78
7. At the present time, the taxation of this Colony, both general and municipal, does not exceed £1.1.0 per head of the population. With the increase from the Spirit Farm, it will not exceed £1.3.6 per head. It will be recollected that the aggregate taxation, general and municipal, per head of the people of England, and of the Australasian Colonies, exceeds £3.0.0 per head.
8. Under the circumstances stated in a Report of the Colonial Treasurer which will be laid before you, it has been found necessary to increase the Police rate by 1 per cent. As the law of this Colony has hitherto stood, the power of assessing the Municipal rates is vested solely in the Governor in Executive Council. I think that this anomaly, for which there is probably no precedent in any other part of the British Empire, should be removed; and that, for the future, the municipal, like the general taxation should be imposed, after full consideration, by a vote of the Legislative Council. I have recommended to Her Majesty's Govern- ment that I should receive authority to carry out this reform.
9. And here I will take the opportunity of observing that I have always advocated the creation in all British and homogeneous communities of Municipalities freely elected by the Rate-payers, as in England. I took an active part in encourag- ing the extension of such Municipalities during the twenty years that I was Governor successively of three of the principal Colonies in Australasia. But, I recognise the fact that it is practically impossible to create here an elective Munici- pality; for probably not a single Englishman would be elected to it. From an Official report, it appears that there are :——
(1). English Rate-payers,
(2). Chinese,..
(3). Others (chiefly Portuguese), ...........................
83
..947
98.
As the constant policy and action of my Government abundantly prove, I feel much sympathy with the Chinese who have settled in this British Colony. I will never sanction any unnecessary interference with their national customs or national feelings; I have always given favourable attention to the petitions addressed to me by them; and I have appointed one of the most respected members of the Chinese Community to represent his countrymen in this Council. At the same time, it is obvious that neither the Colonial nor the Imperial Government can leave to an elective Municipality which would be composed entirely of Chinese, or in which the Chinese element would be largely predominant, the arrangements necessary for the health, water supply, good order, and general administration of one of the principal Naval and Military Stations, and Marts of Commerce in the British Empire. In addition to the European Civil residents and to the crews of the Merchant Shipping annually visiting this harbour, (the tonnage of which exceeds to 54 millions of tons, that is, it exceeds the tonnage entering all other British Ports except London and Liver- pool), it will be remembered that we have to take into account some three thousand of Her Majesty's seamen and soldiers.
10. On the other hand, the existing Legislative Council is practically also a Municipal Council. More than two-thirds of the business transacted by it is of a purely Municipal character; and it can no longer be reasonably alleged in any quarter that it does not fairly represent the community at large. It is true that on my assumption of this Government in 1883, I found that the Council consisted of nine members, of whom seven were official, and only two unofficial and independent members; all appointed absolutely by the Crown. In consequence of my urgent recommendation, I received authority to increase the unofficial members from two to five; one of whom will always be a Chinese; while I have given the privilege of freely nominating their own representatives to the two principal Public Bodies, viz. the Bench of Magistrates and the Chamber of Commerce, which comprise the chief payers of rates and taxes of every nationality resident here, British, American, German, Jewish, Chinese, Parsee, and Armenian. Thus the property, intelligence, and education of the entire community are now directly represented in this Council. Moreover, so long as I retain my present post, the official majority will not over- rule, especially in financial questions, an united unofficial minority, except, of course, in extreme cases of necessity, and in which Imperial interests may be involved.
11. I know that you, Honourable Gentlemen, agree with the principles stated above. I know that you also rejoice with me at the steady prosecution by the Military Authorities, (as is shown by reports from the Colonel Commanding the Royal Engineers,) of the system of Defence Works, undertaken after my strong