!
it compulsory upon the officers in the Colony that there should be a special fund for it, and that this was not to be paid to the revenue-I saw` that that clause was passed because there was a strong fooling at the Legislativo Council that it would not be proper to allow such money to enter into the revenue, The gambling funds had unfortunately for a certain time, in opposition to the advice of the principal members of this Council (the leading anofficial members), in opposition to the advice of the Chief Justice, and without the sanction of Her Majesty's Government, been paid into the revenue of the Colony but when the facts became generally known, owing to the action taken at this Council table and in other ways, orders were given that those licences should cease sud in future the gam- bling fand should not be mixed with the revenue of this Colony. Unfortunately, what I am now detailing to you escaped attention. I had to inform the Secretary of State that the fund to which he referred had never been constituted, and in reply to the despatch in which 1 forwarded the statements of the Colonial Secretary and the gentleman in whose charge the department lay, I received the following reply:--
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 54, of the 1st July, relative to the amount of revenue derived from houses of ill-famo and I approve of the steps which you have tokon for constituting a special fund from this source in accord- ance with Ordinance 10 of 1867.
In other words the Special Fund has now been formed, and in the preliminary financial state- ment I am now making to yon, for the first | time since that Ordinance passed, we shall not have to consider that an item of revenue, nor will
it again appear in the estimates of this Colony. There are two reasons why the community of Hongkong should feel some interest, I venture to think, in the statement I am now making. If there is in our treasury chest this large and an- precedented balance; if these leading items of revenue are steadily increasing and, I should add, as one of the most significaut, that the house tax (the amount we derive from the twelve per cent, on fho valuation of house property) is also increasing, and will reach its maximum this year-if, I say, everything is so flourishing, the community will fairly ask. has not the time arrived when some consideration may be given to the taxpayer, and especially to the householders in the Colony? I find that in 1868 the police rate, lighting rate, water rate, and Fire Brigade rate amounted to 11 per cent. In 1870 it was raised to 12 per cent, and since 1870 up to this moment it has stood at 12 per cent. Now, before venturing to say how we might deal with that, I should like to ask you to consider two other items of revenge to which I have now to refor. One is what wei derive from opium. That shows no increase. Whilst everything else increases, the Opium Farm is at a standstill, and we are to receive this year, 1878, the sum of $132,000, being the same sum that we received in 1877, and being leas than the sum received in 1876, and considerably less than tho sam received in 1875. The rent of the Opima Farm in 1875 was $137,000, in 1876, 8133,000; it is now $132,000. Well, gentlemen, I am of opinion-and I know you concur with me that by prudent management we ought to get for the Opium Farni, if not its full value, at all ere ts a fair value, aud therefore something largely in excess of what the present farmers pay. There is another item of revenue, that of spirits. That brings us in a comparatively small sum, a sum far smaller than it realises for other Governments similarly situated to ours. I find that in 1877 we obtained from that source a revenue of $28,395. Instead of $28,000 we ought to receive from the Spirit Farm $100,000, if not more; and therefore it is, gentlemen, that in the months of August and September I asked the unofficial members of Council to meet me for the purpose of consider. ing the question of how far they, as commer. cial men, would be prepared to assist the in establishing & Spirit Farm in the Colony; and also how far they would assist me in iinprov- ing the Opium Ordinance 30 as to streng- then the hands of the Opium Farmer and encourage him to give a proper eum for the monopoly. I received from my hon. friends the unofficial members valuable advice these two points. and speaking in the presence of my hon. friends I think I am justified in saying that they went entirely with me on the subject of the Spirit Farm. A.8 regards the Opium Farm, there are certain alterations in the Ordinance which I contemplate submitting to yon. They are altorations in detail, and I apprehend they are alterations
071
which my honourable friends will support. I muy mention that I did draft, with the as- sistance of the Attorney-General, # Bill to establish in this Colony an Opiam Farm identical with that in Singapore. But my honourable friends, who know more than I do of the commercial transactions of this Colony, and whose views on such subjects I always receive with the utmost deforence. at once suggested that that proposed Bill should not be pressed; and of coarse I took their advice. The ill will not be laid be. fore you, but only such amendments of the existing law as my hon. friends will ap prove. And now to return to the question of house taxes. Nothing would give me greater satisfaction than to lower considerably the rates and taxes in this Colony. But until I see my way to a proper sale of the Opium Farm, and until I find out what we can get from a Spirit Farm, I conteut myself with announcing to you in public the views I have already communicated to you in private, so that they may be considered by you and the Colony in general; and I think I may look for support from you in doing every. thing that can be lawfully done to stimulate our revenus from opium and spirits. With re-i gard to the Spirit Farm. I and not disposed to (think that its operation should be confined simply to Chinese spirits, from which I hope to get a very large revenne, but I think a Spirit Farm may also deal, as it does in Singapore, with other classes. Wo have in this Colony a large number of sailors and others who at this momout drink very bad and nominally very cheap spirit. One effect of the Spirit Farm would be to increase the revenue, but another effect would be to establish some check on the deleterious spirit now sold; so that even to such a class of men the legislation. I contemplate, and, perhaps, with your sanction, may succeed in passing, will not only increase our revenue but will benefit the consumer likewise. I have told you that there has been au increase in the revenue from junks. Now I know! sotne of my hon. friends, the unofficial members, whom I have consulted from time to time on this subject, entirely agree with me with respect to the fees levied on junks. We levy at this moment on junks of 500 piculs sea-going license of $10 and a fishing licence of $1; under 500 piouls we levy $1 a month and 20 cents fishing licence, for vessels of 500 piculs and less than 1,000 we levy $15 sen going li vence, and $3 fishing licence; for vessels above 1,000 pieuls we levy $20 sea-going licence. So far for the native shipping. Upon the whole of the European shipping we levy one cont a ton. Now, these two items are items of great interest. They both show an increase, and the increase they show furnishes ns with one of the best and safest tests of the growing prosperity of the Colony. If the opium farm sells at the figure 1 anticipule and if we can establish a spirit far, I would ask you the to consider the advisability of entirely removing from the native trade of the Colony the licensing tees I have now detailed to you, and I would ask you also to consider the equity of considerably reducing the police, water, lighting, and fire brigade rates. "Now, gentlemen, I have no doubt the interest you feel in the statement I have made is, as men of business, not confined merely to seeing that our revenue is prosporous. What is the meaning of our rent-roll steadily increasing and being now at a figure never known before in the history of Hongkong? What is the mean- ing of the increase of the junk trade, and the increase in light dues? What is the meaning of all the other items of increase that I have spoken! to you of? And I may add even such a -small thing as the licences on obairs, car- riages, and horses. The increase in all these Iteras can be described in one word, pros- perity. It means the prosperity of the Colony. Under the junk-trade increase I assume at the olose of this year-there are figures now before e--that we shall have on the native trade alone an increase of 89,000 tons in the year. And what does the increase in light dues during the first three months of this year and up to this date indi- oate? It shows us that in the European and Aze- rican shipping--the foreign shipping comig to this harbour the increase in 1878 will be 300,000 tons, so that we may in the year 1878 calculate upon being able to show 300,000 tous of shipping entered into this Colony in cargo increase as compared with last your. To estimate the full value of that. I may remind you that the total shipping of Queensland, which is the largest Colony in the British empire and not the least fo rishing, amounts t 388,000 tous: that is, of skips entered with cargo. The
238