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Enclosure
1.
Extract from the Hongkong Daily Presa
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26th February, 1923.
THE MILITARY LANDS QUESTION IN HONGKONG.
There is an important local matter which I feel you will expect me to refer to, and that is the question of the 'Military lands. Early in my speech 1- mentioned that land values had risen to jundreamt of heights owing to the steady influx of Chinese from the neighbouring kurteisees and to one other reason, which will now proceed to explain. The area in this island available for Commercial purposes is, as you well know, strictly limited-it has been added to from time Ito time by laborious and expensive re! clamations from the harbour and a new now in and extensive reclamation is progress. As this is the case it must be self evident that the best use should ba made of the space available for business purposes. And yet the Military establish- ments continue to occupy a large tract of the best commercial land in the Colony, dividing the Western from the Eastern districts, hampering free communications. and the natural development of the busi- ness area. It is well known that our Government has been for yeara past making efforts to remove this anomaly. There are plenty of better sites, belong- ing to the Colonial Government, avail- able where the troops could enjoy more healthy and spacious surroundings, but no settlement has yet been arrived at. I believe this is not due to lack of effort on the part of the Hongkong Government- or to obstruction by the local Military Authorities, who must be well aware that the present cramped situation of the garrison is detrimental to the health and efficiency of the troops. There is no! question of military strategy involved, yet the obstruction to the change comes from the War Office alone. I think it is time that the War Office realised that Hongkong does not exist solely in order to pay a military contribution of 20 per cent. of its revenue, and that if this senseless policy of obstruction and ham- pering of British trade and the natural development of the Colony is persisted in, it will become a question of whether the contribution can be justified any longer. (Hear, hear).
(367578) WC 20112 Gp. 140 60,000 11-22 W&S Ltd
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