E
108
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
ments abroad is something astounding. But although this enormons wealth is owned by the monied class of Great Britain outside those islands, their expenses outside the United Kingdom in respect of this property are exceedingly small, and for the purposes of this argament they are negligible.
to be defended. He commenced by saying that the value of imports and exports passing through this Colony were about 50 million That is an absolutely sterling per annum. arbitrary assumption. Being a free port we are unable to produce any statistics, because it is at present perfectly open to any vessel passing through this port to declare or not declare the value of its cargo. We are hoping, by the way, to introduce some greater pre- But cision in that matter in the future. assuming the figure given by the hou. member to be correct. it represents the total value of imports and exports for a whole year. It is not the value on any one particular day on which you are calculating the wealth of the Colony which has to be defended.
its
The hon. member states that the private income of persons in the United Kingdom amount by the estimate of one gentleman to one thousand million pounds, and by the estimate of another to two thousand mil. lous. We will assume the latter, although the divergence shows how very arbitrary the calculation must be. He stated that this income was equivalent to a capital sum privately owned in the United Kingdom of fifty thousand millions sterling. Now surely, But even if we accepted the general lines gentlemen, that is in itself obviously wrong, of argument, I do not see that it follows for we know that a great part of that pri- that if this Colony were proved to pay vately-owned property is invested outside the
a larger proportion per head for United Kingdom, and its security does not defence than the average citizen of the therefore depend on the defence of the United Kingdom, that that would of British Isles. Turning to his estimate of necessity be an injustice. The fortunes the privately-owned property in this Colony, that have been made in this Colony, which he places at 25 millions sterling, I are, I presume, due to its position as a should imagine that was very much underport on an Ocean highway. the mark. In the first place, the estimate excludes Government property, and Govern inent property is the property of the tax- payer at large. It follows that it took no count of the ratio of that Government property to the population. Now this ratio is a very vital point in the argument, and
The reason
that European and Chinese merchants come to this Colony is because its geographical position makes it favourable to trade, and if it is also a vulnerable position it follows that you must pay more for its defence. should conceive that if you put the material property owned by the taxpayer either in-
I
I have no doubt whatever that it is enor-dividually or collectively at something like mously greater in this Colony than it is in the United Kingdom,
We have bere a railway which has cost us, as you know, upwards of one million sterling; we have reservoirs both at Tytam and at Kowloon which have cost very large sums indeed, besides Government buildings and other property. The value of these per head of population is, I should think, vastly greater than the similar value per capitum in England.
I am therefore compelled to differ funds mentally from the conclusions at which the hon. member arrived. I do not think it is proved that we are taxed four times as heavily as in the United Kingdom. My own belief is that it is just the other way.
The next argument which my hon. friend brought forward was the cost of defence with reference to the value of the property
50 million sterling, you would not be very far from the mark, and that sum divided by the military contribution, gives a rate of 0.2 per cent. insurance premium. With regard to this question of defence, I may point out that the adequacy of defence depends upon geographical position, upon sea power, and upon the value of the territory and property to be defended; and any arbitrary calcula tion arrived at by dividing the revenue by the population or the cost of the troops into the value of property does not take into consideration all the really vital facts.
I turn with much pleasure to a point, on which I find myself in full agreement with my hon, friend, and, indeed, the ability which he has displayed in going into these figures makes it very disagreeable to find myself at variance with his general con- clusions. He said, that as part of the Empire
109
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL to which we were all proud to belong, we much for the military contribution, at a time wished to pay a fair and just proportion of when every nation of the earth is groaning its defence, and those words were echoed under increased taxation for defence, and by the senior unofficial member and by the when we pay a little under one-third of the Beconder of the resolution. I am myself cost of the defence of this Colony? The in a difficult position in this matter, be-second important question is: Is our land cause, as you know from my reply to defence adequate as we are entitled to do- questions asked at our last meeting, the mand that it should be? I am not speak. Secretary of State deprecated my laying on ing to order, but as an honest mau I am the table the papers asked for which con- bound to say clearly and definitely that I tained my views and calendations. That do not myself believe that the resolution being so, it is impossible for me to explain which is placed before the Council is one those views and calculations verbally. In the which would be to the advantage of this debate in October, 1908, I gave the general Colony. It is not a matter which is one of purport of them, and the subsequent in- merely local interest: it is a matter which vestigations which I made only tended to affects the Empire at large. It may be that the confirm more strongly the views I then ex- whole of the unofficial members, and possibly pressed.
some of the official members, may disagree this question very carefully. I have speut with my personal views, but I have studied much time in comparing the incidence of the cost of defences in this Colony and the inci- dence in other Colonies all over the Empire. advantage of this Colony to have a fixed contribution of one million dollars or any other sula.
I believe a better system of assessment than that now employed is easy 10 invent. I have myself "suggested a
I believe that it will not be to the
It was a somewhat strange coincidence, of which I was not aware until to-day, that while I spoke at the very end of October, 1908, on this subject, the Governor of the Straits Settlements made a not dissimilar speech a week or two later, in November of the same year. He laid before the Council papers containing correspondence with the Secretary of State on the subject, and he in very strong terms condemned, as I have. the method of assessment. I am in full agreement with my hon, friend who second-system of devoting half the margin between ed the motion that the method of assess-
ordinary revenue and ordinary expenditure to the military contribution. That may or ment is hopelessly illogical. (Applause.) I was glad also to observe that the Governor may not be the best possible method, "but of the Straits took the view which I have
at any rate it has the advantage of making myself advanced, in regard to loan expendi- of the Colony. Although I cannot accept the incidence correspond with the prosperity ture, viz., that the revenue raised for the service of a loan--to provide interest and
the resolution which has been moved by the hon. member, I shall, of course, be glad to Sinking Fund-ought not to be assessed to military contribution.
forward to the Secretary of State not only the resolution but the report of the debate In the circumstances, gentlemen, I find I in this Council to-day. I have no doubt am compelled to limit myself to the some that Mr. Harcourt will be specially interest- what disagreeable and futile task of en- ed to read the remarks which have fallen deavouring to show that the arguments from the senior unofficial member (Hon. advanced by my hon. friend are open to Dr. Ho Kai) in regard to the very remark- much criticism, and that the conclusions atable fact of which he has told us, that it is which he arrives are not, in my opinion, in times of adversity that the Chinese con- justified. For the rest, I am unable at the tribute most to charitable works and other present moment to lay any constructive such calls, and therefore that we are not policy before you further than what I have entitled to assume that because large sub- already said in the debate of October, 1908. | scriptions are raised the Colony is in a singu For my own part I think that it is much larly prosperous condition. (Applause.) the best course in dealing with this question to lay aside all futile comparisons with taxa- tion in the United Kingdom, and to place ourselves face to face with the real issues. They are very simple. Are we paying too
THE HON. MR. EDE-Your Excellency, may I use my right to reply very briefly? I do not propose to go over the ground I have already been over, but, as I stated, I
60
Tuly
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.