is astonishing, and perhaps unsurpassed in the history of civilization.
Owing to the peculiar features of the locality in which Victoria stands,
that town has been extended along the beach, till it is now upward of
four miles long, with three short streets extending a little way up the
hills about its centre. The Queen's road extends along the beach the
whole of this length, and has been cut with great labour and expense.
The lots between this road and low-water mark are considered as the best
for mercantile purposes, and are nearly all in the possession of
mercantile men, who have built, in most cases, handsome warehouses with
dwelling-houses above. There are, however, some exceptions, a portion of
the ground being occupied by Chinese shopkeepers, who inhabit low
ill-built houses, which, as ground with water-frontage becomes more
valuable, will have to give way to better buildings, raised by a higher
class, who will buy out the present occupants. The lots on the south
side of Queen's Road are not so valuable as those opposite;
nevertheless, they are nearly all in the possession of monied men, who
will before long find it to their advantage to level the many wretched
buildings that now disfigure the road, and to erect houses worthy of a
town bearing the royal name.

On my departure from the Island, building was going forward in all
directions, notwithstanding the somewhat illiberal terms on which alone
lots were obtainable; and I have no doubt that, by this time, many
smiling cottages adorn the hills in and near the town, while more
stately buildings rear their prouder elevation on the level below.

House-rent, as might be expected, is very high, and will probably
continue so for ten years to come. It took that time to reduce the rents
in Singapore; and as I expect that Hong Kong will become a place of
still greater trade, and attract a larger European population than the
Straits' settlement, I see no reason that the owner of property in
houses there should not look for a handsome return for his outlay for
ten years, and for a fair remunerating price at the expiration of that
time. Something like a hundred per cent. per annum has been got for the
small houses occupied by Chinese shopkeepers, while twenty-five, thirty,
and even forty per cent. is a common return for substantially-built
warehouses.

Some idea of the rapid progress which this settlement has made, may be
formed by the reader, when I state, that one firm