-year-old man, Herman Lo Cheuk-yuet, was attacked while swimming near Sheung Sze Wan.
- June 13 (Tuesday), 45-year-old woman, Wong Kui-yong 王桂容, was attacked while swimming at Clearwater Bay.

All fatal attacks took place in Sai Kung, only in the month of June, and favored Tuesdays and Fridays in particular. I am still looking for attacks (if any) between 1946 and 1991. No shark attacks in Hong Kong waters were reported since June 13, 1995.

A Tiger Shark, an illustration by Jane Kim
Source: Lost at E Minor (website)
Shark Sightings In Hong Kong Waters

The first ever recorded shark sighting was reported by the Friend of China in its August 17, 1843 issue. Sharks were sighted in the Victoria Harbor.

15 sightings between 1991 and 2006 were reported; they took place in Tuen Mun, Repulse Bay, Deep Water Bay, and Hoi Ha Wan, Clearwater Bay, Little Palm Bay, Silverstrand Beach and Sheung Sze Wan in Sai Kung. These are what I found since 2006, with some particular information:

- April 2006 – Cafeteria New Beach, Tuen Mun, unidentified and unconfirmed.
- September , 2006 – off Shek O Beach, 2 gray reef sharks.
- Wednesday, June 6, 2007 - off Pak Sha Wan (Hebe Haven), Sai Kung, 4 tiger sharks were sighted.
- Wednesay, June 20, 2012 - off Stanley Main Beach, unidentified 2-meter-long fish with gray fin, unconfirmed.
- Tuesday, July 3, 2012 - off Deep Water Bay, unidentified and unconfirmed.

- TO BE COMPLETED -


References:
- ADF (Australian Defense Force) Serials Newsletter, November 2003.
- The Argus (Melbourne), Tuesday, September 25, 1945, p.20.
- Australian War Memorial [internet].
- The Boys in Blue: A HKP Chief Inspector. & A.P.I., September 2007 [internet].
- The Dedication and Unveiling of the Repatriation Memorial, Pier Head, Liverpool, Saturday October 15, 2011, A Brief History and Order of Service.
- Dickson, John, H.M.S. Vengeance, 812 Squadron in Hong Kong (5th September - 28th December 1945) [internet].
- Emerson, Geoffrey Charles, Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945, Life in the Japanese Civilian Camp at Stanley, Hong Kong: Kong Kong University Press, 2008.
- Emerson, Geoffrey Charles, Tweed Bay Beach, Stanley Camp Discussion Group discussion list, March 12, 2012 [internet].
- Hong Kong (& Macau) Stuff, The Sai Kung Shark Attacks - early 90's, Sai Kung [internet].
- Hong Kong Government, Civil Engineering and Development Department, Glossary of place names [internet].
- The Hong Kong Government Gazette, May 3, 1935, No.555.
- Hong Kong Police Force [internet].
- Hong Kong War Diary, Hong Kong's Defenders, Dec 1941 - Aug 1945, Civilians. [internet].
- Hong Kong War Diary, Hong Kong's Defenders, Dec 1941 - Aug 1945, Uniform Civilians. [internet].
- Hong Kong War Diary, Hong Kong's Defenders, Dec 1941 - Aug 1945, Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps. [internet].
- Jurors List for 1922, No.2 of 1922; 1928, No.3 of 1928; 1940, No.3 of 1940, Hong Kong.
- List of Heroters Who Served in the World War 1939-1945, George Heriot's School.
- London Gazette, June 1, 1953, Supplement.
- Map Information Section, Survey and Mapping Office, Lands Department, Origins of the names of Tweed Bay and Tweed Island, June 20, 2012 [email, to Butt, Rudi][internet].
- Naval History, Admiralty War Diaries of World War 2, British Pacific Fleet - August to September 1945 [internet].
- South China Morning Post, September 17, 2006.
- Stanley Camp Discussion Group [internet].
- Trove Digitised Newspapers [internet].
- United States Army Combined Arms Center, ‎Combined Arms Research Library, Nafziger Documents, British Armed Forces [internet].
- yoSurfer, Hong Kong All Shark attacks [internet].

Friday, June 1, 2012 | By: rudi butt

British Subjects: Within The Confines Of Hong Kong


Updated (partial) on December 7, 2012

Three years on after Hong Kong's cession to Britain, the colonial government felt the need (I know not why) to expand the British contingent on the island by allowing persons of other nationalities to be naturalized as British subjects, as a result, an ordinance, (Ordinance No.10 of 1845) named Aliens - Naturalization Ordinance, was enacted on October 1, 1845. A naturalized person enjoyed, only within the confines of Hong Kong, the privileges typically conferred to a British subject. The actual process of naturalization could not have been simpler: anyone already settled in Hong Kong or was about to do so, who had taken and subscribed the oath of allegiance before a magistrate would become naturalized, subject only to the approval of the Governor. And, H.E.'s approval was conditioned on: 1.) the applicant must either be a lessee of Crown land (or other types of real properties owned by the Crown) paying no less than ten pounds a year to the colonial government, or a person who had given more than two years public service (I was unsure if this meant a government employee, or a person rendering community service, or both were acceptable); and 2.) the payment of ten dollars; and, naturally, any other unwritten conditions that the Governor could impose at his discretion. Either no one was interested or the Governors were really picky, the first successful naturalization came about in 1880, or thirty fives years later. I must however qualify that I am still at a very early stage of reaching the subject matter; new (old) information may turn up anytime to show that it didn't take the government 35 years to crank this up.

I know how stupid I sound, but our Aliens – Naturalization Ordinance was two years ahead of Britain's Naturalization Act of 1847 (CAP83), which declared that colonial legislatures had power to impart all or any of the privileges of naturalization to be “exercised and enjoyed within the respective limits of such colonies or possessions respectively”. I've looked up the immediate previous naturalization act, Act 1844 (CAP66), but found no relevant provisions, I think, therefore, (CAP83) was the first such act that empowered colonies to make local naturalization available.

As can be found in the following roster, a total of 66 applications was approved between 1880 and 1900, all except two had completed the naturalization. The two unconfirmed cases were those of Pang Im (#5) and Hu Wa (#13). On March 25, 1901, an ordinance (Ordinance No.9 of 1901), named Naturalized Persons Ordinance, 1901 was enacted, repealing all past ordinances for the naturalization of persons as British subjects in Hong Kong in preparation for a new edition of the Statute Laws. All persons granted naturalization, however, continued to be British subjects within Hong Kong. There were several other ordinances enacted between 1845 and 1901 regarding local naturalization, I just need time to digest them.

Typical Text of an Ordinance for Naturalization (in use between 1880 and 1900)
(Updated on December 6, 2012)

An Ordinance for the naturalization of [name of person].
[date]
Whereas [name of person] has petitioned to be naturalized as a British Subject within the limits of this Colony, and whereas it is expedient that he should be so naturalized; Be it enacted by the Governor of Hongkong, with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:-
[name of person], shall be, and he is hereby naturalized a British subject within this Colony, and shall enjoy within this Colony, but not elsewhere, all the rights, advantages and privileges of a British subject, on his taking the oath of allegiance under the provisions of the Promissory Oaths Ordinance, 1869.
Anyone interested in reading the Promissory Oaths Ordinance may check out these link: http://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/576.
I just found the Chinese version of the ordinance:

香港總督督同定例局議定准(姓名)入籍則例
照得(姓名)禀求入籍即限在本港界內為英國赤子現查准伊如此入籍實為方便故香港總督督同定例局酌奪於後
立此為憑自今而後(姓名)入籍在本港地內是為英國赤子第在本港內得享英國赤子之分之益之權其餘別處則不然但必先遵一千八百六十九年發誓則例所定各欵而發服事 皇后之誓乃可
References:
- The Hong Kong Government Gazette, April 22, 1882

Roster of Naturalized British Subjects in Hong Kong
(listed according to the enactment dates of the ordinances)

1880

1. Ernest John Eitel (German), Ordinance No.4 of 1880 (August, 31, 1880), naturalized on August 31, 1880.

1881

2. Fung Ming-shan (Chinese), Ordinance No.5 of 1881 (June 24, 1881), naturalized on September 14, 1882.
The first Chinese resident granted British subject status in Hong Kong, Fung Ming-shan, or Feng Mingshan (p), 馮明珊 (b. unknown - d.1898), alias Fung Po-hai 馮普熙, alias Fung Chew 馮照, was a native of  Dongguan, Guangdong 廣東東莞. Fung attended St. Paul's College 聖保羅書院 in Hong Kong, and most probably was a classmate of Ng Choy 伍才, a.k.a. Wu Tingfang 伍廷芳, who graduated in 1858.

Fung was comprador for A.G. Hogg & Co., which was, among other things, the Hong Kong agent for the New York scent products manufacturer, Lanman & Kemp [1]. Fung later became the comprador for the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London and China 有利銀行 (renamed Mercantile Bank of India, Ltd. in 1893 when it lost the royal charter). He was listed in 1874 as a manager of the General Chinese Printing Office 中華印務總局, which published Hong Kong's first newspaper in the Chinese language, the Tsun-wan Yat-po 循環日報, or Xunhuan Ribao (p), or Universal Circulating Herald (a name commonly used by Westerners in Hong Kong; the newspaper did not have an official English name). Fung was one of the founders of Tung Wah Hospital (founded in 1870); he became a director in 1872, and chairman in 1879. He was the leader of the group of sixty two prominent Chinese residents who signed the petition to the government in 1878 that led to the establishment of Po Leung Kuk (formed in the same year). The initial costs and expenses of Po Leung Kok were borne by Fung and other members of the Kuk's committee, while the costs of providing food was borne by Tung Wah Hospital.
[1] The forefather of Lanman & Kemp, New York parfumeur Robert I. Murray, introduced in 1808 the company's most distinguished product, Florida Water 花露水, as an American interpretation of Eau de Cologne (Eau de Cologne was launched in Cologne by Italian parfumeur Giovanni Maria Farina in 1709.) Florida Water remains in production today using the original 1808 formula. Incidentally, Hong Kong has it own version of Florida Water, which was introduced by House of Kwong Sang Hong 廣生堂 in 1898 under the brand name of Two Girls 雙妹嚜; the product is still available today. No idea which formula was or is in use.
References:
- Faure, David (Ed.), A Documentary History of Hong Kong, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1997.
- Lanman & Kemp Collection, Accession 2328, Wilmington, Delaware: Hagley Museum and Library [internet]
- Sinn, Elizabeth, Power and Charity, a Chinese Merchant Elite in Colonial Hong Kong, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2003.
- Wagner, Rudolf G., Joining the Global Public: World, Image, and City in Early Chinese Newspapers 1870-1910, Albany: State University of New York Press, 2007.
3. Wong She-tai (Chinese), Ordinance No.6 of 1881 (June 24, 1881), naturalized on March 24, 1883.

4. Shi Shang-kai (Chinese), Ordinance No.7 of 1881 (June 24, 1881), naturalized on March 24, 1883.
Shi Shang-kai 施笙階 was a compatriot of Fung Ming-shan, i.e. a native of Dongguan. Nothing much was written about him, except that he, Fung, and two other Dongguaners, Lo Lai-ping 盧禮屏 and Tse Tat-shing  謝達盛, were the title authors of the petition to governor John Pope Hennessy on November 8, 1878 that led to the establishment of the Po Leung Kuk.

References:
- Po Leung Kuk [internet].
5. Pang Im (Chinese), Ordinance No.8 of 1881 (June 24, 1881).

6. Ip Him-kwong (Chinese), Ordinance No.9 of 1881 (June 24, 1881), naturalized on March 24, 1883.

7. Un Man-tsoi (Chinese), Ordinance No.10 of 1881 (June 24, 1881), naturalized on March 24, 1883.

1882

8. Chan Teng-cho (Chinese), Ordinance No.2 of 1882 (February 22, 1882), naturalized on December 6, 1883.

9. Ng Li-hing (Chinese), Ordinance No.3 of 1882 (February 22, 1882), naturalized on December 6, 1883.

10. Yau Chong Peng (Chinese), Ordinance No.4 of 1882 (February 22, 1882), naturalized on December 6, 1883.

11. Chan Mun Wing (Chinese), Ordinance No.5 of 1882 (February 22, 1882), naturalized on December 6, 1883.

12. William Quincey (Chinese), Ordinance No.10 of 1882 (April 27, 1882), naturalized on March 24, 1883. (Updated on December 7, 2012)
William Quincey (3rd from left, back row), ca.1885
source: Voices from the Past: Hong Kong, 1842-1918
Quincey, the first Chinese police inspector in Hong Kong, had been with the Hong Kong Police Force since 1870. He was listed as a police inspector and was paid $720 a year in salary in 1884; he was later promoted to the post of detective inspector. On March 13, 1887, Quincey shot and killed by mistake a Chinese bystander, when he fired his revolver at a criminal he was pursuing, but failed to overtake. He was kicked out of the Police Force for corruption in August 1897. He was hired by the Taotai 道台 (a position similar to that of a mayor) of Shanghai , Tsai Gun, or Cai Jun (p) 蔡鈞, in 1898 to head a modern police force there. He arrived in December 1898 (by that time, Tsai had already been removed from office) with five Indian ex-policemen, or ex-army, including a Jemadar Fakeer Mahomed (I am quite sure he was not a fakir.). Quincey was put in charge of fifty Chinese constables.
The Hongkong Gambling Scandal (The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, September 2, 1897, p.2) Three Police Officers Dismissed.

A private inquiry has been in progress for several days in the Superintendent's Office at Victoria Gaol into the charges against the European officers of the Hongkong Police who were suspended from duty at the commencement of the inquiry into the Gambling Scandal. The inquiry has been conducted by Hon. F.H. May, Captain Superintendent of Police, and Mr. H.L. Dennys, Crown Solicitor. On the 24th Inspector Baker was dismissed from the Police Force for gross neglect of duty for not discovering and reporting a gambling house at No.2 Wa Lane. This is the gambling house which Captain Superintendent of Police raided along with Acting Chief Inspector Mackie, when the books of a large Chinese gambling syndicate were discovered, which contained the names of several Police officers. Inspector Baker, who was in charge of this district, has been in the Police Force over twenty-four years. It is announced that Detective-Sergeant Holt has also been dismissed from the Force. The following day (the 25th) the Hon. F.H. May, Captain Superintendent of Police, ordered the dismissal from the Police Force of Detective-Inspector Quincey for gross neglect of duty in not discovering and in not reporting a common gaming house at No.2, Wa Lane.
References:
- Clare, J.D. (Ed.), Shanghai by Night and Day, Shanghai: Shanghai Mercury, Ltd., 1902.
- The Hongkong Gambling Scandal, The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, September 2, 1897, p.2.
- The Hong Kong Government Gazette, April 22, 1882
- London and China Telegraph, April 18, 1887, China, Hong Kong.
- Minutes of the Legislative Council of Wednesday, March 5, 1884.
- Tsai, Jung-Fang, The 1884 Hong Kong Insurrection: Anti-Imperialist Popular Protest During the Sino-French War, Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, Vol. 16, No. 1: January - March 1984.
13. Hu Wa 許華 (Chinese), Ordinance No.11 of 1882 (April 27, 1882).

14. Ho Shun 何順 (Chinese), Ordinance No.12 of 1882 (April 27, 1882), naturalized on May 15, 1883.

1883

15. Lai Fong (Chinese), Ordinance No.13 of 1883 (December 28, 1883), naturalized on January 4, 1884.

16. Januario Antonio de Carvalho (Portuguese), Ordinance No.14 of 1883 (December 28, 1883), naturalized on December 31, 1883.
Portrait of J. A. de Carvalho, Hong Kong, 1886
Photo on cabinet card, by Afong Photo
National Library of Australia
Januario Antonio de Carvalho (b.1830, Macau - d. December 1900, Hong Kong) came to Hong Kong in the 1850s. He was listed in 1859 as an accountant of the Colonial Treasurer's Office, and rose to become chief cashier. On October 7, 1878, he was nominated by governor John Pope Hennessy to assume the post of acting Colonial Treasurer, which bundled with a seat at the Legislative Council. The appointment was met with indignation from within the government as the appointment was considered an unjust rocket-through-the-rank promotion; it also outraged the British contingent as Carvalho was not even a British subject, in an era where senior positions in the government were only filled by Britons, not even naturalized British subjects. Hennessy would have ignored the strongest of protects and went ahead with it, except that it was impossible to do so on technicality ground; Carvalho, being an alien, could not take the oath of allegiance required to complete his appointment. Henessy instead made him a Justice of the Peace later in the same year. Carvalho petitioned for and was granted naturalization nearly two years after the departure of Hennessy.

Carvalho married Mariana Joaquina Rosa-Braga in 1856. They had three (or four) children: Josefina Maria de Carvalho (b.1858-d. August 8, 1891, Hong Kong), Maria Pulqueria de Carvalho (b. October 27, 1860 - d. unknown), and Edmundo Artur de Carvalho (b. 1862, Hong Kong- d. year unknown, England). Edmundo followed his father's footsteps and went to work for the Colonial Treasurer's Office; he retired as the chief cashier. Carlos Francisco Xavier de Carvalho (b. April 3, 1867, Hong Kong – d. year unknown, London) might be Carvalho's youngest son. Carlos was clerk of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. He married Guilhermina Hermila Ribeiro Cabral (Nina) in Hong Kong on September 12, 1906. Guilhermina was the daughter of João Albino Ribeiro Cabral, the tesoureiro-geral da província (Treasurer General) of Macau (1896-1898). Both Edmundo and Carlos retired to England.

Marcus A. de Carvalho, Carvalho's elder brother, and his wife owned and lived in a house with extensive grounds he named Craigengower on Caine Road. The house was later leased to a W.D. Braidwood, who ran, as headmaster, the Victoria English School on the premises. In 1894, Braidwood converted a turfed piece of ground in Bonham Road near Breezy Path into a cricket field, and name it after Craigengower, which in time evolved into the Craigengower Cricket Club. The present-day club quarters is located in Happy Valley.

References:
- Conjunto Documental dos Processos de Contas Gerências de 1824 a 1938, Tribunal de contas (Court of Auditors), Portugal [internet].
- Ferreira , Márcia Rosa dos Reis, Cultura e sociabilidades em Macau nos finais de oitocentos: o Eco Macaense (1893-1899), FLUP, 2006.
- Government Library, Macau [internet].
- Hongkong Directory with List of Foreign Residents in China, Hong Kong: American Press, 1859.
- MacKeown, P. Kevin, Early China Coast Meteorology, the Role of Hong Kong, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2011.
- National Library of Australia [internet].
- PhPGedView [internet].
- Wright, Arnold (Ed.), Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China, London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Co., Ltd., 1908.

17. Wong Shing (Chinese), Ordinance No.15 of 1883 (December 28, 1883), naturalized on December 31, 1883.

18. Henrique Joaquim Rodrigues (Portuguese), Ordinance No.16 of 1883 (December 28, 1883), naturalized on January 4, 1884.

1884

19. William Doberck (Danish), Ordinance No.2 of 1884 (March 26, 1884), naturalized on August 13, 1884.

20. Tseung Sz-kai (Chinese), Ordinance No.5 of 1884 (April 2, 1884), naturalized on August 27, 1884.

1887

21. Chan Kwok-ying 陳國英 (Chinese), Ordinance No.20 of 1887 (June 2, 1887), naturalized on September 20, 1887.

Chan owned and ran Hip Hing Hong, an importer of Siamese goods, at 132, Bonham Strand 文咸街. He was a native of Tsinghoi, Chenghai (p), in Chiu Chau, Chaozhou (p), Guangdong 廣東省潮州市澄海縣.
1888

22. Fritz Adolph Friccius Grobien (German), Ordinance No.6 of 1888, naturalized on February 21, 1888.
Fritz Adolph Friccius Grobien (b. March, 1842, Ellerau Bolstern - d. April 16, 1917, Hamburg, Germany) was a partner of Sander & Co. 山打洋行, a German firm in Hong Kong carrying on the business of trading and ship's agency. Sander & Co. was founded in 1864 by a F. Sander in Hong Kong; the firm was renamed Sander, Wieler & Co. after a merger in 1898 with Wieler & Co 威喇洋行.  The firm was was confiscated by the Hong Kong government during the Great War. I found no records that indicated when Grobien left Hong Kong.

Grobien took HSBC to court in 1873, the damage was $21,000 he lost allegedly due to the Bank's mishandling  the deposit of a check. On January 31, 1873, Grobien, through a stock broker named Reimann of the firm Melchers & Co., closed a shares transaction with a man named Koenig, who settle the payment with a check for $21,000 that was later deposited by Grobien's staff into HSBC. The check was marked good and in the usual fashion a counterfoil of the paying-in slip was given by the Bank. Approximately two hours later, HSBC returned the check to Grobien with a note, “Refer to drawer”. Grobien got hold of Koenig, who promised that he would go to the bank to sort out the matter the following morning. Grobien then had the check resent to the Bank. Came the next morning, when Grobien returned to his office he again found the check on his desk, with a note from the bank cashier saying how sorry he was having to return the check and that Koenig did not show up in the Bank as promised. Koenig, who was previously jailed for forgery, disappeared from Hong Kong. Grobien blamed HSBC for his loss and initiated the litigation. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the follow up story to see what had transpired.

Grobien was born to Johann Friedrich Grobien and Friedrike Dorothea Friccius. He married Malwine Helene Westendarp in 1875 in Hamburg. They had a son, Adolf Andre Grobien (b. March 12, 1876, Hong Kong – d. November 8, 1952, Cali, Colombia), who married Marie Franciska Albercht in January 4, 1901 in Bremen. There was a Oskar Fritz Grobien (b. June 12, 1873, Hong Kong – d. unknown), who was the manorial owner of  Klein Krankow of Grevesmühlen in the German region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and husband of Emma Charlotte Marianne Lurman (married on November 22, 1900). I would be interested in finding out if Oskar was related to Fritz.

Reference:
- familysearch.org [internet].
- London and China Telegraph, June 24, 1873, Page 4, China, Hong Kong.
- 黄光域,《近世百大洋行志》。
23. Hillune Loo Ngawk, alias Loo Kiu Fung (Chinese), Ordinance No.7 of 1888, naturalized on March 5, 1888.

24. Lai Shang, alias Lai Chek Kun (Chinese), Ordinance No.8 of 1888, naturalized on February 28, 1888.

25. Lai Kit, alias Lai Cheuk (Chinese), Ordinance No.9 of 1888, naturalized on February 21, 1888.

26. John Wong Chung, alias Wong Yiu Shang (Chinese), Ordinance No.20 of 1888, naturalized on November 16, 1888.

27. Tam Iu-tsun, alias Tam Fuk-siu (Chinese), Ordinance No.21 of 1888, naturalized on November 16, 1888.

28. Li O-mi, alias Li Tai Fung (Chinese), Ordinance No.22 of 1888, naturalized on November 16, 1888.

29. Elias Issac Elias, alias Elias Issac Elias Zachariah, Ordinance No.28 of 1888, naturalized on Augsut 12, 1889.

1889

30. Li Man Hi, alias Pokshan (Chinese), Ordinance No.20 of 1889, naturalized on July 25, 1889.

31. Leung Shu, alias Leung Un, alias Leung Yuk, alias Yuk Shang (Chinese), Ordinance No.31 of 1889, naturalized on January 5, 1891.

1890

32. Lam Neung-shing, alias Lam Yuk Po (Chinese), Ordinance No.2 of 1890, naturalized on March 29, 1890.

1891

33. Lai Sui Tong (Chinese), Ordinance No.1 of 1891, naturalized on October 20, 1897.

34. Choi Wai, alias Choi Tsun (Chinese), Ordinance No.2 of 1891, naturalized on February 24, 1891.

35. Lau Sai, alias Lau Wai-chun (Chinese), Ordinance No.5 of 1891, naturalized on March 11, 1901.

1893

36. Meyer Fredericks, Ordinance No.8 of 1893, naturalized on July 4, 1893.

1895

37. Samuel Donnenberg (Austrian), Ordinance No.15 of 1895, naturalized on June 15, 1895.
Samuel Donnenberg (b. October 21, 1877, Austria – d. April 5, 1938, Hong Kong) was an Austrian Jew who came to Hong Kong in the 1890s. He worked for the curio art dealers, Kuhn & Komor (1897-1919), which was owned by Hungarian Jew Isidor Komor (the proprietor of the firm Komor & Komor 康茂洋行 (est. 1869) in the same line of business, the firm was at one time located on the ground floor of the Alexandra Building in Central), and his cousin Arthur Kuhn (who also owned a curio firm Kuhn & Co. (est. 1867), until 1898, in Hong Kong, Yokohama and Kobe. He left K.&K. in 1898 and worked briefly for the import/export firm, W. Tallers in Kobe; he rejoined K.&K. in 1899 in Yokohama. He married Emily Grunstein in Hong Kong on November 25, 1900; she joined him in Yokohama after their wedding. In 1901, Donnenberg became a K.&K. partner and moved to Shanghai to take care of its branch operation. He moved again the following year to Singapore to open a shop at Raffles Place, and another one in 1907 in Adis Building, which is still running today. Based in Singapore, he had charge of the business in India and the Malay Peninsula. Donnenberg was in India at the onset of the Great War; he had his Germanic surname changed to Dunn to further anglicize himself. He returned to Hong Kong probably after the War where he stayed until he died in 1938. He was buried in the Jewish Cemetery in Happy Valley. Donnenberg (Dunn) was survived by his wife, Emily.

I was able to find the minutes of the Legislative Council meeting on June 6, 1895, in which the ordinance of Donnenberg's naturalization was read and passed.
Naturalization Ordinances
The Acting Attorney-General (A.G. Wise)―I beg to move the first reading of a Bill entitled "An Ordinance for the naturalization of Samuel Donnenberg." This gentleman wishes to become a volunteer, and you will notice that the Bill is confined to Hongkong.
The Colonial Secretary (J.H. Stewart Lockhart)―I beg to second.
Bill read the first time, carried through all its stages, and passed.
References:
- Meiji Portraits [internet].
- Meeting Minutes, Meeting of the Legislative Council on June 6, 1895.
- London and China Telegraph, January 2, 1901, p.7, Marriages.
- Wright, Arnold , Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources, London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Co., Ltd., 1908.
1896

38. Lee Shew (Chinese), Ordinance No.9 of 1896, naturalized on July 22, 1896.

1897

39. Ho Mui-sz, alias Ho Lin-shing (Chinese), Ordinance No.14 of 1897, naturalized on September 13, 1897.

40. U Hoi-chau, alias U Chiu-tsun (Chinese), Ordinance No.20 of 1897, naturalized on November 22, 1897.

1898

41. Wong Chuk-yau, alias Wong Mau, alias Wong Sun-in (Chinese), Ordinance No.2 of 1898, naturalized on May 18, 1898.

42. Leung P'ui Chi, alias Leung Chak-chang, alias Leung Chung (Chinese), Ordinance No.5 of 1898, naturalized on May 18, 1898.

43. Chau Tung-shang (Chinese), Ordinance No.7 of 1898, naturalized on August 22, 1898.

44. Tong Yuk, alias Tong Lai-ts'un (Chinese), Ordinance No.8 of 1898, naturalized on August 15, 1898.
Tong Yuk, JP
Tong Yuk, alias Tong Lai Ts'un, alias Tong Lai Chuen, was a native of Heung Shan 廣東香山 (present day Zhongshan, Guangdong). He was compradore for Hotz s'Jacob & Co. 好時洋行 (renamed Holland China Handels Compagnie in 1902) after working in the same capacity for the Hong Kong office of the Bombay merchant, Petit & Co. His father ran a successful trading business in Hong Kong and Macau, with close ties with tea firms in Macau such as Yun Loong. Tong, a Hong Kong resident since ca.1875, owned considerable amount of properties including his residence at Nos. 67 and 69 Wyndham Street 雲咸街. He was very active in community services serving in the committees of the Tung Wah Hospital and the Po Leung Kuk for a number of years. He was listed a a member of the Typhoon Fund committee in 1906, as well as the District Watchmen's committee. Tong was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1905.

References:
- Wright, Arnold (Ed.), Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China, London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Co., Ltd., 1908.
- 黄光域,《近世百大洋行志》。
45. Chan Li-choy, alias Chan Chun-chuen (Chinese), Ordinance No.19 of 1898, naturalized on September 8, 1898.

46. Lo Chung-pak, alias Lo Yuen-poon, alias Lo Shau-u (Chinese), Ordinance No.23 of 1898, naturalized on September 24, 1898.

47. Leung Luk, alias Leung Cheung-soy (Chinese), Ordinance No.25 of 1898, naturalized on September 27, 1898.

48. Li Chung, alias Li Chan-shing, Ordinance No.26 of 1898, naturalized on September 22, 1898.

49. Un Chung-wo, alias Un Oi-u, alias Un Hi, alias Un Kwok-hi (Chinese), Ordinance No.29 of 1898, naturalized on February 25, 1901.

50. Wong Shu-tong, alias Wong Ka-yau, alias Wong Wing-kwan (Chinese), Ordinance No.31 of 1898, naturalized on January 9, 1899.

1899

51. Mak Ngan-wan, alias Mak Chiu-ki, alias Mak Sui-nin, alias Mak Yat-wo, alias Mak Sun (Chinese), Ordinance No.5 of 1899, naturalized on March 7, 1899.

52. Tsoi Yeuk-shan (Chinese), Ordinance No.14 of 1899, naturalized on August 12, 1899.

53. Fan Ngan, alias Fan Sau, alias Fan Pat-shan, alias Fan Tun-shin (Chinese), Ordinance No.15 of 1899, naturalized on August 11, 1899.

54. Wong Ping-lam, alias Wong U-kai (Chinese), Ordinance No.18 of 1899, naturalized on February 25, 1901.

55. Yeung Cheuk-hin, alias Yeung Shun-kong (Chinese), Ordinance No.19 of 1899, naturalized on March 11, 1801.

56. Sin Hip-pan, alias Sin Shu-fan, alias Sin Shiu-kin, Sin Ping-kim (Chinese), Ordinance No.24 of 1899, naturalized on November 9, 1899.

57. Kwok Yung-kam, alias Kwok To-kai, alias Kwok Ying (Chinese), Ordinance No.25 of 1899, naturalized on November 6, 1899.

58. Ho Shun-to, alias  Ho Kwan-yuk, alias Ho Ping-un, alias Ho Tsoi (Chinese), Ordinance No.26 of 1899, naturalized on November 6, 1899.

59. Hu Choo, alias Hu Shun-tsun, alias Hu Ping-fong, alias Hu Nai-kwai, Ordinance No.27 of 1899, naturalized on November 6, 1899.

60. Lo Kun-ting, alias Lo Fo, alias Lo Ching-chiu, alias Lo Tin-fui (Chinese), Ordinance No.28 of 1899, naturalized on November 6, 1899.

1900

61. Wan Kam-ting, alias Wan Tsing-kai, alias Wan Ming-kap (Chinese), Ordinance No.1 of 1900, naturalized on April 19, 1900.

62. Capitolino Joao Xavier (Portuguese), Ordinance No.3 of 1900, naturalized on April 19, 1900.

63. Foo Sik, alias Foo Yik-pang (Chinese), Ordinance No.4 of 1900, naturalized on April 19, 1900.

64. Leung Shek-chiu, alias Leung Foon-man, alias Leung-Kin, Ordinance No.13 of 1900, naturalized on July 9, 1900.

65. Wei Lun-shek, alias Wei Chu, alias Wei Shiu-wing, alias Wei Yau-ying (Chinese), Ordinance No.22 of 1900, naturalized on September 4, 1900.

66. Chan Ping-hung, alias Chan Shek-shan (Chinese), Ordinance No.34 of 1900, naturalized on January 31, 1901.

1901

67. Lau Yat Ts'un, alias Lau Ng, alias Lau Man-kwong, Alias Lau Ng-wo, alias Lau Hok-wai (Chinese), Ordinance No.12 of 1901.

Lau, a managing partner for thirty years of the Kung Yuen firm at No. 112 Wing Lok Street 永樂街, was a rice merchant, and a director of  Po On Marine Insurance and Godown Company. A native of Sha Chung Village, San Ui, in Guangzhou, he had continuously resided in Hong Kong for over thirty eight years.

- TO BE COMPLETED -
(p) Pinyin Romanization

References (for the post):
- British Nationality: Summary, Home Office, UK Border Agency [internet].
- Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online, HKU Libraries [internet].
- Historical Laws of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Legal Information Institute [internet].
- Parry, Clive, British Nationality Law and the History of Naturalization, Milan: Giuffrè, 1954.