The wonderful progress of our settlement at Hong-Kong, in the first instance, affords perhaps one of the most striking instances that has ever been recorded of the astonishing energy and enterprise of the British character. Great as were the early strides made even by some of the Australian colonies, situated too at the opposite end of the globe, their progress, compared with that of Hong-Kong, was slow and difficult. When our forces were assembled in the harbour of Hong-Kong, on their return from Canton, in June, 1841, there was not a single regularly built house fit for the habitation of Europeans upon the island; for the Chinese villages can hardly be taken into account. When the expedition set sail for Amoy, about two months afterwards, a few mat-sheds and temporary huts were all that indicated the future site of the town of Victoria, or pointed out what was soon to become the centre of British commerce in that part of the world, and the seat of British power upon the threshold of the most populous empire the world ever saw. The first sale by auction of land, or rather of the annual quit-rents only, was held in June. On the 7th of that month, Hong-Kong was declared to be a free port, and on the 22nd, Mr. A. R. Johnston, the deputy-superintendent of trade, was appointed acting governor of the island. The portion of land put up for sale, in the first instance, consisted of only thirty-four lots, each of which was to have a sea-frontage of about one hundred feet; but the depth of each lot, of course, varied considerably, according to the nature of the ground. The sale of the annual quit-rents only, payable in advance, produced no less a sum than £3165. 10s. yearly, at this first sale. Equally high prices also were obtained on subsequent occasions. Moreover, one of the conditions of sale was, that each purchaser should be required to incur an outlay upon each lot, within the _first six_ months, either in building or otherwise, of not less than one thousand dollars, or upwards of two hundred and twenty-two pounds sterling, and a deposit of five hundred dollars was to be paid into the hands of the treasurer within one week, but was to be repayable as soon as an equal amount had been expended. Accordingly, within six months from the time above named, wonderful improvements had taken place, although much preliminary work was necessary before any solid building could be erected. In fact, the first regular house built for Europeans was not completed until September or October following; and, as it was constructed entirely by Chinese mechanics, it assumed very much the form of a Chinese house.