CO129-347 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1908 [4-6] — Page 581

OP Y.

Hon. C.S.,

C.O.

27207

Pers

R 27 JUL 08.

I submit the following observations in

support of my proposal that a second Assistant Director of

Public Works should be appointed.

I would preface them by stating that it

578

is true that the Colony is of small size but it includes a City

of about 200,000 inhabitants whilst the Kowloon Peninsula (area

about 34 square miles) contains over 80,000 inhabitants at the

present time and is rapidly developing into a large town. The

census for 1906 gives a total population of 413,500 for the

entire Colony.

There is no municipality whatever and all

duties of a municipal nature devolve upon the Public Works

Department. Not only do the works coming within the scope of

the Department embrace those usually met with in any district,

namely, public buildings, roads and bridges, water, sewerage and

drainage works, but they also include sea-walls, piers, harbour

works, lighthouses and a considerablesystem of telephones and

telegraphs. The last-mentioned item includes sex-cables of 34

and 34 miles in length respectively to Gap Rock and Waglan

Lighthouses. In addition to all this, the control of all build-

-ing operations throughout the Colony is vested in the Director

of Public Works as Building Authority, under an elaborate Public

Health