Wai Wu Pu
Copy.
600
C. O.
44305
REC
to His Majesty's Minister I NG, 21 000 06)
21st October 1905.
31st year, 9th month, 23rd day.
Sir:-
On the 17th instant a despatch was received by
this Board from the Board of Commerce to the follow-
ing effect:-
"The Acting Junior Councillor of this Board,
Wang Ch'ing-mu, reports that he has received a joint
petition drawn up by Liu Te-ch'uan, a merchant hold-
ing brevet official rank, and 239 other natives of
the Hsi-An District and Kowloon, besides 79 mercan-
tile firms, representing that when the Kowloon Exter
sion Agreement was made in 1898 between Great Britain
and China, a proclamation was issued by Sir Henry
Blake, then Governor of Hongkong, promulgating a
scale of land taxes which was already vastly in
excess of that in force in the district of Hsi-An,
and that the present Governor Sir Matthew Nathan has
now issued a proclamation increasing these taxes
still