Sessional_Paper_1896 — Page 435

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As regards the revenue of Hongkong, it is derived entirely from internal taxation, and amounted in 1893 to $2,078,135.

Most of the taxes fall almost entirely on Chinese. The only tax to which the British and other residents as a whole are subject in the same manner as the Chinese is the tax of 13 % levied on the rateable value of house property in Victoria, a smaller rate being levied in out-stations.

This tax yields annually about $470,000, of which over $305,500 are con- tributed by the Chinese and the balance by all the other nationalities combined.

The petitioners, who are not in some instances British and who do not in many cases contribute directly to the taxes, claim "the common right of Englishmen to manage the local affairs and control the expenditure of the Colony." They have, however, carefully omitted to point out that the local affairs include Chinese affairs of which, as has been stated, they are generally ignorant and which the Chinese have shown no desire that the British merchants and other residents should manage, and to indicate that to the expenditure of the Colony of which they desire the control they contribute a very small portion.

Petitioners do not surely wish to maintain that Britishers have an inherent right to control all expenditure be their contributions to the revenue however small ! It would be interesting to know in what period of our constitutional history such a right has been asserted or allowed.

As a matter of fact, if taxation is to be taken as the basis of representation, and, seeing that it is as ratepayers petitioners present the petition, it may be inferred that such is the basis they desire, residents of British nationality are at present over-represented in the Legislative Council. That Council now consists of six Official Members (all of whom, by the way, are ratepayers), exclusive of the Governor, and five Unofficial Members. Every one of these Unofficial Members, including the Honourable Ho KAI, is of British nationality. Of the five Unofficial Members two are natives of Great Britain, two are natives of India, and one is a native of Hongkong. The Chinese properly so called are not represented at all, for, though the Honourable Ho KAI is of Chinese descent, he is a native of Hong- kong and therefore of British nationality. But petitioners are not satisfied with the excessive representation they already possess; they now desire a majority of members of British nationality in the Legislative Council, which would mean at least an in- crease of three members. They say they ought to be allowed "the free election of representatives of British nationality," but they do not suggest how this free election is to be conducted, nor do they state whether the right of election is to be restricted as to nationality. Seeing that the petition is signed by British, American, Portuguese and Chinese it might be inferred that the right of election is not to be in any way restricted, but is to be exercised by all ratepayers alike regardless of nationality. Were the franchise limited to persons of British nationality this would practically restrict the right of voting to the 800 adult British residents and to Anglo-Chinese subjects who are a very indefinite and by no means numerous class. Of these 800 adult Britishers not many have any interest or stake in the Colony beyond their own employment, and the Anglo-Chinese community, being as a class imbued with Chinese views and sentiments, it seems unreasonable to grant them a privilege which is withheld from the other Chinese, who form almost the whole of the population, who contribute by far the largest proportion of the taxation, and who have by far the largest interest of any nationality in the Colony. On the other hand if the right of election is to include aliens, Chinese numbers would swamp those of any other nationality; the Council would be constituted entirely as the Chinese might desire, and it would be quite possible for them to elect none but Anglo-Chinese Members. At present three of the Members of the Legislative Council are nominated by the Governor, one is elected by the Justices of the Peace, who are British subjects, and one by the Chamber of Commerce. The latter

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