66
66
THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 11TH JUNE, 1881.
也業誠須爭頓報俾
or Sir JOHN DAVIS,-that there was a certain
class of Chinese who would be peculiarly suitable for commercial operations, but that, owing to land
jobbers, they could not compete at the land
auctions in Hongkong, and therefore the Secretary
of State took the rather strong course of saying
there should be some land sales at which none
but Chinese could bid. Well, he incurred a little
local criticism for doing that, but when this
despatch of his was published laying down the
purely commercial objects of Hongkong, and
stating that the Colony should pay for itself, the
newspapers then printed here commented on it in
66
these terms :---"The answer of Mr. GLADSTONE
"is universally regarded by everyone with whom
we have conversed since it was published, as
“ sealing the fate of Hongkong. We do not
"believe it will be met by any violent recrimination
"or outcry, but the disgust it has excited is such
as will not be speedily eradicated. What little
"trade we ever possessed here has been all but
“extinguished." Well, a generation has passed
since that criticism was published in the Colony,
but I am bound to say, every year since then has justified Mr. GLADSTONE's policy; and, at this
moment, we are in a Colony whose commercial
prosperity is perhaps unrivalled. Who now will
venture to say that he was not right to encourage
the Chinese to buy land and settle in Hongkong? Who now will differ with Mr. GLADSTONE as to the true character and object of this Colony?
There is one aspect of this progress and prosperity which concerns us as a legislative body dealing with financial matters, and it is this,- that as the Colony makes progress, the revenue should improve without the imposition of any new taxes. That has also taken place. The revenue and expenditure of this Colony for the last three years were as follows:The revenue in 1878 was £197,424; in 1879,£200,853;in 1880 it reached £222,905. The expenditure for each of these years respectively was, for 1878, £189,692; for 1879,£193,097; for 1880, £197,502. The expenditure was therefore kept; I think prudently, within the revenue. The valuators' returns for ten years past, recently laid before you, show that the valuation of house property fluctuated but little from 1871 to 1876, but that it rose steadily with the influx of Chinese in 1877, and has continued to increase. Hence the house taxes, which were at the same rate (12 per cent) in 1876 and in 1880, produced in these years respectively, £38,439, and £48,032. The opium farm also rose from £27,500 in 1876 to £42,708 in 1880. The other chief items of our revenue are stamps, postage, taxes on ship- ping, and certain licences, as well as various fees under the emigration and shipping ordinances. At a first glance, our taxation appears a little unfair, but in an Oriental community like this, I think it would be impossible to have it otherwise than it is. The opium farm falls exclusively on Chinese. On the other hand, the spirit licences,
and certain items under the Stamp Ordinance, probably fall more, in proportion to their small numbers, on the Europeans; but, upon the whole,
安舉但生抗大
歴理
幾然
新
彼
藩議聞
適有
生闔
論貿
423
業安居為謬妄者又孰克詰駁吉士頓大臣所議定誠爲開港之原意煙膏飲
爭抗者然多人激其厭惡之心使彼久而弗忘也且我輩歴來所有些 矣但抛年有據可云吉士頓大臣所議定者爲至當香港貿易之盛 百七 誠舉世莫之與京今日者軌克謂該藩政大臣激勵華人來港置產樂 磅祂餘則 須生理幾乎爲之滅盡云云計自新聞 如此評論迄今已閱一世代所進者 報評論,事有謂自示論後闔港之人彼此言談無不合心以爲吉士 俾知本之開也只因貿易起見港中經費應由內抽輸時港中 大臣所定適使香港貿易生機枯死已耳我輩以爲雖無烈心與之 謫但因咨文言定與港原意獨因貿易起見故奉准咨文日卽示驗 地段出投而投賣時除華人外那人不得投買爲此港内西人不勝指 貨可居故當投賣之際華人未能與之爭衡云云故藩政大臣特着将 或爹制咨稱華人品性極合與英人通商爭奈西人每以地段篇奇
意樂
彼
此
言
輩談
以無
經
費見
應
與
吉
飭
示
之士新諭指
新
此故
不
勝
將
輸片磅百所計宇一見道五磅十所應論 者煙而也七進而所千自也支八有漸及 以膏言 丩十者一八一查支一萬進益香 歐餉之餘六則千百千十一十九支但港 洲項或則年有八餉七八年十九千約氏如 人盡見有僅四百雖+百間九萬六舉間此 較屬香二萬七--七七估萬三百餉忻 諸華港印萬八十千年十價七千九之項興 華人輸信七千六八起一吏千九十一不更 人輸輛資千寄年百迄年闫五十二千必有 其納之船五三所七今起所百七八有 數惟事澳百十進十華至估零磅而百所端 甚酒不牌磅二者六人一數二而一七增關 微餉甚照而磅僅年來千5磅一千十而涉 故與與一次三與港八郎由千八八此本 也平及千承萬一百遡此八百年事局 印但搭八-
八千日七來觀百七進亦定 則在客百鴉千八漸十所之八十一已奪 例東航八片四百六送斯十九十自國 所邊海十煙百八而年定固年年九然餉 定藩等年膏三十屋止例慎則則萬成之 幾地則則餉十年宇屋局於進進七就例 乎實例有九均之宇諸不二二千者 可不所亦照值價+十四查卽 謂能定萬有一每亦值觀所二萬百三香 盡免各二增千百日不看人萬零二港 屬此餉千益八圓甚者不二八十來斯 歐按徒七在百納昻變由敷千百四香興 洲承觀百一八十按該所九五磅港國 人-
其零千十二各但數出百十支國餉 所鴉外八八年圓屋由可之零三-餉亦