CO537-3702 — Page 119

(4)

22923/15

19676/7/48

(10) m

54403/48

installations in the New Territories -0.g. water-supply

and airfield. But I have not found on these or any other

papers any consideration of the broader question of the

weight to be given, when considering further physical

development in the New Territories, to the fact of

termination of the lease, either in due efflux of time in

1997, or prematurely.

(N. B. 1. This point was not seriously considered as such

when the decision to site the new airfield in the New

Territories was made; the points there taken were proximity

to China and the fact that the choice of a site in the New

Territories was likely to provoke political difficulties

with the Chinese.

N.B. 2. The point has been recently raised in

connection with mining development in the New Territories,

but consideration has not yet gone far.

N.B. 3. It has been agreed in principle that half of

Hong Kong's C.D. & W. allocation of £1,000,000 should be

devoted to agricultural and fisheries schemes for the New

Territories. None of the individual schemes however

involves large capital expenditure on installations in

the New Territories.)

(The above Note, dated 7th October, 1948, was

prepared for consideration with the Tai Lam Chung

reservoir case

*

53687/48.

54145/43 Hong Kong

Andher copy is filed on

Future Policy).