Admiralty
Forwarding
Office
To
Secretary
10
161
year
office
and
ard
Mr Stephenson proposes to Establish a Manufactory at Hong Kong, an object which the Governor considers would be highly beneficial to the Colony, and for that purpose applies to purchase a Lot of 2½ acres outside the Town of Victoria. The Lot is not far beyond the Western limits of the Town, but it is rocky and can at present only be approached by sea. For this, Mr Stephenson offers either a Rent of £10 per acre (rental to £25 for the whole lot), or bona fide twice as much as any purchaser would bid at auction.
The Surveyor General reports that calculating the price according to the Rules laid down for Town Lots, the amount would be £404:5:3½, but as the Land is beyond the Town £145 would be sufficient Rent. The Governor, however, considers this too high, and proposes to fix the upset price at £100 per annum, or even lower, supposing no person should be found desirous of purchasing at that rate.
Mr. Braine, who presently occupies 2¼ acres of Land at Victoria at a rent of £176:8:10 a year, prefers two requests to Government. The first is