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subject of barrack and hospital accommodation at Hong Kong, copy of which accom- panied your letter under acknowledgment.
There is, however, another matter which will deserve the consideration of the Lords Commissioners in connection with the demands for a contribution to new barracks. For many years the Colony has been anxious to carry out a great public improvement by reclaiming a portion of the harbour in front of the Naval Yard and the Military Buildings, and by carrying a roadway over the reclaimod land to connect the eastern and western portions of the city, which are now separated by the military and naval property, while access from one part to the other is very inconvenient, and, owing to the configuration of the hill, can only be maintained by means of one narrow road. The scheme has hitherto been frustrated by the opposition of the Imperial Departments, but it is unnecessary to trouble their Lordships further with the past history of the affair.
The scheme has now taken a fresh shape, in which it has been accepted by the Admiralty and is still under the consideration of the War Office. It is proposed, not only to improve the Naval Yard itself, by the erection of a basin inside the new sea wall, and thus to give the naval authorities access to deep water, but also to concede to the Admiralty the use for naval purposes of a large piece of the reclaimed land valued at 156,792 dollars. This portion of the work is estimated to cost 300,000 dollars, and the reclamations in front of the military cantonments are estimated to cost 320,000 dollars. The land which would be added to the cantonments is valued at 1,325,856 dollars.
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Should the Colony acquire the sites named in paragraph 10 of
your letter, of the 28th September last, it would retain the reclaimed land in front of them; but the remaining cantonments would still receive a very large addition of land, and unless the military authorities hear a share of the cost of the work, the Colony may fairly claim in connection with the question of sites and new barracks, that their outlay for the direct advantages of Her Majesty's Naval and Military Forces should be considered as an important contribution to the defence of the Colony.
JOHN BRAMSTON.
CONTRIBUTION
No. 10.
AND LANDS.
War Office to Treasury.
War Office,
Sir,
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12th November, 1889. With reference to your letter of the 28th September, No. 13191
- respect- 88 ing the sale of land at Hong Kong in connection with the provision of additional barrack accommodation, 1 am directed by the Secretary of State for War to acquaint you, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, that the sum of 140,000l. mentioned in Appendix D to the 4th section of the report of the Committee on Colonial Military Contributions, was not intended as an estimate, the words used being that "the North Barracks are worth a large sum of money, perhaps as much as 140,0007.," a sum having been mentioned merely in order to make it clear that the profit anticipated from the proposed sale of property, would be a substantial one.
The estimate of the value of the lands proposed to be sold, given in
Mr. Knox's letterf of the 9th January, 1889, Hong Kong 2 is the only one
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which Mr. Secretary Stanhope is at present in a position to furnish, but as it is gathered from the letter under reply, and from the Treasury letters of the 12th October, 1889,
that their Lordships are prepared to view favour-
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89
ably the proposals for the sale of the land at Hong Kong, contained in the War Office letter of the 9th January, 1889, Hong Kong 2, a letter is now being written to the station, in order to obtain, if possible, a more complete valuation. of the lands,
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* Vide Enclosure in No. &
† No. 6..
‡ No. 5.
§ No. 7.
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I am to observe that there may be some difficulty in obtaining this information, as it would not be advisable to employ the Colonial Surveyor- General in a case in which the Colonial Government may become the purchaser, but that a valuer, unconnected with the Colonial Government, will be employed, if there is one available. Enquiry will also be made as regards the prices realised at any recent sales of landed property which have been effected in Victoria, which will probably afford the best basis for a valuation.
Plans, showing all the War Department property in Hong Kong and the portions thereof proposed to be sold, with their areas and valuations according to the War Office letter of the 9th January, before alluded to, are herewith forwarded, and it is believed that these plans will give all the information required by their Lordships on this point.
Mr. Secretary Stanhope regrets that he is not yet in a position to give a complete estimate of the cost of providing the additional accommodation for the increased garrison, but he hopes in a few months' time to furnish such estimates for certain definite portions of the scheme, which will serve to check the confessedly rough estimate in Appendix I).
The 50,0001. mentioned in that appendix as a very rough estimate for replacing the accommodation that will be lost by the proposed sale of lands, does not include any amount for sites.
The view of the Secretary of State is that the Colony should provide such sites on Crown lands, but that it should not be called upon to purchase them at its sole cost, considering the very high price of land in many parts of Hong Kong.
As the War Department is not prepared to pay any large sum for the purchase of sites, it will be necessary to confine the sites as far as possible to Crown lands, to be provided free by the Colony, From the reports hitherto received it appears likely that this can generally be done, though it may turn out to be necessary, in some cases, to supplement the sites thus obtained by purchases to a small extent, to be effected by the War Department, and to be treated as part of the cost of providing barrack accommodation, which their Lordships propose should be shared equally between the Colony and the War Department, as far as it is not met by the proceeds of the sale of properly.
Should such cases arise, and every effort will be made to avoid them, they will of course be separately submitted for the sanction of their Lordships.
I am to observe that the paragraph on "Barracks," in the Treasury letter!
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to the Colonial Office (a copy of which of the 28th September, 1889,
1888 letter was forwarded to this office with the letter now under reply), should, apparently, run as follows, after taking into consideration the information con- Hong Kong 2 which tained in the War Office letter" of the 9th January, 1889, was written about five and a-half months after the date of Section IV. of the Report of the Committee on Colonial Military Contributions :~
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2
“10. It will be necessary to provide additional barracks at Hong Kong for double the existing garrison. The rough and preliminary estimate of the cost is 212,0001. (apart from a sum of 50,0001 for reproviding accom- modation that will be lost by the sale of property), but Sir A. Haliburton's Committee say that this estimate may be exceeded. These two sums together come to 262,0001.
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"It is proposed, as my Lords understand the proposal, that the Imperial Government shall sell land it now holds, valued at about 126,0001. to the Colony, that this money shall be applied towards the new barracks, reducing their net cost to about 187,000, that the Imperial Government shall pay two-thirds of the charge, or about 92,0007., and that the Colonial Government shall pay the balance, or about 46,0001, providing also sites for the new barracks on Crown lands. The proposal therefore means that the Imperial Government should give up sites worth 125,000, and spend 92,0001. in cash; that the Colony should find new sites on Crown lands, and should spend 46,0001. in cash, in addition to the value of the lands they purchase from the War Department."
* No. 5.
† Enclosure in No. 6.