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I think that in justice to the Land Office staff I ought to give an idea of what the handling, collection and replacement has meant.
It has entailed the transport of some thirty heavy pieces of furniture and three safes and the transportation, sorting and rearranging of some 225 Main Registers, 380 books of Memorials, approximately 14,000 Crown Leases, 850 Miscellaneous registers, rent rolls, card indexes etc and 356 books and files of the Japanese registry.
RECORDS OF THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN DISTRICTS.
5. Thanks to the foresight of Ir. John Barrow (Cadet Officer) and the work of the Land Bailiffs, the greater part of the records of the District Office North have been saved.
A small part of the records were held in Pingshan and these are missing. It is impossible to state precisely what has been lost until a roomful of mixed records of D.0.North and D.0.South which the Japanese removed from Hongkong to the Government School at Yaumati have been sorted out. So far as I cen gather the loss is likely to be confined to cert in rent rolls and (if none of the "Block Leases" are missing) we should be able to reconstitute these from particulars in the schedules to Block Leases and by calling upon those who claim ownership to produce their "Chap Chus".
GENERAL
The records of D.0. South are substantially intact.
6. Though the loss of the Supreme Court and other records is grievous, I think we must consider outselves fortunate in that we have recovered subst ntially all the Land Office records upon which the whole land system and a large part of the revenue of the Colony depend.
FUTURE PROCEDURE IN LAND MATTERS.
7. I have looked into the system of registration of claims to ownership of land and of assignments adopted by the Japanese and hope to be able shortly to submit a report thereon and a scheme for dovetailing this into our own system, but I wish first to obtain from theleading firm of Chinese conveyancing solicitors a brief report on procedure in the Japanese Land Office as seen from the angle of the legal practitioners.
It is important that we should at the earliest possible date relax so far as practicable the present restriction on transactions in land, as merchants and others will need to use their property as security for advances for the purpose of re- habilitation, but at the same time, there must in my opinion be something in the nature of block of transactions in cases such as the reassignment of mortgages by the Japanese liquidators of British and other banks, and, though I gather that forced sales were a rarity, it will I think be necessary to make some pro- nouncement and perhaps to legislate to cover future dealings where there have been transactions during the Japanese occupation.
sd. T.M.Hazelrigg
Political Adviser, 18.9.45
P.S. I have omitted to mention the Libraries. A great part of the Supreme Court library has been retrieved (probably 80%) but the libraries of the Judges, the A.G. and Crown Solicitor's have been removed. I have today received information that some of the books are in the Fung Ping Shan and General Library of the University. I am exploring these and other sources.
TIH.