167
within 12 months of the
con-
pletion of their respective sections, stated unter alia that the fall
in the rents of houses was
purely temporary
and would
rectify itself. But ever,
as it is, rents in for
rents in Hongkong
many cases extremely
high. The Colonial Secretary
informe
It c
that he pays for
a rented house (dining-
sitting room and four
bedrooms)
more than
four
t times what he paid for a very
commodious
house in Colombo,
and the rent demanded
for
this
year for my
very
residence at the Peak
is insufficient and unsuitable.
The rent of this
house is $2400.
The statement that
"the annual valuations have
hardly yet been altered " is perfectly true for the very suf-
ficient reason that the value of house property has not
generally depreciated as the Me-
morialists wish it to be believed.