Ancestral land is land that has been originally set apart for ancestral worship and is increased by purchase from time to time in the name of the deceased ancestor, in whose name also the Government taxes are paid. The rent of ancestral land is devoted to the upkeep of the ancestral temple, to the education of the members of the clan, to the education of the members of the clan, to the worship of ancestors, to the relief of poor members of the clan, to marriage expenses of those who require assistance and to the funeral expenses of those whose relations are poor. Such land is always held in the name of the ancestor who bequeathed the property, the land being nearly always leased to members of the clan who cultivate it and pay a yearly rent. Sometimes the different branches of a clan cultivate the land in rotation, the branch in occupation of the land being held responsible for the payment of the expenses incurred on account of the objects for which the land was originally transmitted. Clan land cannot be alienated without the consent of the representatives and elders of the whole clan. The rent roll is kept by a Committee of the clan.92
This type of ancestral land tenure is still in operation,
Temple land or miu t'in existed also in the territories under Chinese custom as described in the Memorandum:-
"Temple land is devoted to the support and upkeep of a temple dedicated to the service of some specially selected idol in the name of which the land is held. Some of those who originally subscribed towards the erection of the temple or their descendants act as trustees and keep the rent roll and an account of current expenses. Certain land in Kam T'in and Tsiu Kwang is devoted to the support of a few nuns. The rent roll is kept by a trustee, the rent in grain being handed over to the nuns, who, in order to increase their meagre income, also go from village to village begging for alms from the inhabitants.”
Chinese temples throughout the New Territories, as in the Colony, are now governed by the Chinese Temples Ordinance, which requires their registration (s. 5) and places their "revenues, funds, investments and properties" under the absolute control of the Chinese Temples Committee (s. 8).
The next variety of tenure described in Lockhart's Memorandum