Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/140

132 authorities whereby the one on Waglan Island was ct>nstiucted by ths Imperial Maritime Customs Department. The latter only passed into the possession of the British Government in 1900, shortly after the New Territory was taken over. The opening of the lighthouse on Waglan Island did away with the necessity of maintaining the one on C-jpe D"Aguilar, and the light in the latter was accordingly dismantled and has recently been substituted for the one on Green Island. Similarly the light from Green Island has been fitted up in lieu of the one on Cape Collinson, and it is now proposed to erect the old Cape Collinson light on what is knotvn as Blackhead's Hill, or Kowloon Point. Traawajrs. — The first tramway constructed in Hongkong was one to afford access to the high levels known as the Peak or Hill District. This line, approximately a mile in length, ascends to a height of about 1,300 feet alx>ve sea-level, and was opened in l888. Under the Ordinance which authorijed its construction powers were conferred for the laying of tramways in some of the principal thoroughfares of the city, but these powers were never exercised, and it was not until 1903 that a new Ordinance was passed authorising the construction by a private company of a system of electric tramways, extending from the extreme western district of the city, known as Kennedy Town, to Shaukiwan, a distance of gi miles. This scheme was promptly carried out, and in igo4 the system was opened for public traffic. It is, perhaps, a matter for congratu- lation that the scheme was deferred, for had it been constructed at an earlier date the lines must have traversed very narrow road- ways, whereas the completion of the big reclamation scheme to which reference has already been made, and the widening of Queen's Road from Arsenal Street to the City Hall by the Naval Authorities, have rendered available fine wide streets. The construction, by private enterprise, of a second tramway to the Peak District has been before the Legislature and will probably be commenced in the near future. Railway. — Following closely upon the intro- duction of tramways came the proposal for constructing a railway from Kowloon to Canton, the survey for which vyas undertaken in 1905; and, as described elsewhere in these pages, the work of construction is in progress. This work is being executed independently of the Public Works Depart- ment. Telepbones and Telegraphs. — A Govern- ment telephone system confined to the use of the Police, the Waterworks, the Govern- ment Offices, and the residences of the principal Government officials, has been established, and there are cables communi- cating with Gap Rock and Waglan light- houses, from which points the passing of vessels is signalled. All arrangements con- nected with the latter service are conducted at the Harbour Office, where the various lines arc concentrated. Coatrol aad Sapervigion of Building Opera- tioa* geaerally.— Up to 1889 but little jurisdiction was exercised by the Govern- ment with regard to the construction of buildings of a private character in the Colony. An "Ordinance for Buildings and Nuisances" was passed as early as 1856, but its provisions were of a very primary description. In 1889, however, an Ordinance dealing in very considerable detail with the construction of buildings generally was passed, but such important matters as the regulation of the height of buildings, and the provision of adequate back-yards or open spaces were omitted from it. Subse- quent Ordinances remedied these omissions to some extent, but it was not until 1903, when the existing Ordinance became law, that the matter was thoroughly gone into and remedied. This Ordinance was the out- come of the visit of Professor Simpson and Mr. Osbert Chadwick to inspect and report upon the condition of the Colony from a sanitary point of view. It may be mentioned incidentally that as early as 1882 Mr. Chadwick had reported on the sanitary condition of Hongkong, but no adequate action appears to have been taken on his report. Hongkong has gained a somewhat unenviable reputation in the matter of collapses of buildings, in some cases attended by serious loss of life, but with the gradual reconstruction of the city which must come in the ordinary course of events, this reproach will disappear, the require- ments of the present Ordinance as regards the thickness of walls and other points affecting their stability being much more stringent than the old. Crown Lands. — The whole of the lands in the Colony belong to the Crown, and the supervision of them is vested in the Surveyor- General or Director of Public Works, as that officer is now designated. In the case of Kowloon, leases of considerable areas were granted to those inhabitants who were in occupation at the time of its cession to the British and were able to establish a satis- factory title to the land, and a similar course has been followed in the case of all the petty holdings of the villagers throughout the Colony. The latter were not systematically dealt with, however, until after the passing of the Squatters' Ordinance in 1890. Except in special cases, the disposal of Crown land is almost invariably effected by public auction, the conditions of sale being notified before- hand in the Government Gazette and the terms, briefly stated, advertised in the news- papers. To prevent, as far as possible, mere speculative buying of lands, a building cove- nant is included in the conditions of sale, and it is only on the fulfilment of this that the Crown lease is issued. All Crown leases reserve a power of entry, for purposes of inspection, to the Surveyor of His Majesty the King, who is the Director of Public Works. In the early days of the Colony, the leases granted were for periods of 75 years, but this policy was altered some years later, so far as the city of Victoria was concerned, and leases were thereafter granted for periods of 999 years. To put the earlier leases on an equal footing, it was notified in 1849 that leases granted prior thereto for a period of 75 years would be extended on application for a further term of 924 years. Outside the city of Victoria and Kowloon, except in a few $ c. I3.S,3'8 ,824 ,222 ,315 ,361 .165 ,098 ,259 ,733 ,750 cases, all leases issued were for a period of 75 years. Matters rem.iined on this footing until 1899, when the Secretary of State for the Colonies directed that in future all leases, irrespective of the situation of the lands con- veyed by them, should be for a term of 75 years, renewable, subject to revision of the Crown rent, for one further term of the same duration. The revenue derived from land sales is very variable, as will be seen from the following statement of the amounts received during the past ten years; — In 1890, the rent derived from leased lands amounted to $180,170-86, and in 1907 it had increased to S371, 167-80, or more than double, which may be regarded as satisfactory evidence of the prosperity and development of the Colony. There are numerous other matters which come within the scope of the Public Works Department, besides those to which reference has been made, such as the care of the various public recreation grounds, the Colonial Ceme- tery, and the construction of piers, but enough has been said to show how extensive its ramifications are. THE DIRECTOR OP PUBLIC WORKS.— A biographical sketch of the Hon. Mr. W. Chatham, C.M.G., appears under the heading " Executive and Legislative Councils." MR. PATRICK NICHOLAS HILL JONES, Assistant Director of Public Works, was for several years in Trinidad, first in connection with the construction of district waterworks (loan), and afterwards as engineer in charge of the water and drainage works of the Colony, before he arrived in Hongkong, in 1903, to take up his present appointment. He was born in 1864, and commenced his technical education at King's College, London. After serving a five years' pupilage to a civil engineer he was appointed Resident Engineer to the Barbadoes Water Supply Company, and after six years proceeded to Trinidad, gaining in the West Indies an experience which proved invaluable to him in Hongkong. During the absence of the Hon. Mr. Chatham on a year's leave, Mr. Jones acted as Director of Public Works, Member of the Executive and Legislative Councils, Vice-President of the Sanitary Board, &c. He is an Associate Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers, and a member of the Hongkong, Peak, and Grosvenor (London) Clubs.