49
Admiralty
With regard to the first-mentioned I have to state that no notice has been taken by Admiral Sir James Rope, nor have any memoranda as to this matter been handed to me by that Officer;
I should desire that any proposed change, and the objections I entertain to its being carried out, should be placed on record, considering as I do, that the efficiency of the naval Department would be very materially diminished, and the interests of the service abstracted, were the Naval Yard to be deprived of the free, exclusive and uninterrupted access to and communication with the sea, so essential for the proper and efficient working of this establishment.
With respect to the observations of His Excellency the Governor, as to the public road on the sea front opposite the Naval Yard at Kowloon, I have also to remark that the proposition, if carried out, appears to me to be one that will entail, not only considerable inconvenience, but also be found to be injurious to the interests of the Naval Service; the operation of coaling Her Majesty's ships, is frequently required to be performed with dispatch.
Land Board Law Officers Miscellaneous Offices