September 4, 1895.]
ships and guns; they will altogether fail to take to heart the real lessons of the war and endeavour to reform the administration.
THE MILITARY
CONTRIBUTION AND THE PERCENTAGE
consent
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PRINCIPLE.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
If
175
"the incentive to "But if we take
were just as good as gold "grab the latter would cease. an extreme case and suppose that a ratio of two to one were decided upon would not every state and every individual try to grab all the gold possible by exchanging silver on such favourable terms, well knowing that opportunity could not last? The tendency would be the same under any system of over-valuation, in proportion to the degree of over-valuation. True bime- tallism is not concerned with raising the value of one metal or lowering the value of another, its only object being to secure an adequate supply of the eirculating medium and a stable basis of exchange. When bimetallien was in practical operation the legal ratio corresponded to the commercial ratio between the precious metals. The silver inflationists in their present agitation do not propose to take the commercial ratio as the legal ratio, but advocate that by a stroke of legislation the value of silver in relation to gold should be doubled. That would be act of dishonestd which would shake the world's credit any do ten times the injury to trade that was done by the demonetization of silver. Bimetallists, if their cause is ever to succeed, must be content to take the com- mercial ratio. It may be that the remonetisation of silver would raise its value in proportion to gold; that is what would probably happen; and to meet it readjustments of the legal ratio might from time to time be required. In this way the old ratio of fifteen and a half to one might in time again be reached, but
opposite point of view, says "The "Colonial Office now dislikes wrangling on "the colonial contribution towards garrison outlay, but does not realise that further wrangling will be the inseparable accom- "paniment of further forced contributions "towards outlay on barracks and military accommodations. The moment this is grasped, the advantage of Messrs. Hur- (29th August.)
TENBACH and BROWN's proposal for a 20 There seems after all to be some doubt
per cent. contribution in satisfaction of all whether the percentage principle of levying military claims whatever upon the colony the military contribution will prove uni- "becomes evident. That proposal will not formly satisfactory. At Ceylon the present "please extremists on either side, but payment amounts to about seven per cent. "moderate people will hail its adoption and one of the local papers declares that "with satisfaction as a working compromise there will be a revolution before they will "that would close an irritating and weari- to be plundered" to the extent of some controversy." The Free Press op- 174 per cent. We have already shown that poses the proposal in toto, and makes the in Hongkong it would be inequitable to statement, on authority, that "The levy the percentage on the whole of our re- "Colonial Office, notwithstanding Lord venue, and that municipal revenue ought to "RIPON's despatch, were in May inclined be exempt. A somewhat similar argument "to fix a percentage inclusive of all charges, is used at Ceylon. A tax is levied in and the terms named by Lord RIPON are that colony on the food supply, the paddy" to be merely construed as an afterthought, tax, and it is urged that it would be unfair maintaining a leverage against the colony to make that portion ofthe revenue contri bute to be availed of should opportunity offer." to the military mulct, seeing that the other Our contemporary further refers to Mr. Crown Colonies are exempt from taxation HUTTERBACH'S action as his unjustifiable on food. It seems impossible to arrange any "effort to chuck the colony's money need- system of levying the military contribution "lessly out of the window" We must con- which shall be absolutely equal in its in- fess that it strikes us somewhat in the same cidence on the various colonies unless allow-light. The matter comes home to us, because, ances are made in each case according to the if twenty per çent, is agreed upon as regards circumstances of the particular colony. See the Straits, then twenty per cent. will be ing that there is not uniformity of taxation demanded from Hongkong. We trust the in the colonies adjustments must be made Hongkong Legislative Council will hold fast before levying a uniform percentage on the to the principle that the 171 per cent. already revenue as for Imperial purposes. In Hong-proposed should cover all charges what-decline of silver has been gradual so must its kong at least one-fifth of our gross revenue soever and that the percentage should be should be exempted from the mulct, on the levied only after a fair deduction has been ground of its being municipal revenue re-made from the revenue to cover municipal quired to meet municipal expenditure.
We
"
charges.
(*
BIMETALLISM AND SILVER INFLATION.
The Times says that "the United States would be the first to take an advantage "should England be foolish enough to enter “into an international monetary agreement," and that "America is the only great coun-
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45
The question is also complicated by the introduction of extra charges for barrack services, a point to which reference has already been made in this column. revert to it again for the purpose of drawing attention to a new development which has taken place at Singapore. Mr. HUTTENBACH, a member of the Straits Legislative Council, has given notice of his intention to move a resolution to the effect that the colony shall try which would really gain by it." The offer to pay 20 per cent. of its revenue San Francisco Chronicle in a brief note joins in full discharge of its liabilities to the Im issue with the Times and says that the state- perial Government, instead of 17 per cent. nient of the latter." is so preposterously false for the garrison with an indeterminate that it is scarcely worth discussing, liability for barrack services, fortifications, Germany has, in the most unequivocal etc. We have not the exact terms of the manner, signified her desire for an interna- resolution before us, as there is a hiatus intional arrangement and France is also in our Singapore files, but from the refer-favour of bringing about such a result. ences made to it in issues subsequent to These nations would not occupy the that in which it seems to have been "attitude they do if they did not expect published we gather that the above is its "to benefit by the rehabilitation of silver. purport. The proposal appears to have been The Times has always discussed the mone- variously received. The Straits Times," we tary subject from a standpoint of ignor- infer, has given it support, but the issue ance and selfishness, but it never displayed containing the article has not yet come to "the first of these qualities more thoroughly hand. In a subsequent issue of that paper
than when it said, as it did in the article one correspondent strongly opposes the idea, "we quote from, that, in the event of an in- saying: To offer in perpetuity twenty "ternational agreement we should try to per cent. of our gross income as our sub-" dispose of our silver for gold. If the scription to the cost of the defence of the colony is one of the rashest projects that we have yet heard. We may have no troops stationed here at all, we may have a revenue treble that of the current year, "but our unhappy successors will have to "disburden themselves of a fifth of their "income. The colony would never be will-side and the other in this dispute the true
ing to pledge itself such an unknown quantity. It would be a move made in "the dark. The proposed offer exceeds in generosity anything that the Colonial Office "would ever think or hope of extorting." Another correspondent, writing from the
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"world agreed to recognize silver and gold "as money metals on a fixed ratio what "would be the object of struggling for gold? Silver would be just as good as gold, there. "fore the incentive to grab the latter would cease. The Times is evidently in the second childhood stage" Both on the one
meaning of bimetallism appears to be lost sight of and attention to be directed solely to the attempt to artificially raise the value of silver. America would have no object in trying to dispose of her silver for gold unless the former were over-valued, because if silver
as the
recovery, if it ever takes place, be gradual also. At some future time perhaps a cre- ditor may be as willing as he was formerly to accept five dollars in discharge of a debt of one pound, but to compel him by law to do so forthwith would be an act of robbery. It might be very pleasant for residents in the East to wake up some morn- ing and find their two shilling dollars worth four shillings each, but it is a dream that will not be realised.
THE PROGRESS OF THE JAPANESE ARMY IN FORMOSA,
(3rd September). In a few days from now we may expect to hear that LIU YUNG-FU, the redoubtable Black Flag General now holding the south of Formosa, has been crushed and that the occupation of the island by the Japanese has been completed. Our correspondent with the Japanese army telegraphs that Changhwa was captured on the 28th ult, From that town to Tainan-fu the distance is about sixty miles, over a plain favourable to infantry and cavalry manoeuvres. If the Japanese advanced at the rate of ten miles a day they should arrive at Tainan-fu on the 4th or 5th instant. They might, however, possibly remain at Changhwa for a few days to com- plete their preparations for the march. In any case we may anticipate that the fighting will be concluded well within the present month and that the whole of the island will then be under Japanese jurisdiction. It seems unlikely that any further stand will be made by the Chinese until the attack on Tainan-fu is commenced, and the stand there is likely to be a very short one. Lau has a firm hold on his men and appears to have conducted himself well, restraining his troops from outrage and violence, but it is unlikely that he will be able to offer any serious resistance to the Japanese, though he may possibly do better than we expect. It is not very clear whether there has been
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