i
C. S. O.
M.F. 237.)
Express, on behalf of the Chinese Cor unity. our grateful thanks to Your Excellency for the sympathe- tic manner in which you have dealt with the petition to allow the existing bathing pavilions at North Point to remain where they are. Though Your Excellency was unable to grant the request in toto, you have permitted the pavilions to remain until the beach is required by the Government for
ublic purposes.
ap-
This concession is much preciated by the public, and is proef of Your Excellency's solici- tude for the welfare of the com- manity.
My colleagues and I realise that 'sooner or later these pavilions will have to move elsewhere, and we also cannot think of any suitable site than the Saiwan Beach contemplated by the Gov... ernment.
more
We hope, however, that before giving notice to the bathing clubs definitely
to move from North Point, the Government will have a motor road, sufficiently wide for buses, constructed from Shaukiwan to Saiwan Beach. If funds per- mit, this new motor-road could, with advantage, be extended so as to link up with the Shaukiwan- Shek-O road at Big Wave Bay. I respectfully commend this sugges- tion to the consideration of the Government.
Shing Mun Malaria.
The honourable senior unofficial member has stressed the necessity for anti-malarial measures to be adopted at the Shing Mun water- works. I strongly endorse his re- marks, for a malaria outbreak of a serious nature in Shing Mun Valley would delay the completion of the works, which should on no account be permitted when we are still suffering from annually re- curring water shortage. The pos- sibility I have mentioned is by no means remote, for it might be re- called that when the Kowloon- Canton Railway was being structed, an outbreak of malaria at Shatin Valley considerably imped- ed the progress of the work.
con-
In regard to the new Govern-: ment House, the Chinese members, having examined the proposal in all its aspects, acquiesce in the abandonment of the present house and site, and the location of the new house at Magazine Gap. In view of the distance of the new site from town, I would suggest that, when the Governor moves in- to his new residence, the Gov- ernor's Book may be deposited at the Colonial Secretary's Office for the convenience of the public. The matter may seem trivial, but in reality it means a great deal to the large number of people who call to sign the Governor's Book as a mark of respect to the head of the Government. I may men- tion that my unofficial colleagues support my suggestion.
!
(7)
The honourable senior unofficial member, on behalf of his unofficial colleagues, has expressed satisfac- tion that some concessions in the method of computation for Mili tary Contribution has been secured from the War Office through the Secretary of State for the Colonies. An examination of Appendix II on page 107 of the draft Estimates has revealed that the total saving to the Colony by these concessions is only $119,105, an amount by no means substantial, when we con- sider that the Colony has still to pay as much as nearly $5,000,000 in 1934.
There are apparently some other savings, according to certain re- marks of the Hon. Colonial Secre- tary; but the amount is not dis- closed.
Mr. Tratman at the last meeting of this Council said that “in addi- tion to relieving the annual ex- penditure the concessions should also release a certain portion of the liability under this head which appears as a Suspense Account in the financial statement." A refer- ence to the financial statement on page 109 of the draft Estimates shows that the sum of $976,782.27 is entered against Suspense Ac- count. It is, I submit, a matter of importance to the public to know how much of this sum repre sents concessions from the War Office in respect of Military Con- tribution.
Omnibus Heads.
I now deal with a subject which the honourable senior unofficial member has delegated to me. The Hon. Colonial Secretary in his Budget speech pointed out what he considered to be drawbacks in the allocation of Cadet Officers and clerical officers to individual de- partments instead of showing them under what he called General Staff, and he proceeded to give an il- lustration of
the obfuscation to which the system was said to have given rise. I respectfully submit that the illustration is not suf- ficient reason for a reversion to the unsatisfactory system of lump- ing salaries under 'Omnibus' heads which, when in vogue a few years ago, gave the public no idea of what any one department spent. Changes in the personnel of the administration are bound to occur after the preparation of the an- nual Estimates, but it should not be very difficult for the accounts to be adjusted at the Treasury. The views of the unofficial mem- bers have always been that the estimates of each department should embody as far as possible all expenses-personal emolu- ments, other charges and special expenditure-chargeable to that department, and they are glad that these views have the support of the Government Auditor who com-
40
mented on the subject in his re- port for the year 1930.
Taxation Question.
I join with the honourable senior, unofficial member in expressing satisfaction that Your Excellency has not found it necessary to re- sort to fresh taxation. There are some people who expected even a reduction of taxation, but personal- ly I cannot see how the Govern- ment could have taken off any taxes yielding substantial revenue without having to sacrifice some of the essential public works or es- sential public services. That
there is no fresh taxation is in itself a blessing for which we should all be thankful in these days of shrinkage in public and private incomes.
I hope, however, that no one will construe these remarks as evidence of any complacency on my part in regard to our increas- ing cost of administration.
The increase has been steady. and enormous during the last several years, and I view it with grave concern and apprehension.
Let us compare the actual ex- penditure of the year 1926 with ne estimated expenditure for next year, exclusive of Public Works Extraordinary.
I take the year 1926 because it was a year of trade depression somewhat similar to, although not as severe as, the one we are under- going.
The total expenditure for that year was $18,804,715, while that for 1934 is estimated to be $29,- 750,745. The increase is $10,946,- 030, or as much as 58 per cent. in only eight years! The time has certainly come when a halt should be called to this increasing ex- penditure, especially when the Colony is passing through a trade depression of unprecedented severity.
Taxable Limits.
I cannot agree with the opinion expressed in certain quarters that Hongkong is still lightly taxed as compared with other countries, and that additional taxation is in- evitable in the no distant future. It is to be devoutly hoped that the Government will not regard this opinion as representing the senti- ment of the public. The public, or a preponderant majority of it, is opposed to any new imposts: it simply cannot bear them. Experi- ence has shown that there is a limit to the taxable capacity of the people, beyond which revenue, in- stead of gaining, will suffer. Hongkong has, I verily believe, reached that limit. Only two years ago the Government made a thorough revision of all licence and other fees, and introduced many new forms of taxation, which have affected all classes of the com- munity, directly and indirectly. If, therefore, future Budgets had to be balanced, the public would
1
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.