294
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REPORTS EXHIBITING THE PAST AND PRESENT
road surface having cost in February the sum of £65., and the stone arch also was commenced in January; therefore the average rate between the two years should be taken as the general probable amount for repairs in the year, or say 2d. per yard. The road being nearly 15 feet wide throughout is the cause of the difference of rate between it and the other roads. It is now in a very good state of repair, and sustained little or no damage during the typhoon.
Road from Aberdeen to Stanley, 7 miles.--This road estimated for, Rep. and Est. amount, £4965. 14s. 1d. (No. 1, of 1847) was intended to have been 15 feet wide throughout, with stone arches and parapet-walls in places where they were most required. Sir J. F. Davis, however, reduced the width to 10 feet and curtailed other works, and only authorized the sum of £2705. 14s. 4d. to be expended; of this sum £312. 16s. 4d. was expended during the year on this line are some of the heaviest stone bridges in the island, which considering the Chinese are not in the habit of building such, have been very tolerably executed, and particularly so, as the hot weather and frequent sickness of the overseers prevented their constant attendance thereon. The greater portion of the road was in the hands of the contractors at the time of the typhoon and previous rains, and therefore the expense of repairs fell upon them, but in general the damage was not excessive considering the unconsolidated state of the filling, unfinished drains, &c. Near the south end of the town of Aberdeen for a distance of 100 yards, and in Deep Water Bay for about the same distance, the wash of the sea carried away a considerable portion of the road; the former had been taken off the contractor's hands, and has not yet been repaired; the latter the contractor was obliged to rectify. In sheltered bays on the coast I formed the roads originally 4 feet above the high-water spring tides and 6 feet in other parts, but I now find that not less than 10 feet should be fixed upon for the level of a coast road, and even more than that if it is much exposed. If this road is to be maintained and properly protected, as indeed most of the roads require, there are several works which I would recommend to be executed, viz., a bridge and causeway at the waterfall in Staunton Valley, a parapet-wall on the hill above Deep-water Bay, and a bridge leading to the Sands, parapet-walls in two other places near Repulse Bay, and a bridge there also; these places are either exceedingly dangerous or inconvenient, as the road has either been cut out of the side of the cliff, or a rough retaining wall built, which leaves the drop from the road nearly perpendicular, and in one place the fall is 100 feet. The additional bridges are required, for at high water pedestrians must make a detour to pass the stream, and equestrians must wade or swim their horses over the ford. The details of expenditure during the year being given in full in the usual return, I shall merely remark that the disbursements on the new works in the formation of roads, bridges, and drains have amounted to £3221. 11s. 7d., and repairs, exclusive of convict labour, to the sum of £215. 2s. 6d. for roads and £186. 10s. 1d. for bridges.
2. Buildings. The police station at Aberdeen, although nearly finished at the termination of the year 1847, was not completed until May; the contractor, having far exceeded his time, was fined by his Excellency the Governor in Council in the sum of $100, which was deducted from the balance due on the contract; the work has been satisfactorily executed, and is now occupied by police; the payment on account for the year amounted to £1088. 6s. 9d., making the total expenditure £2598. 2s. 5d., exclusive of some stores supplied by Ordnance Department.
For cutting the site of the church and Government offices, Report and Estimate, No. 5, of 1846, the sum of £1361. 12s. 0d. has been paid; the balance on the Estimate £341. 0s. 10d. will be expended in cutting rock and sloping the ground east of the church, previous to the opening of the same.
Gaols. On account of Rep. and Est. 5, of 1845, the sum of £1107. 8s. 4d. was paid, making the total expenditure £4045. 14s. 0d., leaving a balance of £423. 12s. 1d. for the construction of some works which it is intended not to carry out; the service may therefore be said to be completed. The final payment, £62. 10s. 0d., was made during the year on account of the boundary walls to gaol, Rep. and Est. No. 9, of 1846, which have been completed in a satisfactory manner. In consequence of the recommendations of a Board, which was appointed by Sir J. F. Davis, to make certain inquiries and suggestions regarding the gaols, for increasing the accommodation, improving the ventilation, supply of water, &c., a Report and Estimate, No. 4, of 1847, was prepared by me, embodying the whole of the propositions, and showing their cost of the same, would amount to £1634. 3s. 4d. At this period the gaol was very crowded, and an expenditure of £637. 15s. 0d. was sanctioned for the purpose of increasing the ventilation at once; and the report was transmitted for the consideration of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State, who, upon the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Jebb, directed further inquiries and examination of the gaol, and it appearing that all the services proposed were not then necessary. His Excellency S. G. Bonham, Esq., in Council, sanctioned the expenditure of £2081. 11s. 7d. for an additional washing-room, and the formation of a covered way to connect the gaols A and B, &c.; at the termination of the year £1157. had been expended upon the service. The gaol buildings sustained very little damage during the typhoon, the estimate of the same being £15. 17s. 5d.
It having been thought advisable, by his Excellency the Governor in Council, that Coolies for hire should be confined to particular districts in the town, and that suitable covered stands or buildings for that purpose should be erected, a Report and Estimate, No. 7, of 1847, was accordingly prepared for the same, and the work commenced upon in March last and completed in June, the cost of the service being £1237. 5s. 2d.
Colonial Church. This building has not progressed so rapidly as was anticipated, much inconvenience and delay having been caused by the tardiness of the manufacturers of the windows, which have not even yet been received. It is much to be regretted that the funds for building have been found insufficient, the prices in the estimate having been originally framed too low by the late Surveyor-General, and it has therefore been found impossible to proceed with the tower above the ridge of the nave until more money is placed at the disposal of the trustees; from estimates I have lately made, the sum now required amounts to £8761. 17s. 4d. The church, however, has been so far completed that service may be performed therein if necessary, but the trustees think it better to defer the opening until the beginning of spring. The expenditure thereon during the year amounts to £3816. 17s. 4d.
The Miscellaneous work to Buildings comprises removal of stores and protection of buildings transferred to my charge, erection of flag-staff at Governor's residence, and pulling down the old Treasury for the preparation of the site for Government House; these services were authorized under Req. No. 47, of 1847, and 14, 16, 17, of 1848, and amount to £477. 14s. 8d.; of this amount, during the year, £247. 7s. 11d. was paid. The final balance for the repair of police stations and guard-houses, repairs of 1847, Report and Estimate, No. 3, was paid, during this year, amount to £271. 1s. 8d. Additional room being required for the Governor's servants, a small bungalow, abandoned by the proprietor on lot No. 141, was repaired for that purpose, which cost £17. 15s. 1d.
Some depredations were committed at the cemetery; the entrance gates and doors of the chapel were injured, the hinges stolen, &c.; these were repaired and replaced for the sum of £64. 0s. 6d., Reg. No. 36. Ordinary repairs were effected to the bungalow on Hospital Hill upon its occupation by a new tenant, Reg. No. 48, £58. 6s. 8d.; the tenant expended about £120., and abandoned the building after the typhoon of the 1st September, which stripped off a considerable portion of the roof-tiles, caused the failure of a portion of the stable wall, and other damages unnecessary to mention, which were estimated at £115. 2s. 10d.
To the debtors' prison, magistracy, Sukunpu Police Station, Court-house, ordinary repairs were carried out for the sum of £267. 13s. 4d. The repairs to the residence of his Excellency the Governor during the year amounted to £14. 15s. 7d. The police stations at Sookewan and Stanley were improved and repaired to render the accommodation of the inmates more comfortable and healthy, roofs re-tiled, and floors ventilated, &c., estimated at £301. 15s. 11d.; expended £147. 15s. 10d., Req. No. 12, of 1848.
Storm Repairs.--The island was visited by a storm or typhoon, as it is here called, which raged for five or six hours during the night of the 31st August and following morning. During the summer months heavy gales and storms always occur; but since the year 1841 nothing like the severity of the present one has been experienced, and, as might be expected, considerable damage was done to most of the houses in the town; some were entirely stripped of their tiles, walls injured, windows and venetians or jalousies blown in, and altogether the appearance of the town exhibited the terrible effects of the storm. The residence of his Excellency the Governor suffered as much as any in the town, but these repairs necessarily fell upon the landlord, as the house is not Government property. In the Report and Estimate relative to these damages the following are the amounts estimated for each colonial civil building-
Items
1. Governor's residence £15 6 6 2. Magistracy £14 18 3. Debtors' gaol £1 8 19 4. Gaols £6 17 6 5. Guard-house ditto £6 19 1 6. Supreme Court £9 7 11 7. Post Office £25 16 6 8. No. 1 Police Station £22 1 10 9. No. 2 ditto £39 12 11 10. Station Onch Bazaar £0 16 6 11. Station at the Gap £264 2 1 12. Bungalow on Hospital Hill £115 2 10 13. Cemetery Chapel £36 1 2 14. Harbour Master's £44 4 4 15. Harbour Master's boat-house £3 12 9 16. Government Offices (old), to sustain for a short period £3 2 10 17. Bungalow rear of ditto £3 2 4 18. Chinese Secretary's Office, estimate to pull down £4 17 2 19. Barrack at Aberdeen £12 6 11Of these several items his Excellency the Governor decided no repairs should be executed on account of Nos. 1, 11, 14, 17, 18. The police station at the Gap was exceedingly damaged, the upper part of the east wall blown down, the north wall nearly destroyed, the whole of the tiles completely stripped off the roof, all the windows and venetians on the north and east sides broken to pieces, and, in fact, the whole a complete wreck; the inmates were obliged to abandon it during the storm, and as the site has generally been considered inconvenient for a police station for the present requirements of the town, the repairs were disallowed, and arrangements made for locating the police elsewhere for the future; most of the doors, windows, and venetians, were removed and placed in store.
Item 14. Part of this disallowed, viz., for new topmast and repairs to flag-staff,
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REPORTS EXHIBITING THE PAST AND PRESENT
road surface having cost in February the sum of 652., and the stone arch also was commenced in January; therefore the average rate between the two years should be taken as the general probable amount for repairs in the year, or say 2d. per yard. The road being nearly 15 feet wide throughout is the cause of the difference of rate between it and the other roads. It is now in a very good state of repair, and sustained little or no damage during the typhoon.
Road from Aberdeen to Stanley, 7 miles.--This road estimated for, Rep. and Est. amount, 49657. 14s. 1d. (No. 1, of 1847) was intended to have been 15 feet wide throughout, with stone arches and parapet-walls in places where they were most required. Sir J. F. Davis, however, reduced the width to 10 feet and curtailed other works, and only authorized the sum of 27057. 14s. 4d. to be expended; of this sum 3127. 16s. 4d. was expended during the year pon this line are some of 1847, the expenditure during the last year being 19227 12s. 1d.
the heaviest stone bridges in the island, which considering the Chinese are not in the habit of building such, have been very tolerably executed, and particularly so, as the hot weather and frequent sickness of the overseers prevented their constant attendance thereon. The greater portion of the road was in the hands of the contractors at the time of the typhoon and previous rains, and therefore the expense of repairs fell upon them, but in general the damage was not Near the excessive considering the unconsolidated state of the filling, unfinished drains, &c. south end of the town of Aberdeen for a distance of 100 yards, and in Deep Water Bay for about the same distance, the wash of the sea carried away a considerable portion of the road; the former had been taken off the contractor's hands, and has not yet been repaired; the latter the contractor was obliged to rectify. In sheltered bays on the coast I formed the roads originally 4 feet above the high-water spring tides and 6 feet in other parts, but I now find that not less than 10 feet should be fixed upon for the level of a coast road, and even more than that if it is much exposed. If this road is to be maintained and properly protected, as indeed most of the roads require, there are several works which I would recommend to be executed, viz., a bridge and causeway at the waterfall in Staunton Valley, a parapet-wall on the hill above Deep-water Bay, and a bridge leading to the Sands, parapet-walls in two other places near Repulse Bay, and a bridge there also; these places are either exceedingly dan- gerous or inconvenient, as the road has either been cut out of the side of the cliff, or a rough retaining wall built, which leaves the drop from the road nearly perpendicular, and in one place the fall is 100 feet. The additional bridges are required, for at high water pedes- trians must make a detour to pass the stream, and equestrians must wade or swim their horses over the ford. The details of expenditure during the year being given in full in the usual return, I shall merely remark that the disbursements on the new works in the formation of roads, bridges, and drains have amounted to 32217. 11s. 7d., and repairs, exclusive of con- vict labour, to the sum of 2157. 2s. 6d. for roads and 1867. 10s. 1d. for bridges.
2. Buildings. The police station at Aberdeen, although nearly finished at the termination of the year 1847, was not completed until May; the contractor, having far exceeded his time, was fined by his Excellency the Governor in Council in the sum of S$100, which was deducted from the balance due on the contract; the work has been satisfactorily executed, and is now occupied by police; the payment on account for the year amounted to 10887. 6s. 9d., making the total expenditure 25987. 2s. 5d., exclusive of some stores supplied by Ordnance Depart-
ment.
For cutting the site of the church and Government offices, Report and Estimate, No. 5, of of 1846, the sum of 1361. 12s. Od. has been paid; the balance on the Estimate 341. Os. 10d, will be expended in cutting rock and sloping the ground east of the church, previous to the opening of the same.
Gaols. On account of Rep. and Est. 5, of 1845, the sum of 1107. 8s. 4d. was paid, making the total expenditure 40451. 14s Od., leaving a balance of 4231. 12s, 1d. for the construction of some works which it is intended not to carry out; the service may therefore be said to be completed. The final payment, 627. 10s. Od., was made during the year on account of the boundary walls to gaol, Rep. and Est. No. 9, of 1846, which have been completed in a satis- factory manner. In consequence of the recommendations of a Board, which was appointed by Sir J. F. Davis, to make certain inquiries and suggestions regarding the gaols, for increasing the accommodation, improving the ventilation, supply of water, &c., a Report and Estimate, No. 4, of 1847, was prepared by me, embodying the whole of the propositions, and showing their cost of the same, would amount to 16347. 38. 4d. At this period the gaol was very crowded, and an expenditure of 637. 15s. Od. was sanctioned for the purpose of increasing the ventilation at once; and the report was transmitted for the consideration of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State, who, upon the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Jebb, directed further inquiries and examination of the gaol, and it appearing that all the services proposed were not then necessary. His Excellency S. G. Bonham, Esq., in Council, sanctioned the expenditure of 2081. 11s. 7d. for an additional washing-room, and the formation of a covered way to connect the gaols A and B, &c.; at the termination of the year 1157. had been expended upon the service. The gaol buildings sustained very little damage during the typhoon, the estimate of the same being 15. 17s. 5d.
It having been thought advisable, by his Excellency the Governor in Council, that Coolies for hire should be confined to particular districts in the town, and that suitable covered stands or buildings for that purpose should be erected, a Report and Estimate, No. 7, of 1847, was accordingly prepared for the same, and the work commenced upon in March last and com. pleted in June, the cost of the service being 1237. 5s. 2d.
Colonial Church. This building has not progressed so rapidly as was anticipated, much inconvenience and delay having been caused by the tardiness of the manufacturers of the windows, which have not even yet been received. It is much to be regretted that the funds
STATE OF HER MAJESTY'S COLONIAL POSSESSIONS.
9
for building have been found insufficient, the prices in the estimate having been originally framed too low by the late Surveyor-General, and it has therefore been found impossible to proceed with the tower above the ridge of the nave until more money is placed at the disposal of the trustees; from estimates I have lately made, the sum now required amounts to 8761. 17s. 4d. The church, however, has been so far completed that service may be performed therein if necessary, but the trustees think it better to defer the opening until the beginning of spring. The expenditure thereon during the year amounts to 38161. 17s. 4d.
The Miscellaneous work to Buildings comprises removal of stores and protection of buildings transferred to my charge, erection of flag-staff at Governor's residence, and pulling down the old Treasury for the preparation of the site for Government House; these services were authorized under Req. No. 47, of 1847, and 14, 16, 17, of 1848, and amount to 477. 14s. 8d.; of this amount, during the year, 247. 78. 11d. was paid. The final balance for the repair of police stations and guard-houses, repairs of 1847, Report and Estimate, No. 3, was paid, during this year, amount to 271. 1s. 8d. Additional room being required for the Governor's servants, a small bungalow, abandoned by the proprietor on lot No. 141, was repaired for that purpose, which cost 17. 15s. ld.
Some depredations were committed at the cemetery; the entrance gates and doors of the chapel were injured, the hinges stolen, &c.; these were repaired and replaced for the sum of 641. Os. 6d., Reg. No. 36. Ordinary repairs were effected to the bungalow on Hospital Hill upon its occupation by a new tenant, Reg. No. 48, 581. 6s. 8d.; the tenant expended about 1207., and abandoned the building after the typhoon of the 1st September, which stripped off a considerable portion of the roof-tiles, caused the failure of a portion of the stable wall, and other damages unnecessary to mention, which were estimated at 1157. 2s. 10d.
To the debtors' prison, magistracy, Sukunpu Police Station, Court-house, ordinary repairs were carried out for the sum of 267. 13s. 4d. The repairs to the residence of his Excellency the Governor during the year amounted to 14. 15s. 7d. The police stations at Sookewan and Stanley were improved and repaired to render the accommodation of the inmates more comfortable and healthy, roofs re-tiled, and floors ventilated, &c., estimated at 301. 158. 11d.; expended 147. 15s. 10d., Req. No. 12, of 1848.
Storm Repairs.-The island was visited by a storm or typhoon, as it is here called, which raged for five or six hours during the night of the 31st August and following morning. During the summer months heavy gales and storms always occur; but since the year 1841 nothing like the severity of the present one has been experienced, and, as might be expected, considerable damage was done to most of the houses in the town; some were entirely stripped of their tiles, walls injured, windows and venetians or jalousies blown in, and altogether the appearance of the town exhibited the terrible effects of the storm. The residence of his Excellency the Governor suffered as much as any in the town, but these repairs necessarily fell upon the landlord, as the house is not Government property. In the Report and Estimate relative to these damages the following are the amounts estimated for each colonial civil building-
Items
1. Governor's residence
2. Magistracy
3. Debtors' gaol
4. Gaols
5. Guard-house ditto
6. Supreme Court
7. Post Office
8. No. 1 Police Station
9. No. 2 ditto
10. Station Onch Bazaar
11. Station at the Gap
12. Bungalow on IIospital Hill
13. Cemetery Chapel
14. Harbour Master's
15. Harbour Master's boat-house
16. Government Offices (old), to sustain for a short period
17. Bungalow rear of ditto
+
18. Chinese Secretary's Office, estimate to pull down 19. Barrack at Aberdeen
£. 5. d.
15 6 6
14 18
1
8 19 11
6 17 6
6 19 1
9 7 11
25 16 6
22 1 10
39 12 11
0 16 6
264 2 1
115 2 10
36 1 2
44 4 4
3 12 9
3
2 10
3 2 4
4 17 2
12 6 11
Of these several items his Excellency the Governor decided no repairs should be executed on account of Nos. 1, 11, 14, 17, 18. The police station at the Gap was exceedingly damaged, the upper part of the east wall blown down, the north wall nearly destroyed, the whole of the tiles completely stripped off the roof, all the windows and venetians on the north and east sides broken to pieces, and, in fact, the whole a complete wreck; the inmates were obliged to abandon it during the storm, and as the site has generally been considered incon venient for a police station for the present requirements of the town, the repairs were disallowed, and arrangements made for locating the police elsewhere for the future; most of the doors, windows, and venetians, were removed and placed in store.
Item 14. Part of this disallowed, viz., for new topmast and repairs to flag-staff,
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HONG KONG.
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