810
On the contrary, my position has been that all land in this Colony is the property of the Crown, or, in other words, belongs to the Imperial Government, but that the Imperial Government has assigned certain portions of this land to the use of the Colonial Government and other portions to the use of the Military Authorities. The portions assigned to the use of the Military Authorities are known as War Department Land; the rest of the land is vested in the Colonial Government and embraces all land known as Military Reserve Land as opposed to War Department Land.
On this point, clause 1 of the Circular Despatch makes it plain that Colonial Military Lands are lands the fee simple of which is vested in the Crown represented by the Colonial Government, but of which the War Department has a right of perpetual user.
The Colonial Government, and not the Military Authorities, therefore represents the Crown in this Colony in the matter of land; and it is clear, from the fact that this Government sells land of which the premia and profits go into the Colonial Treasury, that the control and user of the lands in this Colony have been vested in the Colonial Government for the benefit of the Colony.
11.
I am not prepared to admit that the War Department has met this Government in the way stated in paragraph 7. As regards paragraph 8, I cannot argue that, had the Military Reserve at Kowloon been bought outright, it would not now be (subject to Imperial exigencies) the absolute property of the War Department to dispose of as it pleased.
But