Depois da ocupação japonesa de Hong Kong em finais de 1945, com o reacender do conflito entre nacionalistas e comunistas chineses na China, houve uma grande deslocação de emigrantes chineses do continente para Macau e Hong Kong. De Macau, muitos deles depois foram para Hong Kong, o que explica a diminuição da população de Macau, nos dados estatísticos dos recenseamentos de 1950 (187772) e de 1960 (169299) comparando com os dados de Hong Kong: estima-se que entre 1945 e 1951 a população de Hong Kong de 600,00 passou a 2.1 milhões. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950s_in_Hong_Kong
Episódio relatado no «Boletim do Governo de Macau», já postado em 6 de Maio de 2018, (1) , agora segundo o jornal australiano “The Mercury” (2)
PIRATICAL ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE THE STEAMER IRON PRINCE. We extract from the “China Mail,” of 8th May, the ‘ ‘following account of a desperate piratical attempt to capture “the Iron Prince”, a screw steamer, formerly employed in the colonial trade. “The Iron Prince”, screw passenger steamer, of 203 tons, and 35-horse-power, with a crew of fifteen and thirty-one passengers, carrying also in addition to two boxes of specie, sixty eases of opium, the latter being worth over 40,000 dollars, left Hong Kong as usual on the 6th May, for Macao, a distance of over forty miles. After starting, the captain, remarking that some of the Chinese passengers had come with him on the steamer’s previous voyage from Macao, took the fire caution of taking six of the twelve muskets that were in his cabin in the centre of the ship to the small after cabin on the starboard side, and mentioned his suspicion that all was not right to the mate. In this after-cabin, where there were previously six muskets, he loaded the six which he had taken from his own cabin. There was also in the cabin a loaded five-barrelled Deane’s revolver and he had about his person a small five-barrelled loaded revolver. He had the sense to take all ammunition and caps out of his own cabin. Of 31 passengers 26 were Chinese, including 1 woman ; tlie rest, consisting of a French doctor, a Mr. Hyeem, one Parsee, one Jew, and one Irish lady (a Mrs Dunn), who arrived at Hong Kong from Singapore on Tuesday, and was going to join her husband at Macao. Of the crew of 16, including the captain, 8 were Chinese, the rest being the captain, (na Englishman), the mate (Portuguese), and the engineer (Moorman), I Lascar, 1 Malay, 1 Moorman, and 2 Munilmen. After passing the ” Brothers,” nearly midway to Macao, the captain finding some of the passengers required luncheon, sat down about two o’clock by himself – in the small saloon in front of his cabin. Just as he was the act of commenoing his tiffin, ,he noticed some of the Chinese passengers looking in at each of the two doors. He immediately jumped up, and told his boy to bring his lunch after, and drew the attention of the mate to two Chinese junks near at hand, which apparently had no decided course, and were crowded. In about a quarter, of an hour a third junk appeared, when suddenly a yell was given, stinkpots wore thrown Into the captain’s cabin and engine house, and the attack commenced. The first thing the captain did was to call all the crew and passengers aft. In less than a minute the engineer was shot through the right arm, the mate stabbed near the captain’s cabin door and disabled, one of the Manila crew killed and thrown overboard by the pirates. Mrs. Dunn, while rushing from the captain’s cabin aft, was wounded about the neck and shoulders, and the Lascar was killed when in the act of getting a musket from the cabin. The captain, while in the act of preparing for defence, In the after-cabin, received likewise a slight sword cut across the forehead and fingers. At this stage, the captain shot dead the man who struck him, and likewise in the buck the two men whom the pirates lind plnceil, one after the other at the wheel, to clinnge the steamer’s course. ………………………Continued
NOTA: este mesmo episódio “PIRATICAL ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE THE STEAMER IRON PRINCE” também está relatado em «The Sydney Morning Herald» (NSW : 1842 – 1954), 18 de Julho de 1862, p. 5, consultável (com melhor grafia) em: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13231534
Enxerto dum artigo na imprensa brasileira, sem identificação do autor, intitulado “A China, o ópio; horrores da emigração dos Culis” (1), com referência a Macau, na página 27
Anúncio de 1902, da Companhia de navegação «CANTON, MACAO, AND WEST RIVER STEAMERS», publicado pelo jornal « The Directory & Chronicle for China, Japan, Corea, Indo-China, Straits…», Este anúncio, de 1902, é igual ao que foi publicado em 1904 (1) no mesmo Jornal «The Directory & Chronicle for China, Japan, Corea, Indo-China, Straits…» Mantém-se o agente em Macau: A. A. de Mello e o navio que fazia a ligação Hong Kong – Macau – Hong Kong era o “Heung Shan” (2) de 1055 tons (capitão: W. E. Clarke; oficial chefe: T. Hamlin; engenheiro chefe: J. B. Paterson e o comissário de bordo: C. M. d´Eça). A viagem custava por cada travessia $4.00 (HK dólares), a refeição a bordo $1.50.
Ceia de Natal dos polícias de MacauO Governador de Macau, Albano de Oliveira procedendo à distribuição do bodo às famílias dos bombeiros falecidos Festas desportivas nas escolas realizadas no dia de Natal Distribuição de merenda e prendas às crianças no Jardim de Camões Extraído de «BGC», XXVI-296, Fevereiro de 1950.
Extraído de «BGC», XXVI-309 Março 1951.
Extraído do Suplemento ao «The Canton Register» Dezembro 29, 1835.
Ceia de Natal dos polícias de Macau
O Governador de Macau, Albano de Oliveira procedendo à distribuição do bodo às famílias dos bombeiros falecidos
Festas desportivas nas escolas realizadas no dia de Natal
Distribuição de merenda e prendas às crianças no Jardim de Camões
Extraído de «BGC», XXVI-296, Fevereiro de 1950.