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value than the ordinary class.
To these I have offered the usual leases for 999 years, upon payment of the average rate of premium realized at the public sale of the remaining lots - an arrangement to which, I believe, they will readily accede and which will produce a further sum of $4,571 as premium, and add to the Permanent Roll £87. 18s. per Annum.
5. When visiting Shekwan a short time before the sale, I explained to the Chinese that the object of the Government was not to extract money from them, but to place the village under such regulations as would render life and property secure, and provide for the education of their children; this may perhaps have had some slight effect upon the sale which produced a sum beyond all expectation. The purchasers, as will be seen by the return, were nearly all Chinese who attended the sale in large numbers from all parts of the Island, and competed eagerly for the different lots - thus showing, in the most unmistakable manner, their confidence in the Government, and an appreciation of the advantages of living under British rule.
6. A suitable school house...