592
J
Messrs Punchand Co. for them do (contained in their letter of 6th Nov) state that
The quarry, far from being a single entity, is split up into several sections, four or five being in British Kowloon, and to suit their requirements the Matau Kok quarries are grouped.
8. The upset price for the quarries were put off deliberately to suit their group.
It has been arranged with Mr. Stousion, a representative of the firm of Punchand Co., who was present at the sale, but permitted himself to be outbid by a Chinaman.
It will then be clear that every endeavour was made to connect the sale with the interests of this firm, short of abolishing the farming system altogether, and relinquishing some $40,000 annually, this being derived from the January sale.
I believe the amount realised in January.
10. The quarries in the New Territory, referred to in the letter from Messrs Punchand Co. to me, were, up to the time I left the colony, being worked by natives, who had been in possession for generations. They admitted that they had always paid the Chinese Government for the privilege, and consented to a payment of a lump sum.