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of the lime-kilns on the island, as they appeared to have the prior claims. The Crown Rents for this now amount to $1,300 per annum, and investigations are being made into the coral beds of other places for the purpose of granting short leases to any persons entitled in priority, or otherwise on public tender, until the investigations into this peculiar business are completed.
17. The claims to the fisheries in the bays have been partly investigated, and where there are fixed nets worked from the shore an annual Crown Rent of $5 a net has been charged and paid.
18. The stone and granite quarries of Liümun have been examined and the titles investigated; most of the title deeds have now been lodged in the Land Office for registration, and a Crown rental of $3,725 per annum is now being obtained from them until the alternative policy of charging a royalty has been determined.
19. The number of petitions from the inhabitants of the New Territory relating to land questions and disputes amounted, at the end of the year, to upwards of 1,000, most of which have been dealt with, while others are waiting for the institution of the Land Court, or for the completion of surveys.
20. At the present rate of progress it would take about two more years to complete the registration of the whole of the New Territory and the completion of correct rent rolls and registers; but now that the questions between the farmers and the clans are likely soon to be satisfactorily disposed of, the work will progress much more rapidly.
21. Forms showing particulars in English and Chinese of all the cultivated lands from Lai Chi Kok to Kowloon Tong have been completed and posted up in the various villages, and as no objection has been raised the Crown Rent Roll of this district will shortly be completed. The particulars of the cultivated lands from small Kowloon to Liümun are now in preparation and are likely to be completed in a month or two.
17th January, 1900.
BRUCE SHEPHERD,
Deputy Land Officer,
Appendix No. IX.
Translation of the Chinese Proclamation issued by His Excellency Sir Henry A. Blake, G.C.M.G., Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Hongkong and its Dependencies and Vice-Admiral of the same.
Whereas His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China has leased to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, as an extension of the Colony of Hongkong, certain territory situated in the District of San On, and certain islands adjacent thereto, the boundaries of which are as hereunder stated, viz.:-
The Northern boundary commences at the point of high water mark in Mirs Bay where the meridian of 114° 30′ East bisects the land, and follows that high water mark to a point immediately to the West of Sha-t'au-kok, and then follows the road along the Northern edge of this town till the middle of a stream becomes the boundary as far as the road to Kang Hau. From Kang Hau to about a quarter of a mile West of Kang Tó the Northern edge of the road is the boundary. From this point to the mouth of the Shamchun river the Northern bank of the Shamchun river forms the boundary.
From the mouth of the Shamchun river the boundary follows the high water mark along the coast of Deep Bay till the point where the meridian of 113° 52′ bisects the land.
The Eastern boundary is 114° 30′ East Longitude. The Western boundary is 113° 52′ East Longitude. The Southern boundary is 22° 9′ North Latitude.
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Hong Kong Annual Administration Reports, 1841-1941
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of the lime-kilns on the island, as they appeared to have the prior claims. The Crown Rents for this now amount to $1,300 per annum, and investigations are being made into the coral beds of other places for the purpose of granting short leases to any persons entitled in priority, or otherwise on public tender, until the investigations into this peculiar business are completed.
17. The claims to the fisheries in the bays have been partly investigated, and where there are fixed nets worked from the shore an annual Crown Rent of $5 a net has been charged and paid.
18. The stone and granite quarries of Liümun have been examined and the titles investigated; most of the title deeds have now been lodged in the Land Office for registration, and a Crown rental of $3,725 per annum is now being obtained from them until the alternative policy of charging a royalty has been determined.
19. The number of petitions from the inhabitants of the New Territory relating to land questions and disputes amounted, at the end of the year, to upwards of 1,000, most of which have been dealt with, while others are waiting for the institution of the Land Court, or for the completion of surveys.
20. At the present rate of progress it would take about two more years to complete the registration of the whole of the New Territory and the completion of correct rent rolls and registers; but now that the questions between the farmers and the clans are likely soon to be satisfactorily disposed of, the work will progress much more rapidly.
21. Forms showing particulars in English and Chinese of all the cultivated lands from Lai Chi Kok to Kowloon Tong have been completed and posted up in the various villages, and as no objection has been raised the Crown Rent Roll of this district will shortly be completed. The particulars of the cultivated lands from small Kowloon to Liümun are now in preparation and are likely to be completed in a month or
two.
17th January, 1900.
BRUCE SHEPHERD,
Deputy Land Officer,
Appendix No. IX.
Translation of the Chinese Proclamation issued by His Excellency Sir Henry A. Blake, G.C.M.G., Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Hongkong and its Dependencies and Vice-Admiral of the same.
Whereas His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China has leased to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, as an extension of the Colony of Hongkong, certain territory situated in the District of San On, and certain islands adjacent thereto, the boundaries of which are as hereunder stated, viz. :-
The Northern boundary commences at the point of high water mark in Mirs Bay where the meridian of 114° 30′ East bisects the land, and follows that high water mark to a point immediately to the West of Sha-t'au-kok, and then follows the road along the Northern edge of this town till the middle of a stream becomes the boundary as far as the road to Kang Hau. From Kang Hau to about a quarter of a mile West of Kang T6 the Northern edge of the road is the boundary. From this point to the mouth of the Shamchun river the Northern bank of the Shamchun river forms the boundary.
From the mouth of the Shamchun river the boundary follows the high water mark along the coast of Deep Bay till the point where the meridian of 113° 52′ bisects the land.
The Eastern boundary is 114° 30′ East Longitude. The Western boundary is 113° 52′ East Longitude. The Southern boundary is 22° 9′ North Latitude.
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