Sessional_Paper_1890 — Page 365

HONGKONG.

361

No. 19

90,

THE ASSESSOR'S REPORT ON THE ASSESSMENT FOR 1890-91.

Laid before the Legislative Council, by Command of His Excellency

the Officer Administering the Government.

ASSESSOR'S OFFICE, HONGKONG, July 21st, 1890.

SIR,-I have the honour to hand you Report on the work of the Assessment Department under my control since December last.

1. By order of His Excellency the Governor in Council, I have made an entirely new Assessment of Victoria and the Hill District.

2. The result of the new Assessment is that the Rateable Value of the tenements in Victoria has been raised from $3,062,102 to $3,342,475 shewing an increase of $280,373 or 9.15 per cent on the Rateable Value, and an increase in the Rates to be collected of $36,000.

3. I annex a tabular statement which will shew the amount increased or decreased in each District, and the net total increased.

1889.

4. The number of Rateable tenements in Victoria is 7,403 being an increase of 253 since July

5. The Assessment of the Hill District shews the Valuation to be $71,536 against $59,516, an increase of $12,020, or 20.19 per cent in Rateable Value, and $1,050 in Rates to be collected.

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6. Petitions praying for a revision of the existing Assessments have been presented by the in- habitants of Stanley, Mong-kok, and Hung-hom, and by direction of the late Honourable A. LISTER, new Valuation has been made of the rateable tenements in these villages which I found to be much over assessed. The new Assessments shew reductions in the Rateable Value in Stanley of $845, Mong-kok $253, and lung-hom $4,315, a total diminution in the Assessment of $5,413, or in rates to be collected of $378. The existing Valuations of the other villages have been adopted for the ensuing year.

7. I have spent a considerable portion of my time in investigating the returns made by the land- lords of the rents they receive, on which I base my Assessment and regret to state that in spite of the examples inade in previous years, a number of the returns made to me are false. In 19 cases, fines were recovered amounting to $2,364.

8. The work of the Department has been satisfactorily done without the assistance of a tem- porary clerk for whom a sum of $150 was voted by Government when a general Valuation took place in previous years.

9. My clerk, Mr. CHAN PUI and Interpreter, Mr. LAU HI To have done their work with com- mendable intelligence and cheerfulness, and have been of much assistance to me in the discharge of the duties of my office since my arrival in the Colony.

10. In conclusion I hope the recent prosecutions will have a beneficial effect on the landlords, inasmuch as they will see that they cannot, without running the risk of incurring heavy penalties, make false returns of their rents to the Assessment Department,

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,

The Honourable H. E. WODEHOUSE, C,M.G.,

Acting Colonial Treasurer.

ARTHUR CHAPMAN,

Assessor.