Robert Ho Jung has other houses in which he has hithert's lived, there seemo
Ko Meleda
onddenly
why he and becours so ou
attached to a site which will have to be
surrendered in Id you, except for the purpose
Stroke of business.
of doing a good
I a que
with the Tw. that the schame
for utilising the New Terrline's for erecting Gut. quters is impracticable at the present time, but if any development
does come
about, he had better take care that the
Crimes do not stef in first stake all the best orter.
? telegraph
as at A
65 31/10/18.
egree i We can at the same time agree to the :
I
proposal in par.
(B)
Arc
2.11
G.82.115
NA CONFIDENTIAL.
C
20406
77.
Sir,
C O
5.013
20 OCT IS
277
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONGKONG. 20th. August, 1918.
With reference to paragraph 4 of my
Confidential Despatch of the 1st. March, 1917, I have the honour to inform you that on approaching Sir Robert Ho Tung on the subject of the acquisition of the property know as the "Homestead", I found to my surprise that he himself contemplat- -ed erecting on the site a large house with an annexe connect- -ed by a corridor, the annexe for his own occupation and the main building for the accommodation of his numerous children whose noise disturb him, with extensive gardons and pleasure grounds attached. He had already had plans prepared for this house and had indeed imported iron and steelwork for the buildings. He contemplated spending $150,000 on the house and
grounds. Moreover he informed me that he had refused an offer
of $100,000 for the site. I am informed that this is the fact.
It is probable that the property was desired for an hotel or
for residential flats.
2.
Sir Robert Ho Tung was by no means willing to relinquish the land, and suggested to me a number of other
sites and properties which he thought would suit the Govern-
-ment's purpose. I had no difficulty in pointing out to him
that whereas one of them, formerly the residence of the late
Sir George Philippo, was well adapted for his purposes, none
of them owing to inaccessibility, situation in the Pokfulam
drainage
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
WALTER LONG,
860..
M.P
&c...
T
1