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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 24TH NOVEMBER, 1877.
when the time comes, from getting from the Opium farmer of this Colony that which he ought to be paying at this moment--a far larger sum than $11,000 a month. It was sold in March, 1876, for three years, so that it will be a little time before I shall have the opportunity of dealing with it. As regards the other items--the spirit licences and pawnbrokers'-these are two licences to which I am giving niy attention, and I believe that, without in any way imposing additional taxation, we might be able to raise a larger revenue from those two. However, for next year I place them at figures somewhat less than we will have actually got from them in the present year. And before leaving this question, of licences, I may say there is one item which has given me some thought; it is a trifling one, $1,00) a year we estimate receiving from licences for Billiard Tables and Bowling Alleys. A deputation of respectable Hotel-keepers came to Government House, and represented to me that of late years, Billjard Tables and Bowling Alleys had been established by Clubs, a number of gentlemen who join together have a Table or Alley, and where a charge is made for the game, and those people have suggested me whether their licences might not be taken off, or licences put upon all Billiard Tables or Bowl Alleys where the games are charged for. Well, I think it a fair subject for consideration. The s is a small one; these Hotel-keepers pay largely in other ways; there is nothing in itself wrong in a Billiard Table or Bowling Alley, and it is a fair subject for us to consider whether we might not, as it were, assimilate the law as regards Billiard Tables and Bowling Alleys, or strike off that licence, fee altogether.
Under the head of revenue, we have "Interest," that is the interest we receive for our deposits in the local Banks. We had, when I arrived in the Colony, something like $60,000 in the Bank at five per cent. per annum. I thought it well to sanction from time to time an addition, as far as it could be done, to the amount in the Bank; and accordingly, month after month, I have been adding to it, and the consequence is that we have now in one Bank at five per cent. a quarter of a million of dollars; we have $20,000 in another Bank at five per cent., and we have in addition to that at the credit of our ordinary current account $39,000 at two per cent. So I may here tell you that, as certified by my Honourable friends here on the left, the probable balance on the 31st December, 1877, exclusive of the special find, will be $277,300. In other words, you see that the actual balance on the 31st December, 1876, which was $134,000, will have increased this year to $277,000, or more than doubled.
An interesting item of revenue, is that derived from stamps. In the Straits Settlements, attention of the Government has been drawn to the fact that they are not obtaining from the Sta Jaw the amount of revenue they think they ought to get, and this has also occurred to the able a zealous Collector here, Mr. LISTER, and accordingly we have devised a scheme by which there has baggy established an agency for the sale of stamps to the Chinese. This has been in operation for a fort months. I am also applying the law strictly to Chinese traders in insisting that they must use stands accreyling to the Ordinance. I don't know whether this is the first time any such prosecutions have taken place under the Ordinance, but the Chinese are now fully alive to the fact that stamps mustama used, and the Collector assures me that by this policy we will be able to add $25,000 a year to our staip revenuË. It has been usual to estimate it at $100,000. The Collector says it will be quite safe to put it down for next year at $125,000. Since I established the Chinese Agency, and enforced existing law, you may have seen from the returns published in the Gazette, that the revenue deta from stamps has been increasing every month.
The lighting, water, fire, and police rates are also increasing in amount. They increase with the prosperity and population of the Colony. There are other licence fees that constitute a good test of conercial activity, those derived from the licences for junks under Ordinance No. 6 of 1866, the Har and Cousts Ordinance. That source of revenue was estimated at $16,000 last year, butic will bring in this year $18,500, and I have no hesitation in estimating it for next year at $20,000. The fluctuations in the junk trade are intimately connected with the prosperity of the Colony. It was at one time supposed that the junk trade was declining, and the general shipping trade also, but the junk trade especially. However, on investigation it turned out that it was not so. The junk trade in 1874 reached a certain figure; in 1875 it was higher; in 1876 it was still greater; in 1877 the ingrease has still continued, and the revenue from documents issued under that Ordinance will be this year greater that it ever has been in this Colony. Therefore, I think, looking to the progress of the Colony, that we may fairly estimate a prosperous revenue next year, and on the whole, I think it perfectly safe to ask you to estimate the revenue for 1878 at $1,004,240. My Honourable friend Mr. MAY, the Acting Colonial Treasurer, who is a capital man of business, anticipates receiving a revenue of about $1,000,000 this yeur, and be with me in thinking it perfectly safe to estimate our next year's revenue at a little over a anillion of dollars.
agrees
Well, gentlemen, this is the first time I believe in the history of Hongkong that any Go
has had the satisfaction of estimating the revenue at a million of dollars, and I believe it is als the first time that, exclusive of the old gambling fund, so large a balance has been in the hands of the Colonial Treasurer. I have here a list of the balances of various years, and this year's is in exces the balance of any previous year in the history of the Colony. You will bear in mind that this in addition to our revenue of over a million dollars. When we come to available assets for the expolises of 1878, we add our balance of $277,000 to the $1,004,240, and that will give us $1,281,240 as our assets, and that again is independent of the special fund. The special fund amounts to $380,000.
E HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 24TH NOVEMBER, 1877. 525 That we leave by itself. shall not and it to the assets. alt to refer I hope to be able to charge upon it, and therefore we may for all practical purposes
or two of the works to which 1424 regard it as a fair asset, but when I state the available assets to be $1,281,240 I take no account of the special fund.
So far, gentlemen, for my estimate of revenue. Now with respect to expenditure. Some time ago, towards the end of September, I gave to the Finance Committee the trouble of looking over the estimates enditure for 1878. It is not usual for a Governor to do so, but this being the first time I had prepare the estimates for this Colony, I thought it well to be guided by their greater local pricace, and accordingly the estimates came before them. The only minute I made for their guidance was that many applications had come to me for increases of salary, but I did not think it this year desirable to take them into muy consideration, and accordingly I had no intention of having any additions made to the establishment charges of the Colony. However, I by no means object to the fact at the Finance Committee have, in a few cases, given trifling advances to some of the subordinate ons of the Colony. There is nothing of such importance under this head that I need call special attention to it. You have had the details before you since the 5th of September, and
your only say this, that assuming you vote the establishment charges as approved by the Finance Committee, I shall transmit them at the proper time to Lord CARNARVON, but the gentlemen who are recommended for augmentations of salary will understand that no addition to the establishment charges can come into effect until I have received the sanction of the Secretary of State for the Colonies.
can
A large, but as I have pointed out to you, a reproductive part of the expenditure of the Colony is chich relates to Public Works. This bas been before the Finance Committee also, though but recently. In connection with that expenditure, most of the items you are already familiar with, but in dealing with them I have found it necessary to introduce, after consultation with my Council and on the suggestion of the Surveyor General, some items which are new. Government Gardens and Plantations is, of course, not of itself new, but I think the time has come The maintenance of our when the Colony should deal in a more comprehensive manner with the question of tree-planting. Something has undoubtedly been done in the preservation and planting of trees, but a great deal more requires to be done, and amongst the documents submitted to the Finance Committee by me is a very Caluable Report, dated 20th August, by the Surveyor General, in which he goes into the question of tree planting in the Colony. This Report will tell you what has been done, and it contains an estimate as to what would be the consequence of our proceeding at the present rate of planting, and when we may expect to have the Colony properly planted at the present rate. Mr. PRICE'S estimare
of the number of trees required is, I take it, a very fair estimate. He says we would require over seventeen million of trees, and if our planting operations were continued at their present tortoise speed it would take us eleven hundred years to complete the work. Therefore, the question arises, how can ve accomplish the really proper planting of this island within a reasonable time? Well Mr. PRICE, with his usual skill and accuracy, sets that forth, and this important document of his has already been before the Finance Committee. It will be in print and in your hands very soon, and it will be seen that without any great increase of expenditure, we will be able to carry out his project of really property planting the Colony of Hongkong. Therefore on this occasion I slightly increase the vote for the Public Gardens. It was $6,000 last
year; I by that addition of $2,000 a year to be expended on forming nurseries for seedlings and paying a
propose to ask you to vote $8,000 this
year, and regularly organised staff of tree planters, we shall be able, in a few years, to transform the appearance of this island, and permanently improve its sanitary conditions.
The Secretary of State refers to the question of the Hospital. You are aware that a considerable dam was contemplated for the Civil Hospital. The proposition which Sir ARTHUR KENNEDY made and which I think a wise proposal--was that the new Lock Hospital, which is far too large for its sent purpose, should be converted into a Civil Hospital, and that a new Lock Hospital, suitable for The saine number of patients as there are now, built. That I am prepared to support, and I ask you to support it by voting the sum of $17,000. When that is completed, and I hope it will be completed next year, we will be able to begin the Civil Hospital the following year. I cannot at this moment
say what would be our estimates for that next year, but I should say that the cost of the new Civil Hospital would not be more than $40,000.
You are all aware of the fact th
There is a large vote of $16,000 for Police Station extensions and improvements. Originally, when this was sent in, the sum was much larger, but one learns a good deal from one's neighbours, and during a short visit to Macao of two days, when I was accompanied by my very efficient officer, Mr. CEAGH, the Acting Superintendent of Police, we were struck with the fact that the Government of Macao employed for its water police several steam launches. robberies have been committed in this harbour by boat-people and the robbers have eluded the water police, simply because they were able to pull their sampans quicker than our police can use their oars, The harbour thieves ought not to have quicker boats than the water police. It is not to be tolerated that a Government like this should not be in possession of the handiest steam launches for police purposes that a reasonable sum of money can procure. Therefore I propose to consider the question of stem launches for the water police, and one result will be this, that it will enable us to reduce dur police orce. The reduction of the police force will render unnecessary the extensive project that we originally contemplated.