No. 1836.
41
HONGKONG.
THE EVICTION OF SQUATTERS AT KENNEDY TOWN.
Presented to the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government, on the 17th September, 1886.
Minute by the Surveyor General.
These people, who were trespassers on Crown Land, were, at the request of the Military Authorities and also for sanitary reasons, removed from the vicinity of the present Belcher's Point Battery, and as they asked for time in order to look about them for fresh sites, they were allowed under covenant with the Sanitary Inspector to occupy temporarily and provisionally, and for a term not exceeding six months, the hillside at Kennedy Town just above the present Glass Works. In the arrangement between them and the Sanitary Inspector it was also stipulated by him and readily agreed to by them, that their pigsties should be kept in a pro- per condition.
They pledged themselves to observe these conditions, but kept the pigsties in a most filthy state, and at the expiration of the covenanted term of six months refused to remove.
The Nuisance. Inspectors then on more than one occasion notified them to move away in accordance with their original promise, but they took no heed.
This breach of faith with a Government that had shown them every consider- ation, and their continuance on the ground and the increase of the nuisance compelled me to take up the matter personally, and I accordingly visited them at their camp twice, warning them that they would have to bestir themselves and look about for other places as on no account could the Government sanction their remaining at Kennedy Town. They readily promised to select other sites, and it was arranged they were to visit me at my office in a fortnight and point out to me on the map the places they had selected.
The fortnight having expired and an additional month, without any of them putting in an appearance at my office, I was compelled again to go in quest of them, and finding they had done nothing towards looking for other sites, I had them brought to me in batches of tens and fifteens, when being warned of the determination of the Government to move them out of Kennedy Town, they were made to come to some terms with me, many of them accepting sites at Kau-lung- wan and others at Kowloon. They, however, pointed out that the new ground being strange to them, they would like to go and see it first before making any application for the licences. This appeared to me reasonable, and accordingly I assented, agreeing with them that they should return in a week to settle details.
As far as I could ascertain they never went to Kau-lung-wan or Kowloon, and they never returned to see me.
My attention is very much engrossed with other and more important public matters, and it may readily be conceived that I could not devote my whole time to. these people and their proceedings. Some months therefore elapsed before I could again occupy myself with them.
In the earlier part of this year I returned to the charge, and was much sur- prised upon a personal inspection of the camp to see how much each trespasser had enlarged his premises and increased the number of his pigs, and how much fouler the whole place was bidding fair to become unless steps were taken to clear the ground, and accordingly a most serious admonition was given to the trespassers warning them of the Government intention to remove them without further delay unless they went of their own accord. Most of those with whom I spoke asked for time, varying from six months to one year. This was refused.
175