i
11
490
THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 19TM OCTOBER, 1878.
because there was a strong feeling at the Legislative Council that it would not be proper to allow such money to enter into the revenue. The gambling funds had unfortunately for a certain time, in opposition to the advice of the principal Members of this Council (the leading Unofficial Members), in opposition to the advice of the Chief Justice, and without the sanction of Her Majesty's Government, been paid into the revenue of the Colony; but when the facts became generally known, owing to the action taken at this Council table, and in other ways, orders were given that these licences should cense and in future the gambling fund should not be mixed with the revenue of this Colony. Unfortunately, what I am now detailing to you escaped attention. I had to inform the Secretary of State that the fund to which he referred had never been constituted, and in reply to the despatch in which I forwarded the statements of the gentleman in whose charge the department lay, I received the following reply:-
"I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 54, of the 1st July, relative to the amount of "revenue derived from houses of ill-fame, and I approve of the steps which you have taken for constituting a special fund "from this source in accordance with Ordinance 10 of 1867."
In other words, the special fund has now been formed, and in the preliminary financial statement I am now making to you, for the first time since that Ordinance passed, we shall not have to consider that an item of revenue, nor will it again appear in the Estimates of this Colony.
There are two reasons why the community of Hongkong should feel some interest, I venture to think, in the statement. I am now making. If there is in our Treasury chest this large and unprecedented balance; if these leading items of revenue are steadily increasing-and, I should add, as one of the most significant, that the house tax (the amount we derive from the twelve per cent on the valuation of house property) is also increasing, and will reach its maximum this year-it, I say, everything is so flourishing, the community will fairly ask, has not the time arrived when some consideration may be given to the tax-payer, and especially to the householders in the Colony? I find that in 1868 the police rate, lighting rate, water rate, and fire brigade rate amounted to 11 per cent. In 1870 it was raised to 12 per cent., and since 1870 up to this moment it has stood at 12 per cent. Now, before venturing to say how we might deal with that, I should like to ask you to consider two other items of revenue to which I have now to reter.
One is what we derive from opium. That shows no increase, Whilst everything else increases, the Opium Farra is at a standstill, and we are to receive this year, 1878, the sum of $132,000, being the same sum that we received in 1877, and being less than the sum received in 1876, and considerably less than the sum received in 1875. The rent of the Opium Farm in 1875 was $137,000, in 1870, $133,000; it is now $332,000. Well, gentlemen, I am of opinion-aud I know you concur with me--that by prudent management we ought to get for the Opium Farm, if not its fall value, at all events a fair value, and therefore something largely in excess of what the present farmers pay.
There is another item of revenue, that of spirits. That brings us in a comparatively smail sum, a sum far smaller than it realises for other Governments similarly situated to ours. I find that in 1877 we obtained from that source a revenue of $28,395. Instead of $28,000, we ought to receive from the Spirit Farm $100,000, if not more; and therefore it is, gentlemen, that in the months of August and September I asked the Unofficial Members of Council to meet me for the purpose of considering the question of how far they, as corumercial men, would be prepared to assist me in establishing a Spirit Farm in the Colony; and also how far they would assist me in improving the Opium Ordinance so as to strengthen the hands of the opium farmer and encourage him to give a proper sua for the monopoly. I received from my Honourable friends the Upofficial Members valuable advice on these two points, aud, speaking in the presence of my Honourable friends, I think I am justified in saying that they went entirely with me on the subject of the Spirit Farm. As regards the Opium Farm, there are certain alterations in the Ordinance which I contemplate submitting to you. They are alterations in detail, and I apprehend they are alterations which my Honourable friends will support. I may mention that I did draft, with the assistance of the Attorney General, a Bill to establish in this Colony an Opium Farm identical with that in Singapore. But my Honourable friends, who know more than I do of the commercial transactions of this Colony, and whose views on such subjects I always receive with the utmost deference, at once suggested that the proposed Bill should not be pressed; and of course I took their advice. The Bill will not be laid before you, but only such amendments of the existing law as my Honourable friends will approve.
Nothing would give me greater satisfaction than to lower considerably the rates and taxes in this Colony. Until I see ny way to a proper sale of the Opium Faria, and until I find out what we can get from a Spirit Farm, 1 content myself with announcing to you in public the views I have already communicated to you in private, so that they may be considered by you and the Colony in general; and I think I may look for support from you in doing everything that can be lawfully done to stimulate our revenue from opium and spirits. With regard to the Spirit Farm, I am not disposed to think that its operation should be confined simply to Chinese spirits, from which I hope to get u very large revenue, but I think a Spirit Farm may also deal, as it does in Singapore, with other classes. We have in this Colony a large number of sailors
and others who at this moment drink very bad and nominally very cheap spirit. One effect of the Spirit Farm would be to increase the revenue, but another effect would be to establish some check on the deleterious spirit now sold; so that the legislation I contemplate, and, perhaps, with your sanction, way succeed in passing, will not only increase our revenue but will benefit the consumer likewise.
I have told you that there has been an increase in the revenue from junks. Now I know some of my Honourable friends, the Unofficial Members whom I have consulted from time to time on this subject, entirely agree with me with respect to the fees levied on junks. We levy at this moment on junks of 500 piculs a sea-going licence of $10 and a fishing licence of £1; under 500 piculs we levy $1 a month and 20 cents fishing licence; for vessels of 500 piculs and less than 1,000 we levy $15 sea-going licence, and $3 fishing licence; for vessels above 1,000 piculs we levy $20 sea-going licence. So far for the native shipping. Upon the whole of the European shipping we levy one cent a ton. Now, these two items are items of great significance: They both show an increase, and the increase they show furnishes us with one of the best and safest
209.000
THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 19TM OCTOBER, 1878.
491
tests of the growing prosperity of the Colony. If the Opium Farra sells at the figure I anticipate, and if we can establish a Spirit Farm, I would ask you then to consider the advisability of entirely removing from the native trade of the Colony the licensing fees I have now detailed to you, and I would ask you also to consider the equity of considerably reducing the police, water, lighting, and fire brigade rates.
Gentlemen, I have no doubt the interest you feel in the statement I have made is, as men of business, not confined merely to seeing that our revenue is prosperous. What is the meaning of our rent-roll steadily increasing and being now at a figure never known before in the history of Hongkong? What is the meaning of the increase of the junk trade, and the increase in light dues? What is the meaning of all the other items of increase that I have spoken to you of? And I may add even such a small thing as the licences on chairs, carriages, and horses. The increase in all these items can be described in one word-prosperity. It means the prosperity of the Colony. Under the junk trade increase I assume at the close of this year-there are figures now before me--that we shall have on the native trade alone an increase of 80,000 tons in the year. And what does the increase in light dues during the first nine months of this year and up to this date indicate? It shows us that in the European and American shipping--the foreign shipping coming to this harbour-the increase in 1878 will be 300,000 tons, so that we may in the year 1878 calculate upon being able to show an increase of 390,000 tons of shipping entered into this Colony in cargo as compared with last year. To estimate the full value of that, I may remind you that the total shipping of Queensland, which is the largest Colony in area in the British Empire and not the least flourishing, amounts to 388,000 tons: that is, of ships entered with cargo. The total tonnage of ships entered into the two important Colonies of South Australia and Western Australia put together is actually less than the increase we have made this year. In truth, gentlemen, when I compare the position of this Colony with that of other Colonies, and especially when I remember-and we are bound to do that, I think, in fairness-that in the nine months to which I have been referring, and of which I have the authentic returns now before me, it may be said that our prosperity is due to no real activity of trade in the United Kingdom or Judia, we surely have cause for satisfaction.
In the United Kingdom during that period there has been depression. In fadia we have had during the same period mercantile uncertainty, an uncertainty that still continues. In China itself we have had a desolating famine, and even down to the Kwang-tung province, which this Colony adjoins, there has been during the same period unexampled and severe distress. Therefore, it is some satisfaction to the to-day, in making to you this preliminary financial statement---- sketching out to you the proposals I may have the honour to submit to you, I hope, at the usual time next month-to know that in the history of this Colony no Governor was ever before able to put before his Council such indisputable proofs of growing, steady, and safe prosperity as the facts that you have before you to-day.
And, gentlemen, knowing that, I have every confidence that you will assist me cordially in dealing with the finances next month in such a way as to effect for the tax-payers of this Colony a reasonable redaction. It will be our duty, no doubt to maintain our revenue at a safe figure, and I would throw out to my unofficial friends this for consideration, that something like $900,000 a year ought at present to answer us for all the requirements of the Colony. If you agree with me that we ought to determine our revenue this year at something like that figure, then you will at once see the feasibility of our making some reductions of taxation; and this point of course we shall bear in mind in doing so, namely, that if we stimulate the Opium Farin, and if we gain much increase of revenue from the Spirit Farm, we ought at once to reduce taxation upon those who are producing the wealth of the Colony. The native junk trade, of course, is employed in producing the wealth of the Colony, but every householder in this industrious community, every Chinese trader, every European man of business, every Portuguese clerk who works away with his pen in a merchant's office, is producing wealth by his labour, and I think it hard we should be deriving from a direct tax upon such householders the largest single item of our revenue. Therefore, gentlemen, in the sketch I have ventured to put before you I have indicated on the one hand the exact state of the finances; you see how prosperous they are; I have also told you fraukly the general idea I have of how we should deal with them, and when next November I submit my schemes to you more in detail I shall look forward with confidence to receiving your support.-(Applause.)
Honourable P. RYRIE asked His Excellency if, in the estimate he had made of the expenditure for the end of the year, he had taken the fall amount voted for the different departments, because he had been given to understand occasionally some of the departments did not spend the amounts voted. For instance, the Police sometimes did not spend the entire amount voted, and he would ask if in his estimate His Excellency had taken the full amount voted or only the amount actually expended.
His EXCELLENCY said he had only taken the actual expenditure of the nine months. It sometimes happened, that more was voted than was required during the year, but speaking generally, he could say that for the ensuing portion of this year the expenditure would be in the same proportion it had been. There were some items which appeared in the Estimates last year on account of which no expenditure whatever had been incurred. For instance, one for which his Honourable friends the Unofficial Members had voted was the establishment of an observatory and time ball, but he subse- quently ascertained that the Unofficial Members entertained a little doubt about it, and accordingly he had not spent one farthing of that vote. From time to time, as his Honourable friend was aware, the Finance Committee had voted certain
These were all included. Honourable P. RYRIE.They are supplementary.
suns.
His EXCELENCY-They are supplementary; but they are included and appear in the statement submitted to me by the Treasurer. Sometimes money has to be spent immediately; for instance, after that heavy rain storm some months ago, my Honourable friend the Surveyor General had to set to work immediately and the Finance Committee then dealt with it. Honourable P. RYRIE said that with regard to the Police rate, it was during the time of General BRUNKER that it was eleven per cent, and when he was superseded it was put up.
His EXCELLENCY said that was so.
• Canchal Schon do, a Ma
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