5
in South China would be to annex the New Territories as
part of the Colony. He recognised, however, that this
policy could hardly be decided in advance, but would have
to be considered in the light of circumstances prevailing at
the time.
In the meantime, there were two points on which
he desired guidance from the Secretary of State: -
(1)
In view of the fact that the "ew Territories were
only leased from China, and that the lease had only 69
more years to run, was he in order in devoting to their
development the maximum o the Colony's funds which could be
made available for the purpose?
(2) The ordinary form of lease granted by the Hong Kong
Government was for 75 years, renewable. The lease of the
New Territories would expire in 69 years. Would it be
possible for him to grant leases in the New Territories in
the ordinary form or would he have to grant them only for
the unexpired period of the lease from China?
In developing these points Sir. Clementi
emphasized that the New "erritories were vital to Hong Kong
not only from the defence point of view (which indeed is
recognised in the Convention itself), but also from the
necessities of daily life. For instance, not only had
the aerodrome been placed in the "ew Territories, but the
would soon be Colony was largely dependent on the latter for an adequate
water supply. Moreover, Hong Kong itself was so limited
in area and had become so congested that it had become
increasingly dependent on the New Territories for
expansion, thus necessitating a continuous programe of
public works and public buildings in the leased area.
Sir .lementi also made a point which I had not heard made
before, namely, that the New Territories possessed several
magnificent