During the past year the collecting of Rates has fallen considerably into arear, and a Commission of Enquiry was instituted, and a Report made.
I would call special attention to the Official annual Reports of the following officers as from them much information may be collected as to the position of the Colony.
1. The Harbor Master's
2. The Registrar General's
3. The Colonial Surgeon's
4. & 5. The Post Master General's and The School Inspector's
It may not be out of place to conclude with a matter which will hereafter have intimate connection with the well being of the Colony, and that is the proposed Establishment of Railways in China.
In the early part of the year I was privately applied to for my views on the subject, which were forwarded to Sir MacDonald Stephenson (the introducer of Railways into India) who had visited this Colony for the purpose of informing himself on Railways prospects in China. Later in the year I introduced a deputation of the Merchants of the Colony to His Excellency Rutherford Alcock, Her Majesty's Minister at Peking.
When the project was discussed, I do not see any immediate prospect of the Scheme being carried out, but as the question is important in its bearings on the future of Hong Kong, and as it has long been a charge on it.
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