ROIT
THE HONGKONG
Government Gazette.
No. 41.
published by Authority.
VICTORIA, SATURDAY, 6TH OCTOBER, 1866.
VOL. XII.
No. 145.
GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.
Notice is hereby given, that a Deputation from the Chinese Residents of Victoria waited on His Excellency SIR RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL, C.B., Governor and Commander-in-Chief, at Government House this day, at 1 P.M., to receive a reply to an address which they had presented in Chinese on the 6th ultimo, but without notice and without any Translation of the said address.
The following copies of the Address and His Excellency's Reply are now published for general
information.
By Order,
W. T. MERCER, Colonial Secretary.
Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 6th October, 1866.
To His EXCELLENCY
HUMBLY SHOWWETH:
THE GOVERNOR OF HONGKONG.
The Petition of all the Merchants of Hongkong, viz.: Gold and Silver Dealers, Rice Factors, Opium Sellers, Traders with the North and South of China, and Dealers in Piece Goods-
That since the new Ordinance is an obstructive and inconvenient one, we have joined together to harably beg Your Excellency to do us the favor of altogether annulling it and making up the deficiency in the Revenue instead by a tax which is agreeable to the Community and convenient for the Merchants.
We now Lumbly receive from His Excellency's hands a new Ordinance established for the purpose of levying a porcentage by means of a "Stamp Act"-which requires the affixing of a Stamp on Lenses, Receipts and Payinents, Purchases and Sales, Contracts and also on Chinese and foreign Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes, Agreements-according to the amount of each a proportionate Stamp must be affixed,
Looking at the various kinds of trades carried on, on all sides and the very extensive Commerce of this Colony, we find therein trades which are brisk and trades which are dull.
Within lato years the profits of trade have been very small-in many cases the yearly expenditure in shops and house rent, servants' wages and food is greater than the profits.
The shops have been established for many years and it is impossible for them to close at once so that they are often obliged to manage as well as they can, and keep their business afloat---consequently the business connected with Remittances and Promissory Notes, Receipts and Payments is much more difficult in comparison to former years. Seeing that these men are already suffering under the pressure of difficulties if Your Excellency in addition imposes the Stamp Act on them the burden will indeed be oppressive.
The business of Paying and Receiving money in a Merchant's house every day is even now a work of grene labour, but when we have in addition to fix a Stamp on all Receipts and Payments,