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No definite decision has as yet been arrived at regarding the erection of per- manent quarters for the executive staff, as it was deemed advisable to gain experience of the healthiness of the neighbourhood where the temporary quarters of the executive staff are situated before committing the Colony to any large expenditure on account of permanent bulidings. In view, however, of the opinion of the Principal Civil Medical Officer that much of the malaria from which Government officers have suffered so much is due to the temporary nature of the buildings occupied by them, it seems desirable that permanent buildings should be erected without unnecessary delay.
SURVEY.
In my Report on the New Territory, dated 8th October 1898, it was pointed out that to deal satisfactorily with the land question, it would be necessary to have an accurate survey.
The desirability of a survey of the whole Territory was recognised by the Colonial Office, and I was instructed on my way out from home at the end of 1898 to place myself in communication with the Surveyor General of Ceylon, Mr. GRINLINTON.
I had the advantage of an interview at Colombo with him and the Honourable F. A. Cooren, Director of Public Works in Ceylon, and both these officers were strongly in favour of a complete. survey of the territory being made, being of opinion that such a survey would, in the long run, prove raost economical for Government, and recommended that an application should be made to the Govern ment of India for the officers necessary to carry out the work. After my arrival in Hongkong in February last, the matter was referred to Mr. ORMSBY, the Director of Public Works, who consulted with Colonel ELSDALE, Commanding Royal Engineer, and, acting on their advice, the Governor decided that a survey should be undertaken. Application was made to the Government of India, which kindly consented to lend the staff required for the work.
On the 19th of October Mr. TATE, who is in charge of the survey operations, arrived and was followed, on the 1st November, by Mr. NEWLAND, the second survey officer, who brought with him a small staff of Indian trained surveying coolies and surveyors. The Detail Surveyors arrived at the end of November and were able to commence their work at once on the scale of 16 inches to a mile.
Before surveying was actually commenced, a Chinese notice (see Appendix No. XIV) was issued and posted throughout the territory, explaining the objects of the survey, which, it was feared, might be misunderstood by the natives.
I attach a report on the survey operations (see Appendix No. XV) with which Mr. TATE has been good enough to furnish me and which shows that steady progress is being made in the work of survey.
Mr. TATE is struck by the fact that the Chinese take little or on notice of the operations being carried on in their fields and that no incivility or hindrance has been experienced. He thinks this is due to the employment of Chinese coolies, but there can be no doubt that the issue of the Chinese notice, to which reference has been made, has also had a good effect.
The commencement of the survey has already induced many waverers to register their claims to land. The sight of the surveyors at work has convinced them that the Government is determined to ascertain the exact amount of land under cultivation, and that any further attempts to conceal the extent of their holdings will be useless.
EDUCATION,
For the purpose of ascertaining the general state of education in the New Territory, forms have been distributed throughout the villages in the various dis- tricts and sub-districts which the school teachers have been requested to fill up. A copy of the form will be found in Appendix No. XVI.
In reply to the request, 314 forms have been filled up and handed in. Out of this total, 121 are from Hakka schools, 97 from Punti schools, 15 from mixed Hakka and Punti schools, and 1 from Lamma Island, where Hakka, Punti and Hok-lo are taught in one school. Eighty of the forms have not been properly filled up so will have to be re-written. The lowest number of pupils in any school is 3 and the highest 56, but from 15 to 20 pupils seem to be the average. Holidays are frequent but long holidays are rare, the longest being the winter or New Year