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While at Ts'un Wan I dealt with the following islands: Ts'eng-yi (S. D. 434. 436-442, number of lots 1,509, area of holdings 134.08 acres), Ma Wan (number of lots 218, area of holdings 52.22 acres), Ch'ong-chau (number of lots 619, area of holdings 113.90 acres), and P'eng Chau (number of lots 248, area of holdings 28.92 acres). For Ma Wan, Ch'ong-chau and P'eng-chau I have also made Rent Rolls and have bound up my Schedules with the cadastral maps and Crown Leases into a Titles Register for each island. My Schedules for Ts'eng-yi were forwarded to you on the 6th of last July, and the preparation of a Rent Roll and Titles Register for that island has been in the hands of Mr. J. R. WOOD At Ts'un Wan I also dealt with 67 Survey Districts on the mainland (S. D. 277-280, 300, 351-360, 374-400, 431-433, 435, 443-460, 466), containing in all 29,470 lots, the total area of the holdings being 2,701.50 acres.
7. At the end of June my houseboat was towed from Ts'un Wan to Yun Long, where I dealt with another 36 Survey Districts on the mainland (S.D. 60, 103-104, 106-138), containing in all 57,582 lots, the total area of the holdings being 14,119.39 acres. These Districts were unfortunately surveyed on so small a scale that the houses in the villages could not be shown on the cadastral maps. It has, therefore, been necessary to deal separately with each village in these Districts. The total number of such villages is 123 and their distribution among the several Survey Districts is shown on the attached list. The houses have been numbered and a separate Schedule made for each village. I would, however, urge that a survey should be made of these villages, as at present there is no means of recording the vacant building sites within their precincts.
8. My last Schedules were signed on the 27th September, 1904, and since then (apart from the considerable demands made on my time in connection with the preparation of the case for the Crown in the appeal to the Supreme Court made by TANG TSZ-YU from the judgment delivered by Mr. GOMPERTZ in the Chong Sha Wan Foreshore Case) I have been occupied in preparing Rent Rolls for those Dis- tricts on the mainland in which I had previously settled the ownership of the land. As a preliminary to making these Rent Rolls, it was necessary to classify all holdings in the Survey Districts concerned. The greater part of this work was done by Sergeant LAMONT, whose services were kindly lent to me for that purpose by the Captain Superintendent of Police, and who has performed the duty well and care- fully. Mr. MACKIE has classified all holdings in Peng-chau, Ch'ong-chau and Ma Wan Islands, and the houses in the unsurveyed villages, while Mr. MOORE classi- fied several Districts in the neighbourhood of Ts'un Wan..
9..These Rent Rolls in 62 volumes were completed and forwarded to you on the 15th December, 1904. I have also, by direction of the Governor, caused my Scheldules of these Districts to be bound with the cadastral maps and Crown Leases to form a provisional Titles Register; and I forward to you here- with the registers so bound up in 134 volumes.
10. My last judgments are dated the 27th September, 1904, and I am glad to report that no appeal to the Supreme Court has been lodged against any judg ment delivered by me. As the limit of three months prescribed by section 4 of Ordinance 13 of 1903 has already elapsed, no appeal can now be lodged, and my work may be accepted as final, subject to corrections of such clerical errors as are inevitable in so large a mass of written matter.
11. In October last, by direction of the Governor, I went to Sha-t'au-kok and Shong-shui, where Mr. MESSER and I sat together to consider certain petitions presented by the Elders of those Districts.
12. I have also been occupied since the completion of my judicial work in noting conveyances and mortgages subsequent to the Convention in the Districts with which I have dealt.
13. The services of the Chinese Clerks and Process-servers on my staff have been dispensed with by the Government as from the end of 1904, and no vote for the Land Court has been placed in the Estimates for 1905. I would, however, venture to recommend for His Excellency's commendation the 5 Clerks who have been with me throughout the past year. They have in circumstances of consider- able discomfort worked with cheerfulness and industry.
I have, &c.,
C. CLEMENTI, Member, Land Court.
Hon. F. H. May, c.m.G.,
Colonial Secretary.