CO129-604-2 Crown Leases 23-2-1948 - 6-11-1948 — Page 37

Wt. 49614/485 3/46 50m. S. & S. Ltd.

0.

Mr..

Mr...

Mr....

Mr.

Mr...

Code

37

Sir S. Caine

4/5

Infidchoshan 13/5 1. Bundle 375

at once

Parly. U.S. of S.

C

Il Sent 14/5.

14A 1948

Secretary of State.

No.

542

DRAFT

TELEGRAM

GOVERNOR,

(1)

HONG KONG.

FURTHER ACTION.

Referred in (1)

February.

Your despatch No.38 of the 23rd

Renewal terms for holders of

certain Crown leases.

Paragraph 4 of statement dealing

with Crown rent gives two bases for

assessment which are prima facie

contradictory. I assume, however, from

paragraph 6 of your despatch that it is, in

fact, intended to charge Crown rent at the

conventional rate normally charged by

Government for new leases in the same

district and not on the alternative basis

of the full and fair value of the land. O

Indeed, it is difficult to reconcile the

neural basis of full and fair value for land with

the proposal in paragraph 5 for charging a

premium also based on current land values,

since that would appear to be charging for

the value of the land itself twice over.

2. I take it, therefore, that the

operative proposal is to charge a rent in

accordance with current practice at a

conventional figure and require payment of