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of a site for the building or that a site of that value was other- -wise acquired. The only suitable central site that could be found is the one in Bridges Street which forms the subject of this Despatch. This land was, however, valued by the Director of Public Works at 85 per square foot or $67,260 and in addition it was
necessary to spend a further sum of $9,000 for the removal of a latrine on the site. The members and supporters of the Chinese Young Men's Christian Association have not been able to raise so
large a sum.
3.
capable of being a
The Institution, under proper supervision, is useful means of providing healthy recreation and certain educational facilities for a large section of the Chinese youth of the Colony; and is one which may in my opinion be encouraged. I have, therefore, with the advice of the Executive
Council, to recommend that, in the special circumstances of the
case, the land for the site be sold without auction at half its
estimated value.
I attach for your information a copy of the
Constitution of the Chinese Young Men's Christian Association,
which was dram up principally at the instance of Sir F. Lugard
with the object of eliminating a certain political tendency in
this Association, to which I had frequently drawn his attention
before my departure for Fiji. You will observe that the Constitu-
-tion provides for a supervising board upon which a Government
Official has a seat. I have nominated the Secretary for Chinese
Affairs for that seat.
4.
Regarding the first and second of the special provisoes which it is proposed to insert in the Crown Lease, if you approve of the sale of the Crown Land, I have to
explain that for some reason which I confess I am unable to
understand Sir Kai Ho Kai had proposed to my predecessor that part
of the grant of $75,000 gold should be spent on an adjunct building to be erected in Kowloon for the purpose of Technical Instruction in Mechanical and Practical Engineering and some other
subjects, to be given to Chinese in the Chinese language. This
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