630982-1899-L-C-Minute-No-14 — Page 5

THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 28rn OCTOBER, 1899. 1683

may throw light upon the causes of the disease. If we can decide upon the causes, no ex- penditure within the reach of the Colony would be too great to secure the blessing of freedom from such a scourge; but in considering the Bill it is well that you should be in possession of facts on which to form an opinion rather than be guided by assumptions that, however strongly held, afford no sound basis upon which measures should be adopted involving probably very large expense to the Colony.

At the

I am happy to be able to congratulate you upon the general state of the commerce of the Colony. I have it on most excellent authority that business was never in a sounder condition and the commercial energy of the community was never more apparent. same time trade has suffered and is suffering from the disturbed state of the Southern pro- vinces, and the prevalence of piracy on the West River. The attention of Her Majesty's Government has been called to the great injury done to the trade of this Colony, and His Excellency the Admiral Commanding on this Station has despatched a gunboat up the West River to protect British interests, but I am convinced that the best protection to the interests of the commerce of this Colony would be the faithful carrying out by the Chinese Government of the Agreement made with Her Majesty's Minister at Peking for the opening of the West River under the Inland Steam Navigation Regulations as first proposed and agreed upon. I have had great pleasure in forwarding the letters of the Chamber of Commerce on this most important subject to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Notwithstanding the disabilities under which trade is hampered on the West River, the returns show a satisfactory increase both in foreign and junk-borne traffic, the number of foreign built vessels entering and clearing being 7,982 with 10,155,993 tons as compared with 8,831 ships with 9,948,242 tons in 1898, and of 55,882 junks with 3,373,210 tons as compared with 49,517 junks with 2,933,714 tons in 1898.

I regret to say that the Police statistics show a considerable increase in the number of serious crimes, the total number from the 1st January to the 31st August being 2.110 as against 1,920 for the same period last year. The returns show an especially large proportionate increase in the serious crimes of robbery and house-breaking, the increase in the former being due to the cases in the New Territory to which I have already alluded The Captain Superintendent of Police attributes the general increase of crime to the number of vacancies in the Police Force and the disturbed condition of the neighbouring provinces of China. On the other hand, there has been an entire absence of the gang robberies so frequent in the past in the City of Victoria. Every effort is being made to obtain recruits from home for the Police Force.

The revenue for 1900 is estimated at $3,325,479 and the expenditure at $3,219,859, leaving an estimated balance of $105,620. In estimating the expenditure the dollar has been taken at 1/11. The Estimates have been prepared with caution, and with a rigid regard for economy.

The various items of increased expenditure will be fully explained in Committee.

1

The estimate of Public Works Extraordinary amounts to $331,100, or $163,000 less than the Approved Estimate of last year, but it still remains $96,000 more than the amount actually expended in 1898. The works estimated for are those that I consider most pressing, and the amounts are as large as can prudently be placed upon an Estimate of Expenditure based upon the revenue as shown in these Estimates; but, as the financial statement accompanying the Estimates will show, I hope to have at the end of the current year, including a balance, in round figures, of $90,000 brought forward from last year, a surplus of about $400,000 over the Actual Expenditure, which will justify me in submitting to you votes for farther expenditure upon those works that appear in the Estimates, or for such other pressing works as have been approved by the Public Works Committee. The most pressing public work at the present moment is the building for the New Law Courts, which blocks the way for the improvement of the Post Office, a building entirely insufficient and unsuited for the postal requirements of the Colony. The plans for the Law Courts were returned on January 21st to London with some suggestions for improvements. I have written urging that they shall be sent out with the least possible delay. The question of the construction of the Jubilee Road round Mount Davis has been referred to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and, as His Excellency Major-General GASCOIGNE has somewhat modified his views