684481-1880-Report-of-the-Supt-of-Gardens-and-Plantations- — Page 2

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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 31ST JULY, 1880.

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This necessary change will not affect your position in the Government service nor in any detract from it, the only difference being that on your return you will transact your official busines with myself exclusively, in lieu of the Committee, which is now about to cease to exist.

Yours &c.,

(Signed) J. M. PRICE,

Surveyor General

7. This was the first intimation which I had of the proposed change in management. As it only a few days before my departure for England, I did not make any observations in reference to it but during my stay in England I did make representations objecting to my being subordinated to the Surveyor General, as I knew that it would be detrimental to true botanical and arboricultural progress, opinions which were endorsed by Sir JOSEPH HOOKER, who, from his very extensive knowledge i experience in this and kindred subjects, is probably the best authority from whom to seek advice. 1 need hardly say that, after a most conscientious and devoted application to my duties here, I felt ally very much pained and disappointed at the apparent want of appreciation of my services, especiall as the proposed change, so far as I could see, could result in no other good than the gratifying of M PRICE'S ambition.

person-

8. In consequence of His Excellency the Governor's wise policy, I was much gratified and couraged to find that the Botanical Gardens were, on the 15th of last March, again restored to the charge of the Superintendent in a more complete and useful way than they ever were before, a tru-! which it has been, and will be my endeavour to discharge to the utmost of my ability while I retain the direction of its business.

9. Since the gardens were constituted a separate department, impedimer.ts to progress, such a existed in correspondence and the ordinary business transactions, have been removed, and in consequence of this more time has been available-instead of less, as was anticipated by Mr. PRICE would be the result in consequence of the additional work of a clerical nature which would fall upon me-for botanical investigation and garden management, besides the freedom which my mind has received from the improved systems which have been inaugurated.

II.-FOREST MANAGEMENT.

10. In reference to the above, I will most respectfully beg to have the honour of being permitted to commence by commenting on the Report on Tree Planting which Mr. PRICE addressed to His Ex- cellency the Governor on the 28th August, 1877, because, on this information, and recommendations contained in the report, it would appear that the more extended forest works which were commencesl last year were partly based, and, before entering upon fresh operations, it is necessary to remove some false impressions and conclusions which have been arrived at.

11. Mr. PRICE was not responsible for the tree-planting-as will be seen by a reference to rule No. 7 of Sir ARTHUR KENNEDY's instructions in C.S.O. No. 3602 of 1873-from the date of his arrival in Hongkong until February 1877, when I temporarily vacated the charge, and, in consequence, Mr. PRICE was only in possession of such information and statistics as were gathered from my Report Gardens and Tree Planting, which was forwarded, through Mr. PRICE'S office, for the information of the Governor, on the 21st December, 1876, which ilis Excellency Sir ARTHUR KENNEDY desired Mr. PRICE to acknowledge and thank me for. Therefore, as many of Mr. PRICE'S calculations and con- clusions must have been mere speculations, in consequence of his not being in possession of statistics on some subjects which it was not necessary should appear in my report, it is not surprising that some of them should have been rather wide of the mark, and probably some of the figures which differ from my returns may have been accidentally changed. Some of the insignificant errors of routine work it is not necessary to refer to.

12. For the more ready comparison of the report, I will place side by side what is necessary t quote from the report, aud iny opinions on the quotations:-

Quotations from Mr. Price's Report.

Paragraph No. 11.

Corrections based on Recorded Statistics

and Experience.

Extract of Table in C. FORD's Report.

"Trees planted from 1873 to 1877.

China Firs,

.55,849

"China Pines,......

.39.049

Bombax,

2,330

Bombax,

2,330

Moreton Bay Chestnuts,

1,050

Moreton Bay Chestnuts,

1,030

Banyans and India Sailbers,

3,039

Casuarinas,

Ficus Retusa, and F. Wightiam,

2,691

1,087

Casuarinas,

Australian Gums,

1,077

500

Blue Gums,

500

Bamboos,

1,200

Bamboos,

1,160

Miscellaneous,

.11,400

Miscellaneous,

11,175

76,455"

59,032 "