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1
petition in order that facilities might be afforded for the construction of ... for the Villa Residents, and that the colony might thus attract the foreign portion of the mercantile community in the summer in preference to Macao.
2.
It appears that a lot of 5 acres, and at a fixed annual rent of £5.4.2 rash, realized 605 dollars for the leases of 21 years duration. Sir John Bowring suggested that the term should be extended to 75 years as the Surveyor General reports that on the lots in question appropriate houses have been built.
3. It appears further that there would be no objection to this course, as Lord Stanley's despatch, to which the Governor refers, does authorize Leases for 75 years of "Country Lands applied for for the purpose of enabling residents with suitable grounds"; for which purpose a lot of 5 acres does not seem unreasonable. At the same time, as the premiums given by lessees were calculated by ...