684754-1880-Meeting-of-Council-of-10th-September-Subjects--Estimates-City-Hall- — Page 5

694 THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 11TH SEPTEMBER, 1880.

"3.-I would also be glad to be favoured with instructions as to whether I am to design houses "for the Assistant Masters upon the School grounds themselves, as recommended in the last paragraph "of Mr. STEWART's letter.--I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient Servant,

"Colonial Secretary."

"J. M. PRICE,

"Surveyor General,

I need not

(C Honourable W. H. Marsh,

Enclosed in the Surveyor General's letter was the correspondence with Dr. STEWART. trouble you with that correspondence. I will lay it upon the table. It simply consists of a letter addressed by Mr. PRICE to my honourable friend Dr. STEWART, asking what number of pupils the school should be designed for, and the reply. When the papers came before me I saw, no doubt, the effect of the raising of the number of pupils from 500 to 700,-500 being the figure mentioned by Sir ARTHUR KENNEDY and approved by the Government, and for which the Surveyor General had from time to time said this piece of ground which had been secured would be sufficient, and seeing that number was raised to 700, I had to consider how far that would interfere with my minute that the Plans and Estimates should be prepared. However, having carefully considered it, here is the minute I made on the 9th May, 1879:-

"No doubt, to provide accommodation for 700 instead of 500, and to build houses for the "Assistant Masters, will not diminish the cost of the new School, but as I am anxious to meet Mr. "STEWART's views in all arrangements relating to the Central School, let the Plans and Estimates

be prepared in accordance with his wishes.

"J. POPE HENNESSY."

I find that was minuted by the chief clerk, Mr. WODEHOUSE, on the 10th May, "to the Surveyor General for his guidance." It was noted by the Surveyor General. I left the Colony on the 31st May, and nine days after I left the Colony the Surveyor General proposed to the Administrator, Mr. MARSH, to reverse my decision. I make no remark on the course Mr. MARSH took in doing so beyond this, that I have no doubt he did what he conceived to be his duty, and that though I had twice directed the Plans and Estimates to be prepared before leaving for Japan, in one minute saying, "Let them be prepared at once," nevertheless, when in the month of June, during my absence, an application was made by the Surveyor General to Mr. MARSH to postpone the Central School and the Gaol on the separate system, Mr. MARSH approved of that postponement. By the time the letter of the 9th June from the Surveyor General, proposing to postpone these works, came into the Colonial Secretary's Office, my honourable friend Dr. STEWART, Head master of the Central School, had been appointed by me to be Acting Colonial Secretary, and he therefore saw the letter of the Surveyor General and upon it he made this very sensible remark :-

"Speaking of the Central School, as the Plans would go home for approval, it will, on this "proposal, be next spring before anything can be done; and I suppose the same holds good for the "others.

"Submitted.

"F. STEWART.

"L Acting Colonial Secretary.

But in that letter of the Surveyor General, though the Administrator thought fit to reverse my decision, the Surveyor General stated the case, at all events as far as language went, very strongly indeed, for this is what he said :-

"SURVEYOR GENERAL'S OFFICE, "9th June, 1879.

SIR,With reference to any delays that may have lately arisen, or that may yet arise, during "this monsoon, in the despatch of public business in this Department, and in explanation of what may appear a want of promptness on my part in attending to the every-day official matters referred "to me by Government, it is my duty to bring to the notice of His Excellency the Administrator the "extraordinarily heavy press of work under which the Public Works' Staff is labouring at the present "moment in connection with the Praya works."

The whole of the letter will be laid before you. It concludes thus:-

"In consequence therefore of what I have set forth, I would request you to move His Excellency "the Administrator to be good enough to approve of my postponing the elaboration of the Ceutral "School, Hospital, and Stone Cutters' Island Gaol projects until the expiration of the typhoon scase "in September next, wheu, public anxiety being allayed, I may relax the pressure under which the Praya reconstruction is being carried on, and thus be enabled to turn my undivided attention to "the other works just enumerated. I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient Servant,

(

"Honourable F. STEWART,

Acting Colonial Secretary.”

"J. M. PRICE,

“Surveyor Generad