It is now a prosperous British colony with a population of nearly half a million.

But what have been the advantages to Great Britain?
Financially she has been a great loser, for the Island which she received at the close of her war with China was for many years a great drain on her national treasury.

Now Hongkong is a self-supporting colony, but what benefits do the British enjoy there that do not belong to everyone else?
The colony is open to all foreigners, and every right which a British merchant has is equally shared with everyone else.

According to the census of 1911, out of a population of 456,739 only 12,075 were non-Chinese, of whom a small portion were British; the rest were Chinese.

Thus the prosperity of that colony depends upon the Chinese who, it is needless to say, are in possession of all the privileges that are enjoyed by British residents.
It should be noticed that the number of foreign firms and stores (i.e., non-British) have been and are increasing, while big British hongs are less numerous than before.