CO129-285 - Acting Governor Major Gen Black - 1898 [9-10] — Page 362

COPY.

sir,

ENCLOSURE 5

F

355

20014

Mest C NOV DE

Hong-Kong, 23rd. August, 1

1898.

We beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of

the 5th, instant, stating that it had been decided provisionally

by the Right Hon. the Secretary of State that in future no

lease in the Colony should he granted for periods longer than

75 or at the outside 99 years (suitable provision being made

so that the Crown should not at the expiration of the lease

confiscate the whole value of the tenant's improvements), and

asking us to give briefly our views on the proposed change.

The leases hitherto granted by the Crown have

been for 999 years, which to all intents and purposes may be

considered free-hold. The change to the short period of 75

years would in our opinion have the effect of considerably re-

ducing the value of land offered for sale and of causing a

considerable increase in house rents on such property, neces-

sitated in order that landlords might be in a position to re-

coup themselves for the future loss of capital and the parti-

al confiscation of improvements. We belive also that the reve-

nue of the Colony would suffer materially by the reduced re-

ceipts from sales of land and from diminished Crown Rents.

Hon. R. D. Ormsby,

We

Director of Public Works.