450/
THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 17т NOVEMBER, 1866.
other articles of consumption. The Ports from which they come are whitin from one to three days sail, and some of them do not remain longer than is necessary either to land their Passengers or discharge their Provisions. Your Petitioners beg to lay before Your Excellency a List of the various Chinese Ports from which these Passenger or Provision Junks trade to this Colony; the number of Junks engaged therein; the number of Trips made to the Colony by each vessel during a month, and the duration of their stay here; in order to shew how hard the exaction of the Licensing and other Fees, and the necessity of reporting themselves at the Harbour Master's Office, will bear upon this class of Vessels.
LIST of PASSENGER or PROVISION JUNKS now trading at Hongkong from Chinese Ports.
Name of Chinese Port.
Number of Junks' engaged.
Number of Trips,
each per Month.
Duration of stay in Colony.
Canton,
Macao,
Kong-moon,
Chan Chün,
Toong-koon,
Sheak-loong,
Tai-ping,
Namtao,
Heong-sha, Sun-chun,
Kowloong City, Sei-heong, Tsung Sheang, Wong-kong, Koo Soo.. Chaong-sha, Tik-hoi,
Tsee -wan, Tai-pang City, Sha-yu-choong, Chaong Chow, Peng-chow, Tai 0, . Mow-chow,
Kew-tow, Eem-teen, Tam-shui,
28
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Taking the case of a Passenger Junk coming from Namtao as an illustration as regards this particular class of vessels, Your Excellency will observe that she will have to pay the enormous sum of 110 Dollars per annum simply for the privilege of bringing supplies of Privisions to the Colony, viz. :
License fee for one year,
$20
As she will arrive in the Colony every third day, she will have to
pay for 120 "Anchorage Passes" during the year at 50 cents,...$ 60 And for the same number of "Day Clearances" at 25 cents,.....$30
Total,..
$110
The above is what every Provision Junk coming from Namtao will have to pay per annum, provided she arrives here every third day according to the above statement. Provision or Passenger Junks from other Ports will be called upon to pay in proportion to the number of trips they make during the year,--and, in the case of the Junks from Kowloong City which make a trip a day, (if they are also to be looked upon as Junks licensed to "ply between this Colony and other ports,") the yearly sum for fees will amount to no less than $293.75.
Your Petitioners feel persuaded this could never have been the intention of the Government to inflict this heavy tax on a class of vessels so useful to the Colony as these are, and whose profits must necessarily be small from the nature of the trade they are engaged in. The effect of this tax, if insisted on, Your Petitioners humbly submit will be to drive away a trade upon which we are all almost wholly dependent for the necessaries of life; or at all events to increase the cost of these necessaries to such an extent as to make it utterly impossible for the poorer classes to obtain them.