#
...
age of the existing Praya would be prepared to undertake the expense of making a wide Praya out into deep water. The Chinese, who hold a considerable amount of property extending from the extreme West up to this part of the town, offered to do the work at their own expense. The estimate was $800,000 to $1,000,000. That work they were prepared to have undertaken at their own cost, but by the Surveyor General, so that the work should be thoroughly done. The other memorial, presented by my hon. friend Mr. Ryrie and other European gentlemen, merely asked me to have the Praya extended out into deep water in front of their lots, but I appre- hend they would be prepared to come under the same condition as the Chinese if the Government decided the work should be done and gave them the reclaimed land. If that is done, and I have some hope it will be, it would relieve the pressure on Queen's-road. How far it would be possible, after that is done, to amend the Tramways Ordi- nance so as to shift the tramway to that other road would be a question for the company to consider, and the Government with them, but in now putting the question that the Eill pass 1 think it only proper I should advert to the possibility of that great work being undertaken, and I think it may be undertaken in 1883. The smaller Praya to which I alluded, at the other side of the harbour, will be undertaken in 1882, and if the other is accomplished, or undertaken, in 1883, we shall have no reason then to be ashamed of either side of the harbour.
Hon. E. R. BELILIOS-Your Excellency, when my honourable friend opposite (Mr. Johnson) in- troduced the tramways Bill, he dwelt on your benevolent policy and on the prosperity that resulted from it. He also dwelt on the increase of the populatiou consequent on that prosperity, and the necessity there was on that account to adopt his measure. I endorse those remarks, and referring to your opening speech I beg per- mission to make a few remarks myself on the subject of your policy, I maintain, sir, that your holding the balance evenly between the foreigner and the Chinaman has been the means of enriching the landed proprietors of this Island. I am not an advocate for leniency for the criminals of Hongkong. Where the lash is requisite, there I think it should be inflicted without the least compunction or commiseration, This Colony is situated on the borders of a vast Empire. In that Empire criminals receive barbarous treatment, whereas here, in such close proximity, they receive a treatment consistent only with the views prevalent in the Christian countries of the West, which I apprehend is not suited to the present generation of Chinese criminals; perhaps when the neighbouring countries reform their mode of treating prisoners we might, pari passu, follow suit. We know that crimes are sometimes committed from mental aberration, For instance, thieving by the rich is called kleptomania and is excused, whilst petty larcenies committed by the poor are visited with incarceration in prison. We also know, however, that there are born criminals who are a scourge to scciety. These hardened men cannot, in my opinion, appreciate mild hand- ling, especially as they are born and bred in a vicious Chinese atmosphere. However humanitarian the policy may have been, results show that it has not been an ineffective one. I remember, sir, when knock-down robberies, and the practice of throwing pepper in the eyes of females and relieving them of their ornaments were of al- most daily occurrence. I remember when it was necessary to carry small pistols about one's per- son when walking or riding on Bonham or Pok- folum-roads. Such things do not present them- selves to our sight nowadays. In the year 1861 a Hindoo gentleman went off to one of the opium steamers to land his opium. He loaded his boat with chests of the drug, left the ship, but on his way to the wharf, in mid-stream between the vessel and the landing, he was pounced upon by pirates. He and his boat-load of opium were captured, taken away, and from that day to this no trace of either has ever been discovered. For many years after this occurrence we were obliged, for the sake of safety, to send our coolies and our clerks armed with revolvers and swords when landing or shipping opium or trea sure. There are now, happily, no longer the rob- beries and pilferings in sampans that were so common in days of yore. Instead of these we now have the moral support and good will of the Chinese community, which in the long run must afford us a larger measures of security for our
lives and properties than all the efforts of the appointed guardians of the peace can possi- bly procure for vs. In speaking of your po- licy allude particularly to your dealings with the higher class of Chinese. I refer to your kind compliance with their wishes and to your courteous treatment of them whenever they ap- proached you. I refer to your action in elevat- ing an intelligent member of that community to the Bench and also to a seat at this august assembly, with the view of showing that justice was administered equally between the foreigner and the Chinaman, and with the view, I think, of allowing the Chinese to have a voice in the legislation of Hongkong. I contend that im- partiality thus manifested has inspired the race with confidence. In the early days of the Colony Chinese used to sojourn here as they do now sojourn in Australia. Then they scarcely had any stake in this island. Now we see native capital invested permanently here. Confidence is the soul of a transaction, either legitimate or speculative. It is evident that some of the recent purchases of property are due to speculation, but I believe mainly they are bona fide investments. Your policy has proved to be beneficial to foreigners both here and elsewhere. The value of landed property has been en- hanced. Men who had retired, leaving their possessions behind in the care of others, have been able to realise their properties at high prices; they have been able to take their funds home and invest them right before their eyes in their present places of retirement, earning perhaps larger incomes than those they were accustomed to receive from this side in the shape of remittances. We are aware that all over the world real estate yields the smallest interest on capital. A few years back money could have been invested in landed property here re- ! turning 12, 14, and 16 per cent. per annum, whereas investments at the same time made in houses and in lands in Canton and in the Pre- sidency towns of India gave only 5 to 6 per cent, per annum. These are the cities whose standard of money is silver, Owing to the depreciation of silver compared with gold, value of money in the East for trade pur- poses since then has declined five per cent, per annum, At this moment property in Canton, Calcutta and Bombay yields the same interest that it yielded years ago, whereas we cannot generally invest money in houses here now and obtain more than six per cent. per annum. Therefore of all these cities where silver is cur- rent as money in Hongkong only, and during your administration, has there been established an advance in the value of property. I maintain, sir, that the policy of equality inaugurated here by your Excellency has been the origin and the principal cause of this stir and of this stupendous improvement in the value of pro- perty. A few months back I had the plea- sure of meeting a native gentleman, who was reported not to have been an investor in landed property. I inquired as to the reason why he had remained in the back ground. said that having been a resident in another part of the world he had been impressed with the idea that the Chinaman and the fo- reigner did not stand on the same platform; "however," he said, "now I know that they are both alike in the eyes of the law under the Hongkong Government, and I can now con- fidently invest my savings permanently in the island." There is a lull now in the market for real estate. The prevailing speculation, which in some cases was overdone, has been broken and in the natural course of things there is a re- action and a consquent relapse in values. The slightly low price will, I presume, he the rule for a short duration, and things will soon resume their wonted position, because it will be remembered, we have not advanced, but merely assimilated to prices ruling around us. Your policy in this respect has benefited I maintain, sir, one section of the community. that there is a grievance which, if properly taken in hand and remedied, will render your adminis- tration a source of blessing and will prove of great advantage ro another section of our fellow citizens. I allude to the freedom Manila lottery tickets enjoy in their sale here, and the scope they have of impoverishing the inhabitants of this island. I have not studied the Treaty now extant between Great Britain and spain, nor have I studied the law on lotteries, but it seems to me that the Ordinance now in force affects the Wei sing and other Chinese lotteries, whereas the Manila lottery, which absorbs the
He
395