CO882-6 — Page 218

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

6

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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no grounds for appointing a judge at Wei-hai-wei, as contemplated by the Order in Council, as there are only two or three petty civil cases a year, and the Commis- sioner can always deal with these, and criminal matters of a serious and capital

nature.

The records of the Magistrates' Court on the island show that on an average about 300 offences of night cases are dealt with annually.

The Court of the District Magistrate on the mainland deals with about 850 cases a year and receives numerous petitions calling for enquiry besides. It has not been considered necessary to constitute a land commission under paragraph 81, as no questions of tenure, occupancy or assessment of lands require determination.

The Naval Commander-in-Chief has not yet considered it necessary under sub- section 3 of Section 82 to make regulations for the use of Admiralty waters by mer- cantile vessels.

It is not advisable that the Commissioner should make and proclaim any Ordin- ances except such as may be found absolutely necessary because carrying them into execution will entail expenses that the Settlement is never likely to be able to meet. As a matter of fact, the Magisterial Orders made prior to the operation of the Order in Council fulfil all practical`purposes at present, and should answer for a long time

to come.

Legislation is not required for the Chinese at all. Proclamations and instruc- tions couched in Chinese terms and published in accordance with Chinese customs are all that is necessary for explaining the wishes of the Government.

A personal visit from the Magistrate at the village is found to be the best way of enforcing any order that may be objected to by the Chinese.

29. As regards civil suits on the frontier between Chinese and Chinese, when one party lives in British and one in Chinese territory, it is settled by the Frontier Regulations that the case shall be decided by the Magistrate in whose jurisdiction the defendant lives. The Chinese Magistrates have during 1901 invariably informed the District Magistrate when Chinese residents in the territory have been arrested by them outside the leased area.

30. With reference to Section 3, Sub-section 2, of the Order in Council dealing with the administration of the territory, it may be well to arrange that in the event of the death, incapacity, removal or absence of the Commissioner the civil officer for the time being performing the duties of Assistant to the Commissioner shall act in his stead, as if His Majesty's forces are removed from Wei-hai-wei, there may be no military officer in Wei-hai-wei, or the senior military officer in command may happen to be a very junior one.

With reference to Part 5 of the Order in Council dealing with civil matters, it is not clear what jurisdiction the Court of a Magistrate has in civil cases, and what appeal lies from it to the High Court.

31.

Revenue and Expenditure.

The total revenue of the Settlement in

1900-01 amounted to

1901-02 amounted to

(See Appendix 2.)

$4,077 $21,188

The revenue of the island and mainland is derived from the following sources:-

1. Municipal taxes on island and at Mahto on the mainland.

2. Land, house tax and licences.

3. Junk registration.

4. Junk customs.

5. Chinese wine licences.

6. Chinese opium licences.

7. Fines of Court.

1. Petty municipal taxes are collected monthly in Mahto on the mainland from the Chinese householders on a rough assessment of the value of their houses, in proportion to the number of rooms in the house. This amounts

to about $30 a month, or roughly to about $300 a year.

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32. The Land and Licence Regulations in force provide that all Europeans shall

pay one-half

per cent. of the assessed value of their properties. This amounted to nil in 1900, and to $507 in 1901-02.

This regulation applies only to land acquired since the date of the taking over of the territory, and does not apply to Chinese cultivators.

33.

A house tax of five per cent. on the assessed rental was introduced in 1901 by the same regulations, but it has not been fully carried out. Most of the houses built or occupied by foreigners are in use in the summer months only, and it appears injudicious to impose house taxes on houses empty for the greater half of the year. Further, no house taxes have been collected by the Civil Government on all the house property owned by the War Office, and Admiralty on the island. There is an annual tax of two per cent. on the assessed value of all godowns and warehouses, imposed by the same regulations, which has not been collected because there are no proper warehouses here.

The Chinese public women living at Mahto are charged a small fee for police protection and control; medical attendance is given by the Colonial Surgeon if required.

The land rents for small plots of State ground round the old Chinese forts on the mainland are also collected by the District Magistrate, and bring in about $80 a year.

Formerly the municipal affairs were managed by Mr. Schaller, the Secretary to the Chinese Regiment during 1900 and 1901. The District Magistrate has now taken over this work. On the island, no municipal house tax is collected. All the houses there belong to the Admiralty and War Office, who collect the rents and send them to the Home Treasury.

The chief sources of municipal revenue on the island are fees for licences for sampans, dogs, grazing, bumboats, hawkers, boarding-houses, meat shops, wharfage pier dues and fines. These amount annually to about $9,000.

The municipal books are kept by Mr. Dupree, the Interpreter and Secretary to the Commissioner.

It would seem well that the house tax at five per cent, and the warehouse tax of two per cent. should be dispensed with, as the amount is very trifling, and cannot be collected in all cases.

34. A licence fee of $20 per mensem is collected from every foreign hotel, and a monthly fee of $5 for every boarding-house.

A charge of $15 per mensem is levied for a licence to retail foreign wines, spirits and beer. The returns from these sources are very small, and average $200 a year.

35. Licences are granted to pawnshops, which pay one-half per cent. per annum on their capital. At present there are two small pawnshops on the mainland paying $11.50 a year, but none on the island.

Junk Registration.

36. All sampans or open boats plying between the island and the mainland are registered by the Inspector of Police on the island. The native junks are divided into fishing junks and trading junks. They are licensed annually, and pay for a fishing junk licence 50 cents and for a trading licence $2.

In 1901, 300 junks in all were registered, and $209 in fees was collected. The junkmen of Wei-hai-wei now wish to fly a Chinese pennant with the words "issued by the British Authorities" stamped on it. The Russians in Port Arthur and the Germans in Kiao Chao have adopted such flags, and there seems to be no reason why the same privilege should not be given the Chinese of Wei-hai-wei. This, how- ever, raises the question of the nationality of the Chinese living in the British area, which is referred to below in paragraphs 53 and 55.

has

Junk Customs.

37. This is a Chinese tax to which it is doubtful whether the British Government

any real claim. During 1900, $1,905 was collected from this source, and in 1901 the sum collected amounted to $1,742.

These junk customs are collected for Government by the Chinese firm I. Sheng,

in return for which service an annual payment of $96 is made. These native junks come from the Southern Chinese ports, the North China ports, and Manchuria. An export tax of so much per Chinese ton of cargo, according to a fixed scale established by the Chinese Government, is charged on such junks when outgoing; the outgoing