CO129-391 - Acting Governor Claud Severn Governor Sir May - 1912 [7-8] — Page 330

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The magnitude of the undertaking in a City where land is very

valuable and where the streets, with the exception of a short

length along part of the frontage on the river, are not more than

8 feet wide, did not seem to appel him.

As I wished to get confirmation of my informa-

-tion as to the financial position I asked Lir. Wu Hon-man what the revenue and expenditure of the Province was. He answered that the

revenue was $1,000,000 a month or $12,000,000 a year against $40,000,000 per annum collected by the Manchu Government. He added that the Republican Government had remitted many taxes imposed by

the Manchus because they were bad taxes; but that in due course

the revenue would exceed what the Manchu Government had obtained

from the Province. The expenditure he said was at the rate of $2,000,000 a month. I ventured to remark that it might have been

wise to retain the old taxes till better sources of taxation could

have been devised; and later in the conversation I told my visitor that schemes for compulsory education, improved sanitation and roads ought to wait on two cardinal necessities an honest administration of Government and efficient protection of life and property. Mr. Wu-Hon-man said he quite agreed and then he made the gratuitous admission that while protection of life and property. within the City of Canton was assured, the same could not be said of the districts beyond the City. I reminded Mr. Tu, who was resident in Hongkong for several years before he attained his present position, that when the Hongkong Government took over the New Territories their first and only concern was to establish an honest Government and to preserve peace and good order and that even now after more than 12 years of occupation we did not bother the people with sanitation, building laws, compulsory education and other innovations not of fundamental importance.

told Er. Wu at parting that if I could be of

any assistance to him in maintaining law and order I would help as

far as I could.

6.

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