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5. On the 25th February, 1871, however, a Government Notification was issued to the following effect :--
-GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.
"His Excellency the Governor in Council has been pleased to lix One thousand Dollars as "the limit of compensation to be paid to Persons who may build on Land at Kowloon under "Garden Leases, and whose property may be resumed for public purposes before the expiration "of the period for which it has been let.
"Within the above limit, the Government will grant compensation under the circumstances hereinbefore stated to the extent of Two-thirds of the value of the Building. It is important * for Crown Lessees to understand that no compensation will be paid on resumption by Government "of any Lot the Lease of which has expired through effluxion of time, but they may rest assured that, unless the Land is required for public improvements, the Leases which have been or may "be issued to them in the first instance will be renewed for a further period of Fourteen Years. -under sailar conditious.
By Command,
~(Signed),
Colonial Secretary's Office. Hongkong, 25th February, 1874."
J. GARDINER AUSTIN,
Colonial Secretary.
G.--The main value to the Colouy of that part of the Kowloon Peninsula in which the Garden Lots are located has proved to be that it affords a Sanitarium, or place of summer residence, to the inhabitants generally and permanent residences, at moderate cost, to those who cannot afford the ouerons rents of Victoria. Shortly after the annexation of Kowloon to the Colony a great deal of Land there was freely bought by speculators, under the impression that the place would become a business resort and that a large profit would be made on re-sales; but these anticipations being in no way fuiflled, no buildings were erected or improvements made, and a great deal of the Land was fually resumed by Government either for non-payment of ground rent or at the request of the purchasers.
7. After a time the place was partly re-occupied under "Squatter's Licences" by a few Chinese and one or two European Squatters who employed the ground for growing vegetables or for Garden purposes generally; but most of the land was left as a barren waste or swamp. Matters so remained till about seven years ago, when improvements which had been made by the European Squatters began to attract attention, and the scheme of Garden Lot lenses was devised to micet the demand for land which gradually sprang up.
S.--The Garden lot. leases were beyond question a great improvement on the Squatter's Licences, and as a tentative measure the step taken in granting them met with a considerable amount of success. The lot holders, however, in accepting these leases did not anticipate that their terms would prove so onerous as experience has shown them to be, and they commenced and carried out in many instances improvements and developments in their respective properties out of all proportion to the duration of their tenures and musuitable to the stringent nature of the provisions of their leases.
9. From the return hereto appended (and marked D). which shows the outlay upon these lots made by each holder, it will be observed that no less than twenty-three (28) out of thirty-six (36) of such Garden lot holders have expended on their properties money exceeding and in most instances greatly exceeding in amount the money fixed by the Government Notification of February 25th, 1874, as and by way of compensation in the event of their lots being resumed for public purposes. In many cases, as for example, in that of Mr. J. D. HUMPUREYS who has labl out an extensive Fruit Garden at an expenditure of $9,500, in that of Mr. C. P. CHATER who has speut $8,000 ou levelling, planting, &c., in that of Mr. D. NOWROJEE who has at a cost of $4,730 made pleasure and Fruit Gardens (in addition to incurring expenditure on both permauent and temporary buildings to the amount of $9,600) and in those of many others, the lessees would not in accordance with the terms of the flovernment Notification of the 25th February, which limits compensation to buildings, be entitled, in the event of their respective properties heing resumed, to any compensation whatever for their improvements.
10.-Owing to the combination of three drawbacks viz., shortness of Tenure, the restrictions placed upon assignment, and the inn lequacy of compensation in event of resumption by Govern- ment for public purposes, your Memorialists find that they hold practically unsaluable titles, that they cannot for business or other purposes obtalu advances of money on their property, and dat the bulk of the money they have invested is under existing circumstances irretravably sunk.
11.-Among a fluctuating foreign population like that of Hongkong, this state of things presses with great hardship, as but few people care for obvious reasons upon their departure from the Colony to leave behind money invested in property such as these Garden lots. This is mor especially the case with those lot holders who have dealt with their lands in the manner more particularly indicated by the terms of the lease, and turned them into fruit “Gardens,” as snch species of property can only be made remunerative in any degree by constaut personal care and supervision.
12.--With reference too to the last mentioned property it must also be bome in mind chait it requires many years before it can show any return on the outlay expended, and that up to a certain poiur it becomes each year progressively more valuable. Down to the present time mone of the fruit Gardens of Kowloon, although they have been in some instances plante:l for many years, are sufficiently matured to have paid anything by way of profit or interest on the heavy expenditure incurred; and their value as paying concams is altogether in the future.
13.-Your Memorialists, however, do not base their case on the ground only of individuai hardship; for, as can be shown without difficulty, in proportion as they suffer by the policy now in force with regard to Kowloon Leases, the public interests of the Colony are injured. At the time when the first Petition already referred to was under consideration, and when a favourable reply was anticipated, the material development of the Garden lots received a great impulso. Buildings sprang up and permanent scheines of improvement were commuenced or contracted for. The answer actually received all but entirely checked this progress and most of the useful works which had been projected were abandoned. It has in short become manifest that further progress of the place under the existing system canuot reasonably be hoped for.
14.---The stoppage of these improvements is on every ground very much to be deplora. but especially for one important reason which has a serious bearing on the ultimate prosperity of the place. The soil is swampy and feverish in its nature and every earth entting operation is, according to the best medical authorities, all but certain to be followed (as in practice has generally been the case) by an outbreak of malarious disease among the residents in its neighbourbood.
15.-- United action in draining and levelling the land is therefore required to make the place a healthy one for residence.
But as matters stand, this is not to be looked for: and earth cutting operations on a small scale, but sufficient to produre fever may be expected to go on as they do now from year to year for a long periol. The stimulus of a mors liberal policy in regard to the duration and terms of the lenses would beyoud question produce un imuradiate and bruciicial effect in this particular, an impulse would be given to draining and other improvements on large and well concerted schemes devised for the general lametit, and in a very short time the Peninsula would doubtless prove a healthy place of resort.
16.---It is of importnuce to note that the site how set apart as a Sanitarium for Her Majesty's Military Forces, which has so often proved pestilential and practically useless for the purpose by which it has been dedicated, would reap all the benefit of these improvements,
17. -- With respect to the rentals now pud, your Memorialists find that they are considerably in excess of those reserved on tarm Lots or Rural Building Lots, 1st at the Peak and other places on far more favourable terms on Leoses having a duration of seventy-five years.
18.-Your Memorialists have been given to understand that the chief objection, or one of the chief objections to granting the prayer of their earlier petition, was the anticipation that in fature. years a Railway from Canton or elsewhere might have its terminus fixed somewhere on the site of these lots. Your Memorialists respectfully subunit that a consideration so reginte should vot be allowed to affect their present interests. Such a Bailway has never bæru serfonsly projected, aud it is in the highest degree improbable that, should the Chinese Authorities abandon their present fixed objections to Railways (which they have hitherto shown, but little intention of doing), they would constrnet one with its terminus fixed in a place specially enlculated to by metit dhis Colony; or that a Railway could cotapete with the present system of water curriage to Canian,