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must suffer in the future as it has in the past. It is largely in this very lack of con- tinuity that the explanation of indefinite hand-to-mouth routine lies, and this latter failing is in turn responsible for recurrent expenses and losses on the triangulation and in the detail survey.
Again, it is not business that two Departments (Crown Lands and Surveys) should compete for common draughtsmen, and still less so that an integral part of survey responsibility (the sale and destruction of maps) should be in charge of a separate
branch.
It is convenient, sometimes, to attach a small department to a larger for "pay and administration. In that sense it seems to me that the present order of things might be continued and the Colonial Survey Committee might watch, and comment on it later. But the technical responsibility obviously rests with the real technical head. I will instance the matter of title plans. These are the result of the activities of the survey branch inspired and directed solely by the head of that branch. Whoever else signs them does so merely as covering authority, and his valuable time is taken up with no corresponding gain to the public.
It is an acknowledgment of this position, with its proper sense of responsibility, which will do more than anything else to sharpen up the work of the branch. All other branches (including Crown lands) should send to the survey for the surveys and maps they require. The " Director of Surveys "should sign all the documents for which he is responsible, whilst any changes of staff (other than purely internal) or salary, and any expenditure on new services (over and above a certain fixed sum) should require, as before, the consideration and recommendation of the Director of Public Works.
I must make it quite clear that in writing the above I am not criticizing any personality. I am merely advocating a modification which will bring theory a little closer to fact.
The additional responsibility must, however, have some small financial significance. A Director of Survey would naturally rank eventually with an Assistant Director of Public Works.
As regards other European surveyors it is generally acknowledged that they are technically in the same class as officials of the Public Works. Starting with equal eductional qualifications, employed on equally teclinical and important duties, they differ only in their smaller (generally but not invariably) administrative field, a matter which affects the higher ranks. In the past Colonial surveys have sometimes been staffed by men of inferior education. In all such cases the natural result is muddle, untidy work, and subsequent expense in resurvey. To-day they are drawn from the same class and pass the same order of university course as other technical cadets. In this Colony now serving as executive engineers are several who started as surveyors. A distinction pay and emoluments is no more justified than it would be in the fighting services where the surveyor scores rather than looses as a youngster although he looses in the lesser ultimate rank to which he can attain. I think the second-class land surveyor should start at £460 and should be graded upwards to director, but the latter should always be selected and should not necessarily inherit.
16. Staff-At the present moment the number of European surveyors generally available (excluding those on leave) is six. Eventually five actually present should be enough to provide
1 Director,
1 Office assistant,
3 Inspectors (Island, Kowloon, and New Territories)
with, in addition, one chief printer and one chief draughtsman. These should be sufficient to supervise a native staff. At the present moment, however, there are the following special jobs on hand, or waiting :-
(1) Completion and printing of departmental regulations; (2) Recomputation of minor triangulation and traverse;
(3) Connection of the 32 and 16-inch cadastrals to the new framework; (4) The Icvelling:
(5) Completion of the 50 and 200 feet to the inch plans.
It is of the greatest importance to get these done and then to settle to a routine of revision. I recommend that one more surveyor be engaged on a temporary con- tract with a view to absorption when the next vacancy occurs. He should be employed on field duties in order to free an experienced surveyor to help in the reconstruction.
*The Director of Surveys is responsible for the plans. He is not responsible here for the documents covering lease, although, in many cases elsewhere, he is.
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I understand that a vacancy is likely to occur in three years, and at that time the European staff could revert to its present size. Some years later it should be possible to decrease by one.
17. Education and Training.-Throughout the Colonies I have been struck by the way in which local surveys get out of touch with technical progress and invention. Hong Kong is peculiarly shut off geographically from other Survey Departments. One of the important matters to cure here is the lack of good technical literature. For example, the regulations of other Survey Departments are of more value than their annual reports. The following books should be available for study:
The Text Book of Topographical Surveying (3rd Edition). Survey Computations.
The semi-rigorous adjustment of simple figures.
The manual of map reading, photo reading, and field sketching.
The professional papers of the Air Survey Committee (the seventh is now nearly
complete).
The retriangulation of Malta.
All the above are recent War Office Publications, His Majesty's Stationery Office.
Surveying, by Norman Thomas.
Systems of Land Tenure in the British Empire, Hogg. (I am not sure of the
exact wording of this title.)
And others as occasion demands.
The surveys of the Federated Malay States and Ceylon should be visited occasionally, and personal touch with other surveyors in tropical parts kept up.
It would be wise too to follow usual practice and hold an annual or periodical survey school camp for refresher courses and for the further instruction of Asiatic
surveyors.
The inaugural meeting of the Empire Survey officials has already done much good. If possible, Hong Kong should be represented at these three-yearly meetings.
18. Quarters.-The Director of Public Works has already managed to give the Survey Department one floor to itself. It is very desirable, however, to provide a fireproof room for the storage of records of all field measurement, computation, positional data, plans and drawings. It is impossible to fulfill this obvious duty without a room to do it in. Printing and Vandyke rooms will also be required, and should also allow for further expansion (the printing machine-ride paragraph 12).
19. Summary of Proposals.--(a) Plans attached to titles should record co- ordinates and bearings as well as lengths and areas.
Paragraph 4.
(b) They should be signed by the head of the survey branch and litho. or sunprint copies should be equal in significance to hand tracing,
(c) The 50 and 200 feet to the inch plans should be printed and diminished in
Paragraph 4.
size.
Paragraph 5. (d) The 16 and 32 inch to the mile cadastrals should be connected to the triangula- tion, gridded and printed. Revision should be from air-photographs.
Paragraph 5 and Appendix I.
(e) Departmental regulations to be compiled and printed. Paragraph 6, 9 and 13. (f) Minor triangulation and traverses to be recomputed to fit adjusted triangulation and records printed.
Paragraph 6.
() New topographical map. Record sheets of revision and correction to be kept and forwarded periodically, ultimately to be taken over. Old maps to be destroyed when new are complete.
(h) Tidal records and adjustment of levelling figures.
One new theodolite required.
() Names and plans to be typed-type and palettes required. (1) Proving press and Vandyke outfit required.
One European litho. printer.
Paragraph 7.
Study in Ceylon.
Paragraph S.
Paragraph 10.
Paragraph 11.
Paragraph 12.
Paragraph 16.
independent.
Paragraph 15.
Paragraph 16.
Paragraph 17.
Paragraph 18.
(m) Survey should be technically, but not yet administratively
(n) Temporary increase of one surveyor.
(o) Technical books to be purchased and periodical school held. (p) Additional accommodation for printing records.
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