75
184
"Free England
"Y%
I have the honor to be, &c.
R. Webster, Ear
(Signed) Wiesired Wornai.
the
To this I replied stating the above detailed circumstances, that I had complied with all the Requirements publicly notified: - having expended more than the stipulated 1000 dollars within six months; that I had enquired at the Land office and been informed that there was no record of any special conditions attaching to the grant; and that the ground had been transferred by the Naval Officer to the Land Officer (as indeed may be seen from the terms of Registry above quoted).
To this I received the following reply.
Government House, Hong Kong, 6th January, 1843.
Sir,
I am directed to acknowledge the Receipt of your letter of the 5th Instant; and in reply, His Excellency Henry Pottinger desires me to inform you that he still holds the opinion expressed in my letter to you of the 4th Instant, namely, that Captain Meik having totally failed in the fulfilment of the conditions upon which he was permitted to build upon the ground, the right necessarily reverted to the Crown; and with reference to your claim for compensation for the expense incurred, His Excellency desires to intimate to you that the confirmation of such acts must still rest with...