Turning to the Estimates in detail:
Under heads of Revenue
The Light Dues show a decrease of $75,000, the charge for their dues having, in accordance with the Secretary of State's directions, been reduced to 1 cent for ton.
The Chief Increases are expected in
(1) Opium monopoly Estimate for '97 $286,000: for '98 $357,666. This is not the most satisfactory form of Revenue under which to find ...
(2) Amused Taxes. Estimates for '97 $422,805 for '98 $460,000. Expected in view of the prospective revaluation of rateable documents from July 1898.
(3) Landsale Estimate for '97 $100,000 for '98 $200,000. This large increase is anticipated from the Sale of Taifinshan Lots. But we should not be too sanguine to this; Land bought by you does not always fetch the high price anticipated. The case of the Chaussée Lands in Mauritius (circa 1881-9) was in point. There the resale of the Lands proved a complete failure.
(4) Subsidiary Coins '97 $65,000 '98 $100,000
This has already been Dealt with in papers submitted to which ...
The your states that "The government intends to adopt a bold policy regards these coins. We have told the government over & over again that this method of increasing the revenue is a bad one, but he now proposes still further to increase last year's enormous indents for subsidiary coins. On this point we should pull the government up rather sharply in our Despatch referring to the views expressed on ... in prov: con?"
"We have a new heading of Certificates to Chinese entering America $20,000. All that we know on this subject is ... Say it is assumed that the sale of these Certificates is due to the Circular amended in 1896 ... detailed information should have been sent in the matter, and for full cost of sale of Certificates.
Expenditure
Pensions have increased from $129,000 to $145,000, chiefly owing to increased cost of equalising Exchange.
I think in view of the present financial difficulties of the Colony, we should refer to ...