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CONVENTION-Secret)
Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong.
Appendix No. 1,
Whereas it has for many years past been recognized that an extension of Hong Kong territory is necessary for the proper defence and protection of the Colony:
It has now been agreed between the Governments of Great Britain and China that the limits of British territory shall be enlarged under lease to the extent indicated generally on the annexed map. The exact boundaries shall be hereafter fixed when proper surveys have been made by officials appointed by the two Governments. The term of this lease shall be 99 years.
It is at the same time agreed that within the City of Kowloon the Chinese officials now stationed there shall continue to exercise jurisdiction except so far as may be inconsistent with the military requirements for the defence of Hong Kong. Within the remainder of the newly leased territory Great Britain shall have sole jurisdiction. Chinese officials and people shall be allowed as heretofore to use the road from Kowloon to Hsinan.
It is further agreed that the existing landing place near Kowloon City shall be reserved for the convenience of Chinese men-of-war, merchant and passenger vessels, which may come and go and lie there at their pleasure; and for the convenience of movement of the officials and people within the city.
When hereafter China constructs a railway to the boundary of the Kowloon terri- tory under British control, arrangements shall be discussed.
It is further understood that there will be no expropriation or expulsion of the inhabitants of the district included within the extension, and that if land is required for public offices, fortifications, or the like official purposes, it shall be bought at a fair price. If cases of extradition of criminals occur, they shall be dealt with in accordance with the existing treaties between Great Britain and China and the Hong Kong Regulations.
The area leased to Great Britain, as shown on the annexed map, includes the waters of Mirs Bay and Deep Bay, but it is agreed that Chinese vessels of war, whether neutral or otherwise, shall retain the right to use those waters.
This Convention shall come into force on the 1st day of July, 1898, being the 13th day of the 5th moon of the 24th year of Kuang-Hsu. It shall be ratified by the Sove- reigns of the two countries, and the ratifications shall be exchanged in London as soon as possible.
In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present agreement.
Done at Peking in quadruplicate (4 copies in English and 4 in Chinese) the 9th day of June in the year of our Lord, 1898, being the 21st day of the 4th moon of the 24th year of Kuang-Hsu.
Comel - De Horsey
(Sd.) (Sd.)
CLAUDE M. MACDONALD,
LI (HUNG-CHANG).
IISU (YING-KUEI).
TryAn
Appendix No. 1a.
Rue. Repaton the HARBOURS IN MIRS BAY.
(L. S.)
Seal of
Tsungli Yamen.
ini Secretary.
Starling Inlet. Good anchorage in 4 fms. Head of bay too shallow for purposes of navigation. If road be brought down to either side of bay on parallel 114° 14' 30" E. ships drawing 21 feet of water could lie alongside a short pier.
2. Crooked Harbour. Good protected anchorages in 6 to 7 fms. Useful only 3. Double Haven. for fishing requirements.
4. Anchorage under Pingchau Island. Good anchorage in 7 fms., but much taken up with fishing stakes and unimportant for line of communication.
route.
5. Plover Cove. Very good anchorage in all weathers in 43 fms., but out of trade
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6. Tolo Harbour. Like Starling Inlet, too shallow at head of bay for purposes of navigation, although there is a boat channel, which; if-marked out, will take small junks up to town. Anchorage on 4 fms. line. Suitable for shipping; whichever side of bay road is made it should be brought out on parallel 114° 11′ 45′′ E., in order to allow of vessels lying alongside a pier in 21 feet.
7. Tide Cove. Communication by small junks or light launches at high water to top of bay. Sampans at low. Anchorage in 3 fmus. Protected in all winds. Dis- tance from head of bay 3 miles. Important as being the closest by land to Kowloon.
8. Long Harbour. Good anchorage in 7 to 8 fms. More suitable for a military ⚫ than a mercantile port.
9. Port Shelter. Good anchorage for any size of ships. Chiefly useful as being deep close to shore, and divided from Tseung Kwan O by a small neck of land 4 mile wide.
10. Rocky Harbour. Unimportant, being out of me of communication.
Report on the Geoppendix Nowher
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The geological formation of this territory is simple, granitic trappean and meta- morphic rocks largely predominating, the only stratified rocks which are found belong- ing to the hypozoic period. There are in places evidences of volcanic action, but of a very remote period, while the granitic and trappean rocks are very prominent every where. The hills facing Hong Kong are chiefly of granite, of which many varieties occur, from a fine close-grained felspathic white rock and a pink coloured granite like that of Aberdeen, to a very coarse porphyritic granite. Kaolin probably exists, but I did not come on any defined beds of it, though told that it was to be found near the west point of Castle Peak Bay. Syenite is common and of very good quality, a dark, highly crystalline variety, in many cases the large distinct crystals of hornblende being well shown.
The bold and rocky east coast shows some very characteristic cliffs of columnar basalt, and blocks of this, an almost black and highly crystalline rock, are largely used for bridging streams inland.
Further inland other trap rocks appear, while some of the islands in Mirs Bay show very distinctly the terraced and step-like appearance of these formations. The more compact and crystalline varieties seem to predominate, though tráp tuffs and claystone porphyries are not absent. Specimens of basalts, greenstones, and felspar porphyries were numerous.
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It is extremely difficult in such a country as I have described, where the varieties of trap rocks are so numerous and so mixed up with rocks of the granitic system, to say what other rocks may not exist. One thing is certain, there is everywhere an abun- dance of the best building material, and for road macadamizing nothing could surpass the hard basalts.
In one or two places I came on distinctly stratified rocks, of a hard, crystalline, close-grained variety, dark grey or bluish grey in colour, which I would call syenitic gneiss.
Pure quartz rock is uncommon, though in places distinct out-crops of quartzite were to be seen. I saw no mica schists, and except in the pure granites mica is not to be seen.
Talc also is absent, but hornblende appears everywhere, and I should say chlorite schists, hornblende schists, and actynolite schists are fairly common.
I saw no limestone, all lime used in buildings being obtained from the burning of coral or oyster shells.
The lower hills between the mountain ranges are of laterite, rounded or conical in shape, and well covered with vegetation, combining to form the extremely picturesque scenery usually associated with such formations. The richly cultivated valleys lying between, formed by the denudation of the surrounding mountains, seem in most cases to have a few feet of good soil overlying laterite; some excavations, as in wells, showed this distinctly. The laterite is what would be called a coarse cabook in Ceylon, fit for cutting out in blocks for building purposes. This is extremely like the disintegrated granite of Hong Kong, but contains more silicate of alumina and oxide of iron, the latter showing in large nodules.
Some excellent pottery clay exists on the slopes of TM Shau, of which we saw specimens in the village of Un-iu, of a light brown colour and extremely fine texture. Brick clay is found in all the valleys, and is used in the form of large sun-dried bricks in many of the village houses and walls.
Possibly beds of primary limestone will be found, but the lime obtained by the
Taimisshis
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