The Governor forwarded a scale of fees which was recommended by the Board of Officers.
292 In the first place the principle of an ad valorem fee where the amount of trouble to be taken in the Land Office bore no relation to the value of the transaction has met with criticism from the Council. To the last three items in this scale we are not prepared to object, though we beg leave to subjoin an abstract of the first three charges which cannot help thinking excessive.
"Reparing any Lease or grant... 10 per cent on the amount of Annual rental"
"Affixing Public seal thereto... 5 per cent Do."
"Registering any assignment mortgage or other alienation... 5 per cent Do."
In every case, this appears to us erroneous, and calculated to impose a disadvantage on large purchasers from the Government, and in the next place the rate of these fees, when the very high rents which have been realized at Hong Kong are considered, appears to us to have been excessive and to have constituted a tax which was itself neither politic nor proper in its amount.
The rental lately disposed of having amounted to £15,000 per annum.