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revenue. It has been further proved dur- ing the year that what I said at this Coun. a meeting this time last year on the diminahing opium revenue is as true to-day as thep. Que result of the British Govern- ment relinquishing its control of this traffic and handing the revenue, multiplied 100- ford, to the resourceful smugg.er, is the additional work put upon the shoulders of the Police Force in their endeavours to deal wish tais most intricate ramification of smuggling the world has probably ever known, which extra expense the long-suffer. ing ratepayer has to pay for and, at the enre time, make up the deficit in revenue. Soe 17 or 18 years ago, when the incom. ing Liberal party went to the electors of Great Britain on (amongst others) the subject of opium, I recall a conversation wick 4 merchant in this city, and hi saying to me; "Believe me, Mr. Parr, no va will ever prevent the Chiness amok. ing opium, no more than they will prevout a Britisher drinking beer." A period of nary 0 years has proved what that gentle. man said to me then, go far, to be currect. The hole question has served as a convenient political plack," and the state of affairs is a thousand times worse to-day than it was then, as a consequence. So long as China to tinues to grow the poppy (and we still rerd of whole districts under its cultivation) anu so long as the smuggling of opiumi appers to be on the increase in China, I shali continue to urge that the only way to combat the smuggling is for the import of the drug to be controlled by the British Government, as necessary.
As a mober of the Public Works Com- mittee I can vouch for the fact that a con- side able amount of useful work has been done in the privacy of that Committee room since its re-arrangements on the lines pro- posed by your Excellency last year, and it may be of interest for me to state that in considering the past year's estimates for new roads our aim and object has been to open up new building sites along the routes chosen, as much as possible. We urge the Public Works Department to bear in mind during the year the necessity for encourag ing es many contractors as possible to start and carry on business so as to keep down the pre-arrangement of prices and help the supply to meet what is expected to be au increasing demand in this respect,
I also agree that the Government bear in mind the expediency of making up de- ficits by short time loans in local or sterling currency with adequate sinking funds, thus equitably distributing the payment of that development more especially bene- fitting posterity. Our northern neighbour, Shanghai, has recently been successful in floating a 6 per cent." sterling short time loan of £750.000, this money to be allocated to pay for stores received from Home. I believe this Government would find no difficulty in raising a similar loan or loans at any time of need and that this expedi ency should be carefully considered before increasing taxation to any large extent. While it is sound policy to spend on develop. ment, it is important to remember that the prosperity of the Colony rests on its light. ness of taxation in order that the port may remain a cheap distributing centre of trade -if possible, a little cheaper than any rival, present or future.
I notice on page 8 of the Draft Estimates that the scale of fees for the use of buoys is to be revised and I would respectfully point out that when these buoys were appro- priated by the Government from the Ship- ping Companies-in many cases at one third of their then value-they were handed over on the condition that the tariff should not be used as a Government revenue-making concern, but that the fees should be re gulated so as to give a fair return on the outlay. We, therefore, view with grave con cern the Government's proposal to increase the tariff from $75,000 to $95,000, as the former figure is already well known to give a handsome profit on the outlay. We shall be glad to know if the representative Ship- ping Companies concerned have, through the Chamber of Commerce, been consulted in this inatter. We further wish to point out that any increase in the charges of the port such as this, emigrant fees, etc., vis a vis similar charges at rival ports, bear intimately upon the trade and continued prosperity of the Colony.
We trust that the proposal for the mili tary to give up the ground around Murray Barracks for building purposes will mature without delay so that these much-needed development schemes may be put in hand and expedited as much as possible. I, per sonally, am not in favour of spending a large sum of money in continuing the Peak Tramway to the Queen's Road level as such an alteration will only serve to render more expensive still one of the already most expersive tram services, I suppose, in the world. The lower tram station has done very well where it is for some 30 years and this valuable ground can be put to better public use and the money spent to better public advantage than in continuing the Peak tramline to the lower level. The road will, no doubt, be widened as it is already the most extensively used road by motor vehicles in the Colony. Broad pathways will no doubt be made for chair traffic and pedestrians.
The necessity for more recreation grounds for a growing young community as this Colony mostly consists of, is being felt more every year and I submit, sir, that the solu tion of this increasingly important matter is that a large space or spaces be levelled and turfed at Kowloon in the more easily get-at-able districts on this side of the hills and that such spaces he served by cheap ferry and tram services. I think I am voicing the sentiments of the general public (British, Chinese, and all denominations alike) when I say that while the Govern- ment may be blamed for too little attention in this direction, the importance of the matter go far as it affects the public welfaro cannot be over-estimated.
I endorse the Hon. Mr. Pollock's welcome to Sir Maurice FitzMaurice among us and look forward to his report and recommendations for the improvement of our Harbour-our chief asset for the con- tinued prosperity of our port. At the same time we congratulate ourselves on having the benefit of his vast experience, well- known knowledge and sound judgment in this most important matter.
The introduction of Dianhores and Wire. less Position Finders will be much appre- ciated by the Shipping community using the port. It is right the Colony should lead the way in this and other developments and it is hoped the Chinese Authority will in due course institute these improvements along the China Coast, well known as one of the most crowded shipping thoroughfares of the
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