1841-1886
HER MAJESTY'S COLONIAL POSSESSIONS.
237
carrying on their operations with greater freedom financially and otherwise, as far as the action of the State is concerned, than merchants have, perhaps, in any other part of the world.
7. The increase of the Colonial Revenue from 184,405l. in 1876 to 222,945l. in 1880 is not due to any increase in taxation, but to the general progress and prosperity of the Colony. The house taxes were 12 per cent. on the annual valuation in 1876, when they contributed 38,439l. to the Revenue; they were still at 12 per cent. in 1880, when they brought in 48,032l. to the Revenue. The Opium Farm, which was worth to the State 27,500l. a year in 1876, was subsequently sold for 42,708l. a year.
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8. Some returns recently compiled by the Government valuators account for this satisfactory increase of Revenue without the imposition of additional taxation. The valuation of tenements in the town of Victoria for the last 10 years has been --
1871 Dollars. 1,784,435 1872 1,770,207 1873 1,798,349 1874 1,805,644 1875 1,781,946 1876 1,773,848 1877 1,820,478 1878 1,847,817 1879 1,982,048 1880 2,156,109From 1871 to 1876 the valuation appears not to have fluctuated much, towards the end of 1877 the Chinese began to flock to the Colony in larger numbers, and since then they have been building more houses and houses of a somewhat more expensive class and buying houses from Europeans. The consequent change in the value of house property in the last 10 years in the whole Colony, including the town of Victoria, is shown by the valuators in the following return of the Revenue from House Taxes in 1871 and 1880, the rate being 12 per cent. in both years on the valuation of houses in Victoria, and five per cent. in the rural districts.
1871. 1880. Europeans, including natives of the United Kingdom and other European States; also Americans, Portuguese of the East, Parsees, Indians, and, in short, all non-Chinese 119,772 71 141,502 62 Chinese 65,549 41 230,557 31 Total 185,322 · 12 372,059 93Comparative Return of Police, Lighting, Water, and Fire Brigade Rates collected from Europeans, &c. and Chinese respectively, during the years 1871 and 1880.