the views of the Unofficial members tends to disprove M. Whitehead's contention that Un-
official representation in Hong- Kong is at present a farce.
Paragraph 9.
Mr. Whitehead gives credit
where no credit is due, and
notably to the Sanitary Board which stands condemned by the results of its own inactiv- ity or passive negligence. In a single year there were 24 meetings of the Board, and the average number of Un-official members absent was over 2
each meeting. This does not bode well for unofficial repre_
sentation on a wider scale.
"We are already taxed up " to the limit of endurance!
It is just as well that m Whitehead has confined himself
to
Printed
656
to a bare statement. The remarks
of Dir W. des Vause on the subject of the direct taxation of the
Colony
contained in the attached extract
from
an undelivered address to the Legislative Council are to the point and a
sufficient.
answer
to Mr. Whitehead's mis-statement in this connection.
If by taxation Mr. Whitehead refers to fees and imposts other than taxes on house property, by which the balance of the revenue is raised, let him compare the total revenue and population of Hongkong with the total revenue and population of Malta for instance, and he will find that whereas the annual per caput
contribution in Malta amounts to about £1.15, it amounts to some #9 in Honghong which even taken! at the highest rate of exchange.
cannot
Page 660Page 661