735
is based on the Ordnance Survey Maps.
It appears to me that the Surveyor General of Hong Kong has misunderstood the condition I laid down that the Officer in charge of the Survey should be quite independent of the Surveyor General and of any authority in the Colony, as far as the conduct of the survey is concerned.
"It is for the Colonial Government, through the Surveyor General, and for the Naval and Military authorities to say which portions of the Colony should be surveyed on the larger and which on the smaller scales;
and the Officer in charge would, as far as possible, comply with their wishes in regard to the portions which should first be surveyed, and the amount of detail which should be shown on the plans.
The Officer would be in communication with the Surveyor General, who would, I am sure, be able to render valuable assistance; but, if a survey similar to that of the Ordnance Survey of the United Kingdom is to be successfully carried out, the Officer must be quite independent of everyone in all that relates to the conduct of the Survey.
The scheme for carrying out the Survey, and plotting and drawing the plans in England, was based on the experience of Major Johnston, R.E., a Survey Officer who had recently returned to England from Hong Kong. I am still of opinion that the course proposed, with such modifications as the experience of the Officer in charge of the Survey may suggest, is the best; but the question may well be left to the Officer himself.
In estimating the cost of Survey, it was assumed that the area to be surveyed was about 20,000 acres, and that of this about 640 would be on the 500 scale, and the remainder on the 2500 scale. Major Johnston has since gone carefully into the question of areas, and thinks that the Colony may require 1150 acres on the 500 scale. In this case, the cost would be about £4,000.
No
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