LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. No. 15.
MONDAY, 4TH DECEMBER, 1893.
PRESENT:
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR
(Sir WILLIAM ROBINSON, K.C.M.G.).
The Honourable the Colonial Secretary, (GEORGE THOMAS MICHAEL OBRIEN, C.M.G.).
the Attorney General, (WILLIAM MEIGH GOODMAN).
the Colonial Treasurer, (NORMAN GILBERT MITCHELL-INNES).
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the Harbour Master, (ROBERT MURRAY RUMSEY).
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the Acting Registrar General, (ALEXANDER MACDONALD THOMSON). EDWARD BOWDLER.
CATCHICK PAUL CHATER.
JAMES JOHNSTONE KESWICK.
HO KAI, M.B., C.M.
EMANUEL RAPHAEL BELILIOS.
ABSENT:
The Honourable THOMAS HENDERSON WHITEHEAD.
The Council met pursuant to summons.
The Minutes of the last Meeting, held on the 25th September last, were read and confirmed.
NEW MEMBER. EDWARD BOWDLER, Esquire, Special Engineer in charge of the Praya Reclama- tion Works, took the oath of allegiance on his appointment to a seat on the Council in the room of the Director of Public Works absent on leave.
His Excellency then addressed the Council as follows:-
HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL,
In meeting you again for the resumption of our legislative duties I am not in a position to announce to you any very marked improvement in the financial condition of the Colony. In November last year I expressed a hope that there might be a revival of prosperity in the fortunes of Hongkong during 1893, but although there are not wanting unmistakeable signs of better times in the future, that hope has not been realized to the extent that I anticipated. The Indian Silver Act and the proceedings of the United States Senate in reference to the Sherman Act have naturally affected the business of this Community as well as the business of the entire East. The dollar has fallen to an unprecedentedly low value, and the loss by Exchange in many of the transactions of this Government has, of course, been considerable.
Recently we have certainly not been troubled by many fluctuations in the rate of Exchange, and with the dollar at 2/4 or thereabouts, as it has been for the last 3 or 4 months, we may hope that silver has "touched bottom," and that a permanent rise in value may be the next change. But with the uncertainty that still surrounds this intricate and difficult question we cannot look for any early influx of capital into the Colony, or for any great increase in business unless some fixed international ratio should be established.
As the President of the United States recently observed, "what we want is good, sound "and stable money and a condition of confidence which will keep it in use." As the standard of value in a portion of the world is silver, and in the other part is in gold, commerce requires a steady par of Exchange between Gold and Silver.
There is, however, one point in connection with this subject to which I would call particular attention, and that is, that the fall of silver and the action of the Indian Govern- ment in regard to it, besides having improved the position of the tea-grower and exporter, has put new ventures, and profitable ones, within the reach of capitalists in China and Japan, as well as in this Colony. The Chinese are slow to begin anything new, but if the present state of affairs continues they will be compelled to produce and export many articles which they have hitherto imported from European and other countries.
The Japanese are quite alive to the situation so far as it concerns them, and are not only erecting new Cotton Mills, to the number of 20 it is said, but are about to take the Import Duty off Raw Cotton. It is possible therefore that we may soon see Japan, for a time, supplying China with goods which she formerly obtained from Europe or India. It seems anomalous that whilst England should be striving to extend her commerce and com- mercial relations in China on the one hand, she should on the other be countenancing measures which apparently have the effect of creating competition against herself and her own produc- tions in the East.