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not pay taxes, there might be no adequate reason why they should receive what would then be a gift from the British tax-payer.
But there is no question of a gift, when the tax-payers of this Colony are contributing 20% of their revenue to Military purposes, because that rate of 20% is as nearly as possible equivalent to the ratio between normal Imperial Military expenditure and the total revenue in Great Britain and Ireland, and such Imperial Military expenditure includes the price which the Military Authorities would pay for land required for Military purposes in Hongkong.
In other words, the Imperial tax-payer contributes 20% of his taxes for Military purposes and this 20% includes what is expended out of Imperial funds for purchase of land in Hongkong; and as the tax-payer here contributes an equal proportion of his taxes to Military expenditure, there is no gift from British or Imperial tax-payers to the Colonial tax-payer.
17.
If the land at Mount Cochrane mentioned in paragraph 17 of the General Officer Commanding's letter is War Department Land and any proposal to exchange it for Colonial land is laid before my Government, the matter will of course receive due consideration.
18.
With respect to paragraph 18 of the General Officer Commanding's letter, I submit that the number of troops in this Colony and the increase in that number since 1st January, 1901, do not bear on the question as to how lands required for accommodating such troops shall be acquired.
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not pay taxes, there might be no adequate reason why they
should receive what would then be a gift from the British
tax-payer.
But there is no question of a gift, when
the tax-payers of this Colony are contributing 20 % of their revenue to Military purposes, because that rate of 20 % 1s
as nearly as possible equivalent to the ratio between normal Imperial Military expenditure and the total revenue in Great Britain and Ireland, and such Imperial Military expenditure includes the price which the Military Authorities would pay for land required for Military purposes in Hongkong.
In other words, the Imperial tax-payer contributes 20 % of his taxes for Military purposes and this 20 includes what is expended out of Imperial funds for purchase of land in Hongkong; and as the tax-payer here con- tributes an equal proportion of his taxes to Military expen~ diture, there is no gift from British or Imperial tax-payers
to the Colonial tax-payer.
17.
If the land at Mount Cochrane mentioned
in paragraph 17 of the General Officer Commanding's letter is War Department Land and any proposal to exchange it for Colonial land is laid before my Government, the matter will of course receive due consideration.
18.
With respect to paragraph 18 of the General Officer Commanding's letter, I submit that the number of troops in this Colony and the increase in that number since 1st. January, 1901, do not bear on the question as to how lands required for accommodating such troops shall be
acquired
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