Sessional_Paper_1896 — Page 591

587

No. 138G.

SIR,

(Governor to Senior Unofficial Member, Legislative Council.)

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG, 12th November, 1896.

I have the honour to forward, for the consideration of yourself and your colleagues the Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council, the enclosed copy of a letter from the Chamber of Commerce suggesting that the Gap Rock Lighthouse Rate, which was first imposed in 1890, should be now abolished in accordance with my predecessor's promise which, however, he stated could not be binding on his

successor.

The rate, if continued, is estimated to yield during the ensuing year about $65,000, and if this amount is withdrawn from the estimate of revenue for 1897 the latter will be exceeded by the estimated expenditure.

It is therefore necessary either that the rate should continue to be levied, or that the loss which would be entailed by its abolition should be made good from some other source of revenue.

I shall therefore be greatly obliged if you will be so good as to confer with your colleagues on the matter, and acquaint me with your and their views as to whether it is preferable to continue to levy light dues generally as at present (including the Gap Rock Rate), or to devise some alternative source of revenue in order to make good the deficiency which the abolition of light dues would entail.

In the event of your recommending that light dues should be abolished, I shall be glad to be favoured with your valuable advice as to the method by which you consider the deficit caused by such abolition may be met.

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,

WILLIAM ROBINSON,

Governor,

The Honourable

THE SENIOR UNOFFICIAL MEMBER OF

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. '

SIR,

(Senior Unofficial Member, Legislative Council, to Governor.)

HONGKONG, 17th November, 1896.

I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your despatch, No. 1380, of the 12th instant, enclosing a copy of a letter from the Chamber of Commerce, suggest- ing the abolition of the Gap Rock Lighthouse Rate, and asking for an expression of the opinion of my colleagues and myself as to whether it would be preferable to continue to levy the light dues as heretofore, or to devise some other means of covering the deficiency in the revenue entailed by the proposed abolition of these dues.

Permit me to inform your Excellency that your despatch was circulated among my colleagues, and the question was gone into at length at a meeting held yesterday.

The result of our deliberations was that we decided that, in order to come to a definite decision, it would be essential for us to have the Estimates for 1897 in our hands.