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examining into this question. For the improvement of agriculture, sugar canes have been imported from the Straits Settlements and Honolulu, and over eleven thousand plants distributed among the Chinese, and improved sugar mills have been introduced, while a wealthy and enterprising Chinese gentleman has established an experimental farm, in the conduct of which the Botanical Department is giving him assistance and advice,
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9. The Expenditure was for the year 1901, $326,668.73, of which $163,741.11 was chargeable to the Land Court and Public Works Extraordinary-charges that will soon cease. It may, therefore, be roughly taken that the normal expenditure of the Territory will be about $162,000. With the certain development of New Kowloon and the probable improvement of the pastoral capabilities of the hills, I am of opinion that within seven or eight years the Revenue and Expenditure of the New Territory will quadrate, and later on the Territory will materially assist in the General Revenue.
10. So far no systematic geological examination has been made either of the mainland or of the large island of Lantao, but as a silver mine has been worked on the latter, it is possible that when the state of the revenue justifies the employ- ment of a Geologist, minerals may be found in payable quantities, in which event the congestion of the agricultural population would be relieved and new conditions established that would increase prosperity. At present our most serious difficulties are armed robberies on shore and afloat, which, though steadily diminishing, are still of too frequent occurrence. They are the most common offences in the Southern provinces, and, so far as I can learn, the Provincial Authorities do not attempt to deal with such cases until some village is reported as being specially notorious as harbouring robbers, when, if the Authorities do not consider them too strong, a force is sent out and as many as possible arrested or the village destroyed. But at this moment there are on the Canton Delta two towns well known as being the headquarters of organized gangs that commit the piracies of the West River. As however they can inuster over one thousand fighting men, the Canton Viceroy does not dare to interfere with them. Such habits and customs cannot be con- trolled at once without a much larger Police force than we have at present, but the Police have, by a judicious system of patrolling, materially reduced the number of those offences, and a fair proportion of the perpetrators have been made amenable and are undergoing punishment, while the people, who were at first disinclined to appeal to the Police, now show a readiness to come forward and give assistance in the work of detection.
11. The education in the New Territory has up to the present been left in the hands of the village teachers; but a school is about to be established in the large village of Un Long in which English will be taught by a competent Chinese Master.
12. On the whole I consider the development of the New Territory satisfactory, There have been some difficulties experienced by the Public Works Department in carrying out their operations, but they have been surmounted without friction with the inhabitants, and without extravagance. The Taipo Road has opened up a beautiful country round the shores of Mirs Bay, free from the fog that make re- sidence on the Peak so trying in the spring and early summer, and eight to ten degrees cooler than Hongkong. It is probable that in years to come country houses will be built in this district, and other developments take place, that will conduce to the comfort and well being of the Colony.
I have, &c.,
HENRY A. BLAKE.
Governor, etc.
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