Hong Kong Annual Administration Reports, 1841-1941
COLONIAL REPORTS.-ANNUAL.
"tion of certain Crown Lands situate in the Taipingshan District " of the City of Victoria and for other purposes," which by the light of the foregoing remarks on the epidemic needs little explanation here. It is enough to state that this district (which at the time of writing has already been resumed by the Crown) is that in which the plague wrought the greatest havoc, and an idea of the value of the property may be gained from the fact that the Government has had to pay some $800,000 for the resumption of an area extending over some 400,000 square feet.
It is perhaps beyond the scope of this despatch to deal with current and prospective events, but I may limit myself to the remark, as a further instance of the satisfactory financial condition of the Colony, that the above large sum has been defrayed entirely from balances in hand. The work of improvement and the prospective financial results arising from the resumption of the above-mentioned area belong to the future, and cannot be appropriately discussed here.
Conversion of the Loan.
During the year a financial transaction of some importance was effected satisfactorily by the Crown agents, to whom the thanks of this Government are due, viz., the conversion of the unredeemed balance of the loan of 200,000l., raised under authority of Ordinance No. 11 of 1886 by the issue of 4 per cent. Debentures, into 3½ per cent. Inscribed Stock, thus bringing it into uniformity with the further loan of 200,000l. raised in 1893. The Public Debt of the Colony now stands at 341,800l, bearing interest at 3 per cent., 140,000l. of the first loan having been converted, and the balance of 60,000l. redeemed from the Sinking Fund provided for the purpose. The amount of 1,800l. over and above the sum of 340,000l., thus accounted for represents extra stock issued in connection with the expenses of conversion. The ultimate gain to the Colony from the above transaction is estimated at something over 3,000l., and the other advantages are sufficiently apparent to render comment unnecessary.
Financial Progress of the Colony.
Whilst on the subject of the finances of the Colony, a comparison between the revenues for the years 1869 and 1894 may be of interest as an indication of its progress in this respect. The revenue in 1869 amounted to $923,653 and the population to some 121,000. In 1894 the revenue, as stated above, reached a total of $2,287,208, and the population was estimated at some 246,000. It will thus be seen that there has been an advance both in the amount of the revenue and in the number of the population and that the per caput contribution to the public purse remains to-day very much the same as it was 25 years ago—a satisfactory proof that, despite the increase in revenue, the burden