Kouling, 15th August.
Toe Kuling Community have every renson to be proud of the Annual Report which its Council presented at the Landholders' Meeting on Friday Inst. As wns sid therein: "Since the founding of the estate ten years ago no year has been so conspicuous for remarks developments. The vigorous life of Kuling is seen in the growth and expansion of all the interests of the estate." These developments and expansions were duly set forth in elevon mimeoaraphed foolscap prges which occupied the: attention of the meeting from half past nine in the morning till six o'clock in the evening, with the exception ofa short interval for tifin, As the dacument itself has appeared in the papers, the searcher for exact information it' referred to it, but afew notes of what went on at the meeting may be of further interest, When the meeting was constituted, by calling the roll, it was found that there were upwards of 130 landholders ' present and voting," ud ubout an equal number of absentees most of whom were. for the time being, non-resident, The Rev. 8. I. Woodbridge was called to the chair, am office frequently filled by him before. Tt was felt that on this occasion his clenrheadedness, quickness. of apprehension, and unfailing geniality and fairness, might be fully taxed to pilot the meeting through the snaps, but they happily proved equal to the task.
The first item' of business was the ox-tension: The Committee reported that, as the result ofiseven years' continuous effort, an addition of 130 lots had boon secured—exactly doubling the old estate, and that a suficiont number of these had already boon sold to clear the whole expense. Further, an option, to hold good for five years, had boon obtained over land sufiiciont to double it again on besides which a largo the vicinity of the' estate had been declared neutral ground—the Chinese authorities having undertaken never to dispose of it, or uso it in any way. This was considered highly satisfactory and well worth all the trouble and time spent: on the effort. According to the Report, there remained a of fifty unsold lots, but the Municipal Council's Report, only confessed to the oxistonod. of "seventeen excellent lots." This discrepancy was promptly pounced upon by the moot ing. The Council explained that, of the doficionoy, eight lots had been reserved. for public parks and a cemetery, while the rest, not being considered " excellent" had been left out of account. But the meeting was of opinion that the Council had no call to cheapen its own property. It was pointed out that a groat many lots on the old estate, at one time considered worthless, had: not only been sold but had afterwards changed hands at double and treble -the original cost. The Council were therefore directed to give, in their Report, the exact number of fots temaininy uosold—some 40—irres-° pective of whether they were excellent or not.
The next item, which called for lively debate, was the naming of the ronds. When the residents arrived on the hill this year, they found xt every corner & neat Engerpost giving a name in both English and Chinese, to the hitherto nameless thoroughfares. There. were Berlin Road, Edinburgh Road, Hankow Gorge, Central Avenue, Poyang Road, and some forty
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.