12
Ordinances of Hong Kong is the governing law unless its application would be unjust or oppressive when Chinese customary law may be let in. It is fortunate, therefore that there is available a most comprehensive and authoritative memorandum describing the land tenure found in the New Territories when the area was taken over from the Chinese authorities in 1899. I refer to the "Memorandum of Land” which forms an appendix to the Report of Mr. J. H. Stewart Lockhart, Colonial Secretary and Registrar General of Hong Kong, dated 7th February 1900.
Chinese law regarding land is there stated to be as follows:-
“Land according to Chinese tenure is held as freehold by grant from the Crown. The land comprised in the original grant can be sold by the proprietors in sub-divisions and is most usually sold in perpetuity or for 1,000 years. The proprietors record their names in the district registry as responsible for the tax, and their possession is legally secure so long as that is paid. Deeds of absolute sale have been brought in from the New Territory for registration which were made in the reign of the Emperor KA TSING and of subsequent Emperors of the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1519 to 1626) and which have been recognised by the present dynasty. Strictly, a grant issued by the present dynasty should be attached to all grants made by the previous dynasty. The present owners under such grants are all the existing male descendants of the original grantee and in one case the proprietors now number over 700.
All land under cultivation is supposed to pay a land tax and... must be registered or is liable to confiscation. On registration stamped title deeds are issued by the District Magistrate.
Officially registered title deeds are called "red deeds” (Hung K’ai) because they are stamped with the official stamp in red.
Private deeds of sale are called “white deeds" (Pak K’ai) because they are simply written on plain paper and do not bear the official red stamp; but the purchaser has the right to register his purchase and obtain a red deed.
There are also mortgages, operating as deeds of sale, redeemable
Page 45
Page 46