CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
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printing of most Government publications. The Quartering Office deals with accommodation for civil servants.
NEW TERRITORIES ADMINISTRATION
The New Territories are divided into four administrative districts, each under a District Officer who has a staff of between 101 and 180, depending on the size of the district. The largest district is Tai Po, which covers the north-east of the New Terri- tories and has its District Office at Tai Po Market. The second biggest district is Yuen Long which covers the largest flat agri- cultural area in the north-west, with its District Office at Ping Shan. The third district is Tsuen Wan, which includes the rapidly growing industrial complex of Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi Island, as well as Ma Wan Island and the northern tip of Lantau Island. Its District Office is in Tsuen Wan itself. The Sai Kung area east of Kai Tak airport and the major islands of Lantau, Cheung Chau and all the other islands to the west and south of Hong Kong are administered from an office in Gascoigne Road, Kowloon.
A District Commissioner co-ordinates the overall administration of the New Territories from an office in North Kowloon. He is assisted by a Deputy District Commissioner and a headquarters staff which, including the Cadastral Survey staff, totals 105.
The District Officers are concerned with every aspect of Govern- ment activity in their districts and act as the principal links between Government and the local inhabitants. Their responsibilities include arbitration in all kinds of village and personal disputes, including family and matrimonial cases. They control the utilization and sale of Crown land, and administer the grant of temporary struc- ture permits. They also control squatters, except in the case of Tsuen Wan where the Commissioner for Resettlement is respon- sible. They register documents and deeds relating to private land, and assess and collect stamp and estate duty. They approve plans for small domestic and agricultural buildings exempted from certain requirements of the Buildings Ordinance, 1955. District Officers have an allocation of funds from the New Territories local public works vote, which pays for materials to help villagers improve irrigation and water supplies, build paths and small