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there should be a right of renewal " on such terms as the state of the Colony may render expedient » To reserve the discretionary power implied in these last words appears quite necessary under the circumstances of Hong Kong; and yet with such a discretion there could hardly be any real renewal of a lease, but rather the granting of a new Lease. And the allusions to a right of renewal would only convey an indefinite pledge, likely to result in disputes. We would therefore recommend the omission of that stipulation altogether - prefer, if Sir Henry Pottinger thought justice required it, some moderate extension of the term to be originally assigned to the leases.

II. Captain Elliot's notice fixed for Marine lots the rate of £1 per 129 Ann feet which he appears to have taken to be the average rate realized at the previous sales and he named (according to the copy of the circular sent to us) a fixed rate of £30 per acre annually for Town Lots and £2 per acre annually for Suburban Lots. But in the list of actual appropriations of Town Lots, we observe that they were made at the rate of £20 per 1025 feet which amounts to about £80 per acre.

With respect to the Marine lots assigned alienated

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