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Lest you may not thoroughly understand the purpose of this survey as well as the good intentions that have actuated the Government, and thereby be filled with doubts and apprehensions leading to trouble and disturbance, this notice is issued for your information.

Landlords and others within the New Territory are hereby notified that, in accordance with the orders of His Excellency the Governor, British and Indian survey-officers have arrived in Hongkong and will shortly commence to make the survey.

When the survey officers are working in your neighbourhood, you gentry and people should, with due consideration for the good intentions of His Excellency the Governor, strive to assist the surveyors and in no way obstruct or molest them. Whenever such survey officers have any question to ask, you should answer them truthfully. All marks put up during the survey should in no case be removed. If any one dares to disobey he shall be severely punished without leniency.

Dated this 21st day of November, 1898.

Appendix No. XV.

Brief Report on Commencement of Survey Operations in the New Territory.

PRELIMINARY.

ARRIVAL OF SURVEYOR.

Having been appointed to take charge of the survey operations I sailed from Calcutta on the 3rd October, and landed in Hongkong on the 19th of the same month. I was joined by Mr. NEWLAND, the second survey officer, with a small staff of Indian trained surveying coolies, and surveyors, who landed in the Colony

on the 1st of November.

The Cadastral Survey was first put in hand. By the 8th Mr. NEWLAND had set the Indian surveyors at work to traverse the limits of the cultivated areas in that portion of the Hongkong District which is situated on the mainland.

TRAVERSE SYSTEM AS PRACTISED IN INDIA.

The system adopted was that practised in the Indian Cadastral Surveys. Traverses were run by means of theodolites, for the angular, and chains for the linear measurements, in order to provide suitable blocks for the Detail Surveyors who were being recruited in India through the Imperial Survey Department. As the contract system for the detail surveys had been adopted it was necessary that skeleton plots should be ready by the time the Detail Surveyors lauded in the Colony. In order to insure these being in readiness the triangulation on which the Cadastral and Topographical Surveys are based was allowed to remain in abeyance for a time.

DETAIL SURVEYS.

The Detail Surveyors landed at the end of the month of November. Mr. NEWLAND had thus barely three weeks' start, but owing to the advantage that had been taken of this short period, a sufficient number of plots were completed, and ready for the Detail Surveyors who were thus enabled to commence their work (without undue delay) on the scale of 16 inches to a mile.

TRIANGULATION AND TOPOGRAPHY,

The triangulation was taken up in December. A base had been laid down and measured, and a connection was made with the Kowloon Obstory. The Spheroidal Coordinates of this point being known, those of the tion, when complete, will be referable to the value of the Kow Jongkong)

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