XO O P Y)
From General Officer Commanding Troops
Sir,
C. O,
1479
Rece
in South China. Red 13 JAN 061
To Secretary, War Office,
London, 8.#.
747
Head Quarters, Hongkoog,
30th. November, 1905,
I have the honour to forward copy of a letter from His
Bxcellency the Governor of this Colony to me dated 24th. Noverber
1905 (also copy of my reply thereto) from which it will be observ-
ed that the Government of this Colony consider that land such as
the site of the disused Murray battery cannot be disposed of eX-
cept to them and under the conditions of the Lewis Merorendur,
i.e. that the value will simply be a paper credit to War Depart-
ment. In this assumption, as will be seen from my letter above
referred to, I cannot agres, as it certainly appears from para-
graph 12 page 7 of Lewis Memorandum that the Murray Battery site
is a valuable asset, and your instructions regarding Spring Gar-
dens in letter No.H.K.8/14, dated 20th. Cctober 1905, support this
view. I therefore, beg that a decision on this point may be
obtained and communicated to me at an early date.
છે.
At the same time, I understand from His Bxcellency the
Governor that a question as to ownership of land at all in the
Colony, carrying with it the power to buy or sell, is to be re-
ferred home by him, and 1 trust that this point way also be de-
finitely cleared up without delay, as, meanwhile, any action to-
wards completing the land transactions under the Lewis Memorandum
must remain in abeyance.
i have, etc.
Sa.
V. Batton, Major-Generai,
Commanding the Troops in South
Chins.