Sessional_Paper_1912 — Page 52

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32. Four six-foot paths were constructed chiefly with local labour, connecting outlying villages to the main road at Tai Po-about 10 miles altogether at the cost of about $2,600. With the approaching completion of the railway in 1909, the survey of a road running through the Territory from Castlepeak Bay vid Au Tau, San Tin, Fan Ling, and Sha Tau Kok was in hand; the total length of this is 23.69 miles, of which about 18 were completed and in use at the end of 1911. The width of the road is 6 feet from Castlepeak to Pingshan, thenceforward 8 feet. This road traverses the North of the New Territories from East to West, crossing the railway at Fan Ling, and along the Eastern Section a light railway was constructed in the latter part of 1911, which if it proves successful may later be extended Westwards along the whole route. The usefulness and importance of the road in facilitating traffic and administration cannot be over-estimated.

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33. When the works now in progress are completed, the New Territories on the main- land will be linked by serviceable roads which can be easily patrolled in all weathers, and much impetus should be given to trade and traffic thereby. The want of telephone com- munications with the islands, which has been too large an undertaking to consider hitherto, is still felt from an administrative point of view: but fortunately their inhabitants are of peaceful and law-abiding nature, and serious crimes are very rare.

34. A further Police Station at Tsun Wan which had long been contemplated was commenced in 1910, and opened for use in July 1911.

35. Reference should be made to the construction of a Reservoir in a basin in the Kow- loon Hills, between the 5th and 6th milestone on the Tai Po Road, to provide an adequate water supply for Kowloon. The total capacity of this reservoir-one of the most import- ant and necessary factors in the development of the Kowloon Peninsula is 374 million gallons it was completed in 1910.

36. But the New Territories are still for the most part dependent upon their own public works, and most traffic passes along the numerous paths which intersect the hills and plains. The construction of most of these is of the simplest; and the most pretentious consist of granite slabs laid on raised pathways about three or four feet wide. Some new bridges have been constructed by various villages; and two notable old granite bridges, one of ten spans at Taipo, and the other of three spans a mile further up the valley, con- tinue to do good service. Good wells are found at all villages throughout the Territories, and a solid reservoir on a small scale has recently been built near Tai O, in Lantao, with some assistance from Government.

V-POLICE AND CRIME.

37. The most serious tasks which confronted the Police in the New Territories were the suppression of piracies at sea, and the establishment of peace and good order near the frontier. Two steam-launches were employed by the Police (until vessels could be built for them) to patrol the eastern and western waters of the New Territories, while a steam pinnace was acquired for the patrol of Mirs Bay from Tai Po. Piracy in the waters adja- cent to Hongkong had long been a remunerative pursuit, and in the first year of British rule in the New Territories, it continued to be rife: no less than five piracies on stean launches in British waters being reported during 1900. In consequence an Ordinance was passed compelling launch owners to take adequate steps for the protection of crews and passengers, and especially to prevent armed robbers from embarking under the guise of ordinary passengers. This measure proved successful, and serious piracies have from that time been of rare occurrence in British waters. Incursions of robbers from across the Nor thern frontier continued to occupy the attention of the Police for several years, and despite the friendly assistance of the Chinese authorities, they were not effectually checked until a blockhouse was established at Ta Ku Ling, close to the border, in January, 1905.

38. Gang robberies were frequent in the early years of the administration, and their prevention has always been rendered difficult, firstly by the reluctance of their victims to give evidence or tell the Police what they know of the matter, secondly by the timidity of the villagers who neither themselves resist nor venture to go to their neighbours' assistance.." and lastly by the convenient vicinity of Chinese territory. Of these difficulties the first is inseparable from British methods of law and justice, and neither magistrate, judge nor jury quite learn to appreciate how hard it is for the simple rustic to tell a plain unvarnished tale of such an exciting event as a robbery.