4. From the Department's own point of view, however, the picture was not quite so rosy. As in previous years the recruitment of staff lagged behind the increase in the volume. of work, and in consequence delays could not in spite of much overtime and streamlining of procedures be avoided, the most serious occurring in land and trade mark cases. The recruitment situation was particularly serious in relation to legally qualified officers: for most of the year there were no less than eight vacancies in an establishment of fifteen, excluding the Registrar General, Deputy Registrar General and Assistant Registrar General, who though supposed to be primarily concerned with administration are inevitably involved in a great deal of purely legal work. Fortunately, the situation improved considerably in the last two months of the year when three Legal Assistants arrived and two more were in immediate prospect. All of these were expatriates, for in Hong Kong the attractions of private practice in a period of unprecedented conveyancing and business activity are such that although a not imconsiderable number of young men have qualified as solicitors in the past few years, not one has been re- cruited as a Legal Assistant in the Department.
The Property Market
5. With the continued expansion in the Colony's trade, industry and population, the great building boom of recent years forged strongly ahead, and the sound of the pile-driver was in everyone's ear. The very high rents now obtainable for office premises in the centre of Victoria has stimulated redevelopment of the remaining older properties there, and great gaps appeared in parts of Des Voeux Road Central and Queen's Road Central to the west of Pedder Street, while rapid progress was being made on skyscrapers replacing former well-known buildings such as Prince's Building, the P. & O. Building, and the King's Theatre. Last year's Report mentioned that land in the central area of Victoria was being talked up to $3,000 a square foot; this year the talk was of $4,000, but no deals at that figure eventuated.
6. As for residential buildings, construction continued on a tremen- dous scale, though it soon appeared that the market for luxury flats costing over $100,000 had been for the time being saturated, with the result that many flats in this category remained unsold and unlet. There were also delays in starting particular schemes which had been advertised for early completion. In many cases developers finance their schemes. almost entirely from deposits and instalments paid by intending pur- chasers of flats prior to the completion of the building, and it was reported
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