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version. Against this debt must be set the sum of £1,594, already contributed to the new Sinking Fund, and the unexpended balance of the Loan which, on the 31st August last, stood at £43,139.
The relief afforded by the Loan soon produced visible results. At the end of 1894, our balances in hand amounted to no less than $450,000, and my early-expressed hopes seemed destined to be fulfilled. It was not, however, within the power of human foresight to contemplate the exceptional circumstances which intervened at this juncture, and which absorbed the entire amount of our credit balances. The Plague of 1894 and its recrudescence in 1896 has cost this Colony—directly and indirectly—nearly $1,200,000, not to mention the large increase in the cost of the Sanitary Department, and the expenditure on various sanitary improvements. Then again, the dollar has depreciated in value nearly 100 per cent, and our sterling payments have increased proportionately. It was not therefore a matter for surprise that at the end of 1895 our balances of $450,000, in addition to the ordinary surplus for the year, had been wholly expended, and that a debit balance of $171,908 was carried forward to the 1896 account. It is, however, a matter for congratulation that that debit balance was wiped out during the year, and that at the beginning of 1897 a balance of $13,400 stood to our credit, and that, notwithstanding the Government contribution to the Jubilee Fund, there is every reasonable prospect of the accounts for the year 1898 opening with a balance on the right side.
And now, Gentlemen, my statement in regard to the financial position has been necessarily somewhat long, but it will, I venture to hope, be regarded as most satisfactory taking into consideration all the opposing circumstances to which I have referred. I have endeavoured to fulfil my promises to avoid all "harassing and embarrassing" legislation, and to effect economy. The fulfilment of the former will be recognised in the way in which the Estimate of Revenue for 1898 has been framed, and of the latter in the retrenchment which has been generally effected throughout the Service. I think it right, however, to state that, in my opinion, certain posts in the Civil Service are insufficiently paid, especially when compared with similar appointments in other Colonies. I trust it will be possible to remedy this defect, and thus retain in Hongkong the services of experienced officers who might otherwise accept a transfer to Colonies where they would be more highly remunerated.
While on this subject I desire to avail myself of this opportunity to acknowledge the great assistance I have received during my Government from all branches of the Civil Service, and to express my appreciation of the loyal manner in which they have co-operated with me in furthering the interests of the Colony.
I have every reason to adhere to my confidence in the resources of Hongkong and its financial soundness. A handsome advance has been secured on the price at present paid for the Opium Farm, and I wish I could look forward with equal certainty to a rise in the sterling value of the dollar.
As regards the events of the year, with one exception to which I shall refer later, there is but little to record. The Captain Superintendent of Police, reports a period of comparative peace. There are, however, two noteworthy items of "Police news" to which I may refer. The first is the placing of District Watchmen on Police beats under the supervision of Europeans between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., thus re-inforcing the Police by forty auxiliaries of a very useful stamp.
The arrangement has so far worked satisfactorily, and it is hoped that the additional protection thus afforded will tend to reduce the number of armed gang robberies, which are only too frequent in the winter months. The other innovation is the withdrawal of the Night Pass and Light Regulations. Night Passes were first introduced in 1857, when, no doubt, good reasons existed for such a stringent measure.
In this present year of grace, however, such restrictions cannot but be regarded as a relic of a barbarous past and inconsistent, in these enlightened times, with the liberty of the subject. Results have justified the repeal of these Regulations, and I am sure the relief has been fully appreciated by the respectable Chinese.
And here, I must refer with great regret to the grave irregularities which have recently been shown to exist in the Police Force and in other Departments of the Government Service amongst the subordinate officers. You are aware of the action taken by the Government in this matter, and I believe that it has been guided to a proper course. I fear there can be no doubt that these irregularities have been in existence for very many years. That they have now been brought to light, and that stringent measures have been taken to put an end to them must ultimately conduce to a better state of things in the future.
As regards the Public Health, I can give you an exceptionally favourable report, which may, to some extent, compensate for the large amount of Sanitary Legislation which has of late years fallen upon us. There have been only 17 cases of Plague during the year, several of which are said to have been imported from the mainland. This is very satisfactory when it is remembered that the disease was prevalent in the neighbouring ports of Amoy and Swatow, and in the island of Formosa for several months. The comparative immunity from Plague enjoyed by Hongkong during 1897 may be due to the improved sanitary condition of the Colony and the increased vigilance of the Sanitary Board.
The death rate of the British and Foreign community for the first 9 months of the Year is 21.5 per thousand as compared with 23.6 for the corresponding period of 1891, whilst the death rate amongst the Chinese community for the like periods has been reduced from 26.9 per 1,000 to 18.9 per 1,000. This represents an annual saving of nearly 2,000 Chinese lives and about 17 European.
The main drainage has been, practically, completely re-modelled. Thirty-six miles of sewers have been laid, not including the drains constructed in connection with the re-drainage of houses, which would nearly double those figures. I am informed that Victoria may now be regarded as one of the best drained cities east of Suez, and that its domestic sanitation will compare favourably with that of any of the large cities in England.
Bye-laws have been made for the compulsory concreting of ground floors in dwellings, for the prevention of overcrowding, for the regulation of bake-houses, laundries, opium-smoking divans, offensive trades, and animal depôts, for the regular periodical cleansing of tenement dwellings, and for the notification of communicable diseases, and these are being quietly and steadily enforced.
The New Central Market, the Slaughter-houses and adjoining Cattle Depôts at Kennedy Town and Kowloon which have an important bearing on the food supply of the Colony have been completed during my administration, whilst the water supply, which is of vital importance to the health of the community, has been increased to 100,000,000 gallons, and extended to the Kowloon Peninsula, and to the populous villages of Shaukiwan and Aberdeen.
The most noticeable features in the history of Education during my term of office have been—(1) the revision of the Grant-in-Aid Code in 1893, which added arithmetic to the subjects for which grants should be given to schools giving a purely Chinese education, elementary science in the case of schools giving a European education in the Chinese language, and a seventh standard in all classes of schools. (2) The graduating of two pupils in July, 1892, from the Chinese College of Medicine, being the first two graduates from that Institution. (3) The opening of the Belilios Public School for Girls in December, 1893, for which we have to thank the generosity of an Honourable Member of this Council; and (4) The limitation in November, 1895, of grants-in-aid to schools giving a European education in the English language—a measure which was induced by the very marked deficiency in this respect on the part of the Chinese community resident in this Colony, and the necessity recognised from the experiences of 1894 of providing a more enlightened education. I trust that this policy will be maintained, and that a training institution, which will furnish a supply of qualified teachers and so place the means of acquiring a useful knowledge of the English language and Western ideas within the reach of the poorer classes of the Chinese community may be provided. I consider that such expenditure will be incurred in a most important cause, and I commend to the notice of the Council the desirability of increasing the Grant-in-Aid Vote, and of continuing to substitute subsidised schools for the Government schools that still remain in existence.