195
Noes
The Captain Superintendent of Police, the Registrar General, the Director of Public Works, the Colonial Treasurer. the Attorney General, the Colonial Secretary and the Officer Commanding the Troups
HIS EXCELLENCY
The
Noes have it
Enclosure 2 in No 194
Hong Kong LEGISLATIVE COUNCn. Thursday, th June, 1911, 2:30 p.m QUESTIONS BY Tu Honourable Mr H E POLLOCK, K ('
Is it not a fact that, if the scheme of His Excellency the Governor for devoting half of the margin ie, half of the excess of ordinary revenue over ordinary expenditure exclusive of military contribution and volunteers) to military contribu tion had come into force on the 1st January, 1904, the average annual saving to the Colony on such a scheme for the seven years from 1904 to 1910 inclusive would only If not, what other figure does the Government have amounted to about $75.380 · suggest as being correct 4
2
Is it not the fact that, if the Colony had paid a fixed annual contribution of $1,000,000 during the said period of seven years, the average annual saving to the Colony would have been about $285,940 / If not, what other figure does the Govern- ment suggest as being correct!
3
Is it not the fact that there is no prospect of the expenditure of the Colony being decreased during the next few years if our necessary Public Works are to be begun and or proceeded with with reasonable despatch?
4 Will not such expenditure involve the raising of a corresponding revenue and the payment of a corresponding military contribution, if the present method of assessing the latter remains unaltered?
3 If the answer to Questions 3 and 4 is in the affirmative, must not the fixed contribution proposed by the Unofficial Members necessarily be advantageous to the ratepayers from a pecuniary point of view, both as compared with the present system and as compared with the half margin scheme suggested by His Excellency the Governor ?
6 Will the Government forward the above five questions and answers thereto to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies for his consideration in connection with the proposal of the Unofficial Members that the military contribu- tion should be fixed at ar annual sum of $1,000,000 ?
25572
SIR.
No 195
HONG KONG
WAR OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE
(Received August 4, 1911)
[Austrered by 1..F. transmitting Copy of No». 198,]
War Office, London, S.W., 3rd August, 1911.
WITH reference to your letter 20915/11, dated 13th July, 1911,* forwarding a draft of an Ordinance amending the Hong Kong Defence Contribution Ordinance
of 1901, I am commanded by the Army Council to enclose a copy of a letter of this day's date, which has been addressed to the Treasury on the subject.
The Army Council will be glad to receive in due course a copy of the amending Ordinance as finally approved
Enclosure in No 195.
I am, &c..
R. H. BRADE.
SIR.
War Office, 3rd August, 1911. WITH reference to your letter of 22nd ultimo, regarding the amendment of the Hong Kong Defence Contribution Ordinance, 1901, I am commanded by the Army Council to send you, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, a copy of a draft amending Ordinance which has been received from the Colonial Office.
It will be observed that the proposed Ordinance provides not only for the assess- ment to military contribution of the net receipts from the Kowloon-Canton Railway, but for the application of the same principle to reproductive Government under- takings generally, as in the other Eastern Colonies.
So far as the Army Council are aware the British section of the Kowloon- Canton Railway is the only enterprise of this nature that has actually been under- taken by the Colonial Government, but they see no objection on this ground to the proposed amending Ordinance.
the
They would, however, suggest the insertion of the words "British section of before" Kowloon in the second line of the proposed addition to Section 3 of the principal Ordinance.
The Army Council assume that in the event of the Colony desiring to apply to the revenue derived from any other undertaking the principle of assessment of net receipts, the proposal will be referred for the consideration of this Department in the usual manner before steps are taken to give effect to it.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
9
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON!
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH--NOT TO
Replies to the Foregoing QUESTIONS.
1 The exact figure of the annual average saving should be $75,339.43.
2
The exact saving is $286,001 57.
3 and 4. The reply is in the affirmative.
5
Since the average military contribution for the past seven years is stated by the honourable member to have been $1.285,940, its reduction to $1,000,000 would obviously be a pecuniary gain to the taxpayers. The proposal made by His Excel- lency to devote half the margin between ordinary revenue and ordinary expenditure to the military contribution was based on the assumption of the military contribu The principle, however, that the tion remaining practically at its present amount. military contribution should be a percentage of this margin instead of a percentage of gross revenue was suggested by His Excellency in order to give effect to Mr. Chamberlain's intention that the amount of the contribution should rise and fall according to the prosperity of the Colony, and in order that it should not increase in consequence of increased taxation to meet increased expenditure. If, therefore, it were desired that the average contribution should be decreased by the sum named by the honourable member, viz., $285,080, this result could be obtained by devoting about 38 or 39 per cent. of the margin to military contribution instead of 50 per
cent.
6. The questions and replies will be forwarded to His Majesty's Secretary of State as desired.
The Secretary
To the Treasury
8014
SIR,
No. 196.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
COLONIAL OFFICE to TREASURY. [Copy to War Office, 9 August, 1911. L.F.] [Answered by No. 211.]
I am, &c..
R. H. BRADE.
Downing Street, 5 August, 1911. WITH reference to the letter from this Department of the 10th of April,† I am directed by Mr. Secretary Harcourt to request you to inform the Lords Com- missioners of the Treasury that he has consulted the Governor of the Straits Settle- ments with regard to the question of the military contribution paid by that Colony. Mr. Harcourt now desires me to offer the following observations upon your letter of the 11th of March.
24658
• No. 193.
↑ No. 185.
‡ No. 184.
N 2