Colony.
244
The petitioner refused this offer, and refused to proceed with the arbitration stipulated for by the Crown Lease until she had presented the accompanying petition to Your Lordship and received a reply.
9.
It will be observed from the above statement that the petitioner has no ground for complaining of harsh or arbitrary action on the part of this Government, which is merely proceeding in accordance with the terms of the Crown Lease under which she holds the land.
10.
Having stated the general position of the matter I will now deal with the statements contained in the memorial and accompanying correspondence.
11.
With reference to the 2nd paragraph of the Petition, Fatshan Lot No.4 is practically surrounded by hills which rise to about 130 feet in height, and all the other land in the neighbourhood, which is not of a swampy nature, is already let for purposes of cultivation, chiefly on yearly leases which can be cancelled on short notice. It would, therefore, be very difficult, if not impossible, to comply with the Petitioner's request for an exchange, and as already stated this Government does not consider it desirable to grant any further Farm Leases in Kowloon.
12.