CO129-449 - Governor Sir May & Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1918 [7-9] — Page 281

Endesure.

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drainage area, unsuitability for building purposes, or to occupation by Naval and Military Authorities or large Commercial Firms, could be utilised for the purpose the Government had in view.

letter of which

Sir Robert thereupon addressed to me the enclose a copy to which I caused the reply

of the 9th. of May to be addressed to Mr. Ho Wing, son of Sir Robert Ho Tung, in the absence of the latter. The Coloni-

-al Secretary has now received a letter, copy enclosed, from Mr. Ho Wing in which he states that the result of a valua-

-tion of 3 leading firms of architects in the Colony is to place the value of the property at $150,000 with 10% addition

for compulsory purchase making a total of $165,000 with

valuers' fees and legal expenses.

3.

I have had the property valued by the Public Works Department and the value put upon it is 869,000; while Mr. Shelton Hooper, an independent valuer employed by the Government, puts the value for compulsory purchase at

354,725.00. I attach copy of this valuation. Mr. Shelton

Hooper was apparently unaware of the intention of the owner

to build on the site or of his refusal of the offer made to

him for the property.

4.

I am extremely mxious to acquire this

site for the erection of Government quarters. There is no

other site in the Hill District comparable to it for the

purpose and to the Government for this purpose it is worth

almost any price as I will show later.

On the other hand I am for political

reasons particularly anxious to avoid going to arbitration

over the property and resorting to the compulsory powers which I am advised the law gives for the acquisition of the property, although Sir Robert Ho Tung would have no legiti- -mate grievance if this course were adopted for he possesses already 3 houses quite close to the "Homestead" site in

which