CO882-(1-2) — Page 41

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :---

TTIC.O. 882

سائليبيا

1

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH——NOT TO

| PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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ou carriages let for hire, to which extent the Gover- nor decided in favour of the tax of this nature proposed by Sir E. Tennent, of which the expediency had been questioned by the Committee; and lastly,

A levy of 38. or six days' labour from every adult New Papers, p. 118. male in the island, with the view of relieving the road department from expense. This department had been hitherto exclusively supported by annual votes out of the general revenue, and had been exclusively and directly administered by officers of the general Government,

It was now arranged Ditto, p. 118. partly with a view to give the new road-tax & more popular character, partly to carry out the design of Committee for the introduction of municipal insti- tutions, that the contributions to be realized under the new Road Ordinance, as that imposing the new road-tax was called, whether in money or labour, should be exclusively appropriated to roads under the superintendence of Committees, assisted by a

a native officer elected by household suffrage. A Ditto, p. 188.

tax ou dogs was also imposed nearly simultaneously with the other taxes, in the shape of a license cost- ing la. per annum for each animal. But this was rather police arrangement than a financial ines- sure, the Governor reporting his object in adopting it to be the checking of the nuisance arising from

an excessive number of dogs, especially in towas.

A great effort was at the same time resolved upon by

the Goremor to reduce expenditure, and had so far

succeeded by the middle of 1848 that there was en- Ditto, p. 233. bibited in the secounts of the half-year then ended a reduction of expenditure of 20,4351. chiefly in esta- blishments a compared with the expenditure of the first half-year of 1847.* Application was also made to the Home Government for a loan from the Imperial Treasury or for sauction to raise one on the spot, as

it appeared early in 1848, that nothing but such

:

a resource could enable the local Government to Governor's despatch, dated April

14, 1848.

meet its engagements during the course of that year Ditto, p. 99, &c.

as the revenue continued to fall off in many branabes

owing to the cessation of land sales, the continued

• Against this there was to be set off a decrease of revance to

the amount of 3,6742. A surplus of receipt over expenditure was exhibited on the first half-year of 1848, of 14,5947., but upwards of 29,0001. of receipts were arream of former years, so that the balance of the finanoes though nearly wan: not quite restored at Midsummer 1848, (Boo p. 288, New Pupom:)

New Papers, pp. 335 and 337.

Ditto p. 36; also see p. 302.

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depression of the planting and mercantile interests, and the consequently reduced influx and employ- ment of coolies and reduced consumption of the various articles yielding revenue.

It was finally agreed by the Home Government to advance from the Home Treasury a moderate suDA (about 13,000L) to meet the immediate demands upon the Colonial Agent in this country, whom the Colonial Government had found it difficult to supply with funds; but it was explained that if the Colonial Government should be unable to repay this advance within a few months out of the current revenue, or should require a further loan, then that the advance must be repaid, and the sums otherwise nocemary must be provided, by a loan to be raised in the local money market by the Colonial Government on the best terms obtainable.

The stematic land-tax proposed by the Com- mittee was postponed indefinitely by the local Government, owing to the very complicated nature of the preliminary inquiries which were found to be necessary. But the Surveyor-General was ended

on to report, and information was collected with a view to some systematic plan or other being ultim mately adopted and carried out.

It was in the nature of the taxes taken off by Lærd Terringson, that the relief was more immediately and directly felt by the Europeans, the manchwat and planters and owners of large ustason, rather than by the natives, while it was in the nature of the yew taxes imposed by him that their pressors fall directly upon the mass of the native population. Das som- parative depression of the owners of ippal ospital, the comparative prosperity of the labouring slauwe the difficulties with which thọ feme ing, the same with which the subsistence, as well as the which taxation should be distr situated in

in the opinjen

Grgy, who

continued

neonsáry

Ditto

PP

349 to 345.

(See Lord

1848, in which

policy are fully