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well being, if not the very existence, of the
Colony:
(1). The permanent attachment of the New
Territories to the Colony. We have recently been
assured that there is no intention on the part of
His Majesty's Government of "surrendering Hong Kong
or abandoning or diminishing in any way its rights or
authority in any part of the adjacent mainland
territories under British administration". But that
is not sufficient. Less than one-third of our lease
has expired and already, thanks to the "pax Britannica"
and all that it implies, the greater part of New
Kowloon has become one urban area with its older
and more "permanent" neighbour. The whole water-
supply of the Kowloon peninsula lies in the leased
area and surely and steadily money, public and
private, is being invested there. The retrocession
of the New Territories even at the termination of
the lease would imperil the very existence of
Hong Kong and Kowloon. Conceive the position that
would exist in London, if all the territory north of Oxford Street belonged to an alien power.
(2). The construction of a loop-line railway at Canton to connect the Kowloon-Canton with the Canton-
Hankow Railways is a matter of vital importance to the future of this Colony. Je suggest that the money for this project should be set aside from the Boxer
Indemnity
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