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October 15, 1898.1
Even Chinese sanshu is given a good character by the Commissioners, who say "the effect of drinking these Chinese liquors "is practically the same as that produced by whisky of the same strength," but owing to its cheapness, and the drunkenness here being due to the quantity and not the quality of the liquor consumed, they recom- mend that legislation should be undertaken so that liquor containing samshu may not be sold either directly or indirectly to Europeans,
THR MANAGMENT OF PEAK AFFAIRS.
(Daily Press 10th Otober.) Nine years ago a deputation f the Peak residents waited upon the then Governor, Sir WILLIAM DES VEUX, in reference to the water supply and drainage of the Hill District. In the course of the interview the Governor, after stating the official pro- granime with regard to the water supply. said:"I may tell you that if you do not like this plan I am very much disposed to "favour the Peak residents becoming a municipality or forming a company for "the carrying out of the work.
course with regard to a municipality there
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE
NEW TERRITORY.
subsistence, should be taxed for the benefit of the more fortunate classes who are in a position to indulge in the luxury of hill residences. On the other hand there is no good reason why the latter should, in cou- sequence of their connection with the city and of the system of red tape which pre- vails, be debarred from improvements for which they are willing to pay or which their existing taxation is sufficient to cover. In the earlier days of the Peak the district obtained a great deal more than its fair share of the benefits of the public expenditure, and probably does so still, but we are inclined to doubt whether that will long be the case. The rateable value of the Hill District, according to the last assessment, is $138,765, and it is increasing more rapidly than that of any other part of the colony. It would be a simple matter to ascertain whether the expenditure in the district properly chargeable to municipal rates exceeds the income and if so by how much. If the expenditure does not amount to the income the Peak, residents' would have a good claim either to be allowed to manage their municipal affairs for themselves or, if they were not prepared to ask for a municipality, that suggested improvements should meet with consideration at the is an entire absence at the Peak of a
hands of the Government. If, on the reason against it that we find below--you other hand, the income from municipal are nearly all of one nationality. I have rates in the Hill District were found not to thought over the question of a municipality balance the expenditure, we should say the many times during the last few months rates ought to be raised or the expenditure -not with any prejudice against a reduced; if the residents expressed dis- municipality-there is nothing I should satisfaction the Government could renew the like to see better, but below it is offer made by Sir WILLIAM DE VŒUX and absolutely impossible. At the Peak the tell them that if they thought they could chief objection against the plan is absent, the bulk of the residents being Euro-age matters better themselves they were
welcome to try. pean, and there would not be the same difficulty as below, nor any necessity for "Government members or Chinese repre- "sentatives. Therefore if you feel inclined
' in that direction I shall be
very "much disposed to favourably consider it, although my impression is that the Peak "residents are not in sufficient numbers to carry it out yet." Since that time the residents at the Peak have become more numerous, and they may perhaps be dis- posed ere long to consider the hint thrown out by Sir WILLIAM DES Vœux. In an article on the subject which appeared in this columu at the time the remarks were made the suggestion was advanced that without going so far as to form them- selves into a Municipality, for which their numbers appeared too small, they might form themselves into an association and appoint a committee to communicate with the Government when occasion arose, so as to be able to urge improvements or point out any mistake that was being made. At the present time some little irritation is expressed at the failure of the Government to proceed at once with the much needed chair shelter at Victoria Gap. There is no dispute as to the necessity of the work, People who step out of the tram and thoughtlessly sit down in a chair which has become wet through standing out in the fog not only experience discomfort but also incur some risk to their health. All this is no doubt admitted by the Government, but the position taken up by them is, as we gather, that if the Peak residents want a chair shelter they should pay for it themselves and not ask to have the residents of Taipingshan taxed for the purpose, and that if they don't like to pay for the shelter they must be content to endure the discomfort of wet chairs or to walk. It would certainly be inequitable that the denizens of the town, the large majority of whom have a sleuder margin of income left after paying for their
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the inclusion of the new territory the colony will be too big to be run exactly on the lines that have been followed hitherto, but the area and population are too small for the adoption of a semi-indepen- dent Residential system for the new terri- tory such as that which exists in the Pro- tected States of the Malay Peninsula. Some adaptation of the Residential system may do as a makeshift for a year or two, but it can- not last long. Not only will the district have to be opened up by roads, but it will also have to be adequately policed and provided with proper sanitary ar rangements. It may be said the district has done without any police hitherto, but the reply to that is that many things have gone on under the old dispensation which cannot be tolerated under British rule. So is at present innocent of any sanitary also with regard to sanitation: the district system, but it cannot be allowed to remain so. The administration will have to be conducted
on the lines of modern civilisation, and that can best be brought about by incorporating the territory wholly and entirely in the colony of Hongkong and allowing it to fully share in the bene- fits of our public service, for it would be a waste of money and energy to have in so small an working side by side but independently. The area two separate services complete incorporation of the new territory with the colony will no doubt constitute a drag on the finances of the latter for some years to come, but that seems inevitable: the colony mest bear the cost of developing its new estate in the hope of benefiting there- from hereafter by the increased prosperity
it will bring.
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THE VICTORIA JUBILEE ROAD,
(Daily Press, 12th October.) The Hon. R. D. ORMSBY, Director of Public Works, publishes to-day an interest- noring communication with reference to the Jubilee Road. Mr. ORMSBY shows that with the money available a great deal might be done on the sections of the road between Aberdeen and Shaukiwan. A resolution of the Jubilee Committee, however, makes it imperative that the section from Kennedy- town to Aberdeen should be first undertaken. This is the most difficult and costly section, and if the money available be expended there we will have only a small piece of road made which would not be long enough to connect the existing roads and would therefore lead to nowhere, or, to be more correct, only to a plague cemetery. The idea present in the minds of the committee when the resolution was passed, however, probably was that if a commencement were made upon this section the work would in ordinary course have to be carried through, whereas if the money were devoted to the other portions of the road the Kennedytown and Aberdeen section might be deferred. indefinitely. Mr. ORMSBY's letter leads us to suppose that such would be the case. for the subscribers to the fund to say whether the original idea shall be abandoned and Mr. ORMSBY's propositions accepted, or whether a commencement on the Kennedy- town and Aberdeen section shall be insisted upon in the expectation that when part of the road is made the Government will ba compelled to complete it. Public interest in the project is perhaps not quite so keen as it was, since the scheme of excluding the public from Deepwater Bay, the chief point of attraction on the south side of the island, has been disclosed. The level ground there has been leased to the Golf Club, and the next step is not unlikely to be the granting of exclusive bathing rights to
(Daily Press, 12th October.) Neither in the Estimates for 1899 in the Acting Colonial Secretary's speech in moving the second reading of the ppro priation Bill is any reference made to the administration of the new Kowloon territory and the means by which the cost of the same is to be provided. The omission of the subject from the Estimates is perhaps not surprising, since no definite vote could well be asked for pending the completion of arrangements, but some passing reference to the subject might not have been out of place in the budget speech. The idea seems to be that the district shall be administered as far as possible on native lines, under the direction of Residents appointed by the Hongkong Government, and that it shall be treated as a dependency but not as an integral portion of the colony. A system of that kind, we venture to think, would not be found workable very long. As soon the territory is formally taken commencement will have to be made with road making, for which the funds will have to be advanced by Hongkong, and as the roads are made industries will spring up and the population extend. No doubt it would be inconvenient and inexpedient to apply to the primitive Chinese towns and villages that will shortly come under our rule laws that have been passed with special reference to the requirements of the city of Victoria, but the solution of that difficulty will be found, we think, in the adoption of some form of local government. For Victoria, the Peak, and Kowloon Point, where there are European communities, municipalities might be established, whilst the affairs of the villages might be carried on by European officials assisted in each case by one or two of the elders. With
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