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is shoaling rapidly owing to the accumulation of earth washed down from the hills through a nullah which enters the harbour at that part. The proposal was declined because expensive reclamation works are required before the site offered in exchange would be fully available, and the Admiralty were not prepared to apply to Parliament for the money necessary to make the reclamation, to erect the new buildings, and to remove the machinery, and establish the yard on the proposed site.
6. Sir H. Holland, however, understands that if the Colonial Government were willing, at their own cost, to undertake the transfer of the machinery and establishment, making all necessary works, and erecting buildings of the same capacity and character as now exist in the present yard, the Admiralty might be disposed to surrender the present yard and buildings in exchange for the proposed site at Kowloon, with the new buildings and other works to be effected as above mentioned.
7. Such an arrangement, however, between the Admiralty and the colony would not, under existing circumstances, be acceptable to the War Office if the colony desired to build over the site of the naval yard, and would, doubtless, not be entertained by the colony if they were not at liberty to make free use of that site and of any land reclaimed from the harbour. It is, therefore, suggested that the colony might seek to acquire some portion, at least, of the military buildings situated between the Queen's Road and the harbour.
8. The naval yard is flanked on one side by the North Barracks and on the other by the commissariat buildings, the three together forming a large block of land of great value. The two military portions would fetch a high price in the market, possibly sufficient for erecting elsewhere new barracks and other buildings in place of the North Barracks and commissariat buildings, as well as the additional barracks which will be required for the increase in the garrison which is contemplated. It might, it seems to Sir H. Holland, be possible for an agreement to be come to between the War Office and the colony, by which the former, instead of selling these two sites, might arrange to hand them over to the colony in return for the erection of barracks and other buildings at suitable places higher up the hill, the colony being required to expend, unless the work could be done for less, a sum equal to the value of the sites of North Barracks and commissariat buildings, as ascertained beforehand by agreement or arbitration, after allowing for the value of any site which the colony may have to provide outside the War Department lands.
9. Sir H. Holland has been informed, though the Governor has not yet made any report upon the subject, that a scheme is on foot in the colony for an extended reclamation in the western portion of the harbour, commencing it is said in the neighbourhood of Belcher's Point and ending at the Government Wharf (Murray Pier), near the North Barracks. If any scheme of this nature is to be carried out at the present time it would necessarily postpone for some time the removal of the naval yard and the North Barracks and commissariat buildings as above suggested; but if the Secretary of State for War is disposed to entertain the question of such removal, it would be desirable that the Governor should be made aware of the possibility of such an arrangement being made in the future.
10. I am accordingly to ask that Sir H. Holland may be favoured with the observations of the Secretary of State for War upon the subjects referred to in this letter.
I am, &c.,
The Under Secretary of State,
War Office.
JOHN BRAMSTON.
War Office to Colonial Office.
War Office,
20th January 1888.
I have the honour, by direction of the Secretary of State for War, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 16th instant, respecting the proposed extension of the Hong Kong Praya, which shall receive attention. A further communication will be addressed to you on the subject.
8
1100
The Under Secretary of State,
Colonial Office, S.W.
I have, &c.,
RALPH THOMPSON.
19
Captain Superintendent, Pembroke Dock, to Admiralty.
Extension of Praya Wall, Hong Kong. Result of Committee Meeting at Colonial Office, on the 9th January 1888.
Her Majesty's Dockyard, Pembroke Dock,
11th January 1888.
8
1187
Sir,
1. I have to report, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that in compliance with their directions expressed in your letters of the 4th and 5th instant, D.W. 4275 and 4278, I attended at the Colonial Office at 3.0 p.m., on Monday the 9th, and met there Mr. Bramston, of the Colonial Office, Sir G. Phillippo, Chief Justice of Hong Kong, and Colonel Locock, R.E., representing the War Office.
2. Sir G. Phillippo opened the discussion by stating that the population of Hong Kong was so rapidly increasing, that on sanitary and commercial grounds the Colonial authorities at Hong Kong were of opinion that at no distant date it would be necessary to move to other suitable sites the naval and military establishments, now occupying a central position on the sea front, and, therefore, interrupting the traffic from east to west.
3. I pointed out that, from a naval point of view, the building of the proposed Praya wall across the sea front of the dockyard would be most inconvenient, and would much impair the efficiency of the yard, except on the amended plan proposed by Sir William Dowell, K.C.B., in his letter, dated Amoy, 5th May 1884; and further, that the naval yards should be laterally extended by the War Department handing over to the Admiralty the North Barracks, now occupied by the Royal Artillery.
4. Colonel Locock, R.E., stated that there would be no objection on the part of the War Department to handing over the North Barracks, or such portion of the ground as the Admiralty might require, provided Lots No. 21 and 22, and another Lot east of the commissariat buildings, were handed over to the War Department by the colony, and the Admiralty paid the necessary money for acquiring the site, and erecting the buildings, &c.
5. The Chief Justice, on the other hand, was decidedly of opinion that it was necessary for the colony that the North Barracks, naval yard, and at least as far as Wellington Barracks on the sea front of the Queen's Road, should be handed over to the colony, with no restrictions as to the purposes the land might be used for. If this were agreed to, he would be prepared to recommend to the Colonial Government that the land at Kowloon, as per plans enclosed in the Surveyor-General's letter of 5th March 1887, should be reclaimed, and the necessary barracks, buildings, storehouses, sheds, factory, and the machinery placed therein as now in the naval yard at Hong Kong, should be erected thereon, and handed over to the Admiralty free of all costs, in exchange.
6. Sir G. Phillippo, in the course of his remarks, stated he believed that a new scheme had been started, and that it had the approval of the Local Government, which is to extend the present Praya wall from Belcher's Bay to Murray Pier (a point immediately west of the North Barracks) for a considerable distance into the sea, I believe about 100 yards. Should this be finally carried out, Sir George was of opinion that for the present the available money of the colony would be exhausted, and the proposed extension of the Praya eastward, past the naval and military establishments, would not at present be proceeded with; firstly, for want of funds; secondly, that sufficient land for immediate wants would be made available by the reclamation.
7. I would point out, for their Lordships' consideration, that if this latter scheme is carried out, I am of opinion the silting up of the sea front of the naval yard, which has been going on for years, and has already proved of considerable inconvenience to the naval Service, would be very much accelerated, as the new Praya wall would interrupt the little tide which now assists in clearing away a portion of the large amount of debris that in rainy seasons is washed down from the hill sides, and silts up the sea front of this part of the harbour.
8. My letter, dated the 15th of March 1887, to the Commander-in-Chief in China, and which is within the enclosed papers, gives plainly my opinion on the subject of the removal of the naval yard to Kowloon, and its advantages; this, taken with the knowledge that it seems next to impossible to extend the yard in its present position, and if some arrangement is not soon agreed upon, that in a short time the land now offered at Kowloon may not be available, except at an enormous cost, I would...
1
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18
is shoaling rapidly owing to the accumulation of earth washed down from the hills through a nullah which enters the harbour at that part. The proposal was declined because expensive reclamation works are required before the site offered in exchange would be fully available, and the Admiralty were not prepared to apply to Parliament for the money necessary to make the reclamation, to erect the new buildings, and to remove the machinery, and establish the yard on the proposed site.
6. Sir H. Holland, however, understands that if the Colonial Government were willing, at their own cost, to undertake the transfer of the machinery and establishment, making all necessary works, and erecting buildings of the same capacity and character as now exist in the present yard, the Admiralty might be disposed to surrender the present yard and buildings in exchange for the proposed site at Kowloon, with the new buildings and other works to be effected as above mentioned.
7. Such an arrangement, however, between the Admiralty and the colony would not, under existing circumstances, be acceptable to the War Office if the colony desired to build over the site of the naval yard, and would, doubtless, not be entertained by the colony if they were not at liberty to make free use of that site and of any land reclaimed from the harbour. It is, therefore, suggested that the colony might seek to acquire some portion, at least, of the military buildings situated between the Queen's Road and the harbour.
8. The naval yard is flanked on one side by the North Barracks and on the other by the commissariat buildings, the three together formning a large block of land of great value. The two military portions would fetch a high price in the market, possibly sufficient for erecting elsewhere now barracks and other buildings in place of the North Barracks and commissariat buildings, as well as the additional barracks which will be required for the increase in the garrison which is contemplated. It might, it seems to Sir H. Holland, be possible for an agreement to be come to between the War Office and the colony, by which the former, instead of selling these two sites, might arrange to hand them over to the colony in return for the erection of barracks and other buildings at suitable places higher up the hill, the colony being required to expend, unless the work could be done for less, a sum equal to the value of the sites of North Barracks and commissariat buildings, as ascertained beforehand by agree- ment or arbitration, after allowing for the value of any site which the colony may have to provide outside the War Department lands.
9. Sir H. Holland has been informed, though the Governor has not yet made any report upon the subject, that a scheme is on foot in the colony for an extended reclamation in the western portion of the harbour, commencing it is said in the neighbourhood of Belcher's Point and ending at the Government Wharf (Murray Pier), near the North Barracks. If any scheme of this nature is to be carried out at the present time it would necessarily postpone for some time the removal of the naval yard and the North Barracks and commissariat buildings as above suggested; but if the Secretary of State for War is disposed to entertain the question of such removal, it would be desirable that the Governor should be made aware of the possibility of such an arrangement being made in the future.
10. I am accordingly to ask that Sir H. Holland may be favoured with the observations of the Secretary of State for War upon the subjects referred to in this letter.
I am, &c.,
The Under Secretary of State,
Sir,
War Office.
JOHN BRAMSTON.
War Office to Colonial Office.
War Office,
20th January 1888.
I have the honour, by direction of the Secretary of State for War, to acknowledge Hong Kong the receipt of your letter of the 16th instant, respecting the proposed extension of the Hong Kong Praya, which shall receive attention. A further communication will be addressed to you on the subject.
8
1100
The Under Secretary of State,
Colonial Office, S.W.
I have, &c.,
RALPH THOMPSON.
19
Captain Superintendent, Pembroke Dock, to Admiralty.
Extension of Praya Wail, Hong Kong. Result of Committee Meeting at Colonial
Office, on the 9th January 1888.
Her Majesty's Dockyard, Pembroke Dock,
11th January 1888.
8
1187
Sir,
1. I have to report, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of the Hong Kong Admiralty, that in compliance with their directions expressed in your letters of the 4th and 5th instant, D.W. 4275 and 4278, I attended at the Colonial Office at 30 p.m., on Monday the 9th, and met there Mr. Bramston, of the Colonial Office, Sir G. Phillippo, Chief Justice of Hong Kong, and Colonel Locock, R.E., representing the War Office.
2. Sir G. Phillippo opened the discussion by stating that the population of Hong Kong was so rapidly increasing, that on sanitary and commercial grounds the Colonial authorities at Hong Kong were of opinion that at no distant date it would be necessary to move to other suitable sites the naval and military establishments, now occupying a central position on the sea front, and, therefore, interrupting the traffic from east to west.
3. I pointed out that, from a naval point of view, the building of the proposed Praya wall across the sea front of the dockyard would be most inconvenient, and would much impair the efficiency of the yard, except on the amended plan proposed by Sir William Dowell, K.C.B., in his letter, dated Amoy, 5th May 1884; and further, that the naval yards should be laterally extended by the War Department handing over to the Admiralty the North Barracks, now occupied by the Royal Artillery.
4. Colonel Locock, R.E., stated that there would be no objection on the part of the War Department to banding over the North Barracks, or such portion of the ground as the Admiralty might require, provided Lots No. 21 and 22, and another Lot east of the commissariat buildings, were handed over to the War Department by the colony, and the Admiralty paid the necessary money for acquiring the site, and erecting the buildings, &c.
5. The Chief Justice, on the other hand, was decidedly of opinion that it was necessary for the colony that the North Barracks, naval yard, and at least as far as Wellington Barracks on the sea front of the Queen's Road, should be handed over to the colony, with no restrictions as to the purposes the land might be used for. If this were agreed to, he would be prepared to recommend to the Colonial Government that the land at Kowloon, as per plans enclosed in the Surveyor-General's letter of 5th March 1887, should be reclaimed, and the necessary barracks, buildings, storehouses, sheds, factory, and the machinery placed therein as now in the naval yard at Hong Kong, should be erected thereon, and handed over to the Admiralty free of all costs, in exchange.
6. Sir G. Phillippo, in the course of his remarks, stated he believed that a new scheme had been started, and that it had the approval of the Local Government, which is to extend the present Prays wall from Beleber's Bay to Murray Pier (a point immediately west of the North Barracks) for a considerable distance into the sea, I believe about 100 yards. Should this be finally carried out, Sir George was of opinion that for the present the available money of the colony would be exhausted, and the proposed extension of the Praya castward, past the naval and military establishments, would not at present be proceeded with; firstly, for want of funds; secondly, that sufficient land for immediate wants would be made available by the reclamation.
7. I would point out, for their Lordships' consideration, that if this latter scheme is carried out, I am of opinion the silting up of the sea frout of the naval yard, which has been going on for years, aud has already proved of considerable inconvenience to the naval Service, would be very much accelerated, as the new Praya wall would interrupt the little tide which now assists in clearing away a portion of the large amount of debris that in rainy seasons is washed down from the hill sides, and silts up the sea front of this part of the harbour.
8. My letter, dated the 15th of March 1887, to the Commander-in-Chief in China, and which is within the enclosed papers, gives plaiuly my opinion on the subject of the removal of the naval yard to Kowloon, and its advantages; this, taken with the knowledge that it seems next to impossible to extend the yard in its present position, and if some arrangement is not soon agreed upon, that in a short time the land now enormous cost, I would offered at Kowloon may not be available, except at an
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