288
10.
abgryz
ило
12526
02
further. I will only remark that this Government maintains
and is supported in its contention by the best legal opinions
in the Colony (those of Sir William Goodman and Mr. H. E. Pollock, K.C., given as Attorney-General and Acting Attorney-General respectively) that Crown Land reserved for a specific
Military purpose (in this case the keeping clear of buildings
of an area to be swept by rifle fire) should revert unconditionally to the Colony when the reasons for which it was reserved
cease to exist. I cannot therefore admit that it is equitable
to value the land devoted to a Public Park as building land.
Paragraph 6. I am not sure that I understand the remarks in this paragraph. As far as I am aware the
War Department would raise the strongest objections to the
area which it is proposed to devote to the Park being utilised
for building purposes.
13.
Paragraph 7. The explanation is that in
paragraph 4 of Sir Henry Blake's Despatch No. 297 of the 18th June, 1903, the valuation of the remainder of the Military
Reserve Land at Kowloon coloured blue on plan X not required
for Barrack Extension" (see schedule A/2 in Mr. Chamberlain's
Despatch No. 169 of 18th June, 1902) was referred to. The
area of that land which includes the portion to be devoted to
building and to the Park was at the time estimated to be 123.40
acres and worth $2,015,082.
14.
Paragraph 10. The object of the stipulation that the War Department should pay the compensation was
to avoid a cash transaction which is likely to assume considerable proportions if the Colonial Government and not the War
Department has to find the money. There are considerable
private