་
December 9, 1896.]
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
and as honest as to say that a body of mention addressed to the Government, dated 31st |
ivate interest and a motive in advocat policy which he considered to be injurious colony I say that is an aspersion which take the first opportunity to publicly deny. o far as concerns myself I am not a large land- Owner, nor am I interested largely in landed pro- perty, but those whom I have represented for the last few years, as his Excellency the Governor has appointed me, have large landed interests in the colony and it is my duty to look after their interests and weigh them in conjunction with other interests, but I entirely repudiate the charge that I have acted for private and interested motives, and I can only say that aspersions and allegations of evil of that kind will not hurt the unofficial members as a body but will only rebound upon the maker and enter- tainer of such statemente.
* Hon. C. P, CHATER Your Excellency, after the very lengthy and able remarks of my hon. friend Hon. Ho Kai I have but very little to add. I may at once inform your Excellency and the members of the Council that I affirm every word and every statement made by my hon. friend. With regard to private communications, the hon. member could not inform the Council whether there was any private communication between your Excellency and myself or between the Colonial Secretary and myself. That is a point I wish to answer for myself. I say most em- phatically that I have never had any com- munication from his Excellency the Governor or from the Colonial Secretary which I have not immediately placed before my colleagues and half an hour after they have discussed it I have sent a reply to his Excellency Beyond that I state most emphatically that I have never had any communication from his Excellency the Governor or from the Colonial Secretary.
Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD-Perhaps I may be permitted to make a few remarks. If I have misrepresented or made any misstatements I have done so quite unintentionally and I am very sorry for it. 1 submit, however, that the methods which have been followed by my hon. colleagues in discussing public ques- tions of great importance are in my opinion irregular and unconstitutional. In referring to the correspondence as private, correspondence cannot be regarded 88 otherwise than private if it is not made public. Letters are sent by the Governor to the unofficial members and they meet in secret. There are no reporters present and I consider that to conduct public business in such a way is totally opposed to constitutional Govern- ment and constitutional rule. As regards the hon. member's statement that I have cast asper- sions and made charges, I submit that my letters will not bear any such interpretation and that a question of public importance should not be dealt with in the way this question has been dealt with. I would refer, in respect to the assertion that the correspondence is not private, to the correspondence which passed in 1894 between the unofficial members and the Government in connection with the composition of the Sanitary Board. These documents were, as far I am aware, private, that is to say, they did not see the light of day for a very long period of time until over twelve months after they were written, and the community were totally unaware during all that time of what their representatives had said to the Govern- ment in their communications. If I have of fended anyone I am extremely sorry as nothing was further from my intention.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY÷I do not wish to prolong the discussion, nor is it my intention to do so, but it would, throw considerable light on the matter if the hon. member would inform
us if he consulted the Chamber of Commerce about this question. I have reason for saying that he did, and if that is so it would tend to nhow he did not regard it as private.
Hon TH WHITEHEAD The Chamber unanimously agreed to address the Government on this question and I cordially supported what they did
HI EXCELLENCY-Hare you consulted them on the subject of this correspondence ?
Hồn, T. H. WHITEHEAD-This correspon- dence was submitted only at a late hour at the last meeting of Committee, when it was unanimously decided to strictly adhere to the recommenda-
July last, and to publish the letter from your Excellency to the senior unofficial member, but this, subsequently, was postponed for further consideration.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY-Then I under- stand he has consulted the Committee of the Chamber and that he did not regard the cor- respondence as private.
Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD-I have not re- garded it as private and it should not be so regarded by any hon. member.
The discussion then closed.
FINANCIAL MINUTES!
Financial minutes Nos: 11 to 26 were, on the motion of the Colonial Secretary, referred to the Finance Committee.
FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT,
The COLONIAL SECRETARY brought up the report of the Finance Committee and moved its adoption.
The ACTING COLONIAL TREASURER Be- conded.
Carried.
THE LIMEWASHING OF PREMISES.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY-I have the honour to move that the Council approve of the by-law regarding the cleansing and lime- washing of premises. I may explain that this by-law has been altered to meet the convenience of the people who will be affected by it. My hon. friend opposite who represents the Chi- nese in this Council was consulted regarding this matter and his views were conveyed to the Sanitary Board. This by-law has been altered to meet those views and the convenience of those people who will be affected by the carrying out of the by-law.
The ACTING COLONIAL TREASURER cónded.
80-
Hon. C. P. CHATER-This is a move in the right direction, but I should very much like to bring forward another matter connected with it, namely, the limewashing of the houses twice a year, I think, sir, that this is rather too much. It is not only an expense to the landlords but is a source of very great in convenience and annoyance to the tenants, May I ask your Excellency if you will suggest to the Sanitary Board the taking of this matter into consideration. I think now that the colony has been so thoroughly cleansed that limewashing once a year is sufficient for all
purposes.
The DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS-The mat- ter of limewashing twice a year has been fully con- sidered by the Board and the Board is unanimous in the opinion that at present it would be highly prejudicial to the health of the colony to make any change in the present system of lime washing. I hope that under those circumstances the hon. member will not press his suggestion.
His EXCELLENCY-Will it be expensive? Hon. C. P. CHATER-The cost is about $2 a floor, a house of three floors would be $6, and as there are about 10,000 houses in the colony the expenditure is very great. Besides the expense it is a source of very great inconvenience and an- noyance to the tenants. They have to turn out while the limewashing is going on and I have known a great many tenants remove to empty houses in the vicinity rather than stand the limewashing operation. After the remarks of the Director of Public Works I will leave the matter in abeyance at present, trusting that as soon as the opportunity occurs the limewash- ing will be reduced from twice to once a year.
The by-law was then approved.
RATING ALTERATIONS.
The ACTING COLONIAL TREASURER-I beg to move
1.-"That the percentages on the valuation of tenements in Aberdeen at present payable as rates under The Rating Ordinance, 1888, as amended by Ordinance 5 of 1892 be altered from 7 per cent, to 9 per cent."
2.That the percentages on the valuation of tenements in Shaukiwan, East and West, at present payable as rates under The Rating Ordinance, 1888, as amended by Ordinance 5 of
per cent."
1892 be altered from 7 to 9
3.- That the percentages on the valuation of tenements, payable as rates, levied within the ea bounded-
445
On the East, by a straight line from North
Point to the western end of the Tait tunnel and produced to meet the boundary.
On the West, by the eastern boundary of
City of Victoria,
be altered from 7 per cent, to 9 per cent. The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded. Carried.
ARMS AND AMMUNITION.
Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD-Your Excellency, I rise to ask a question "Will the Govern ment inform the Council whether the Police Department continues to furnish the Imperial Chinese Maritime Customs with information concerning permits issued for the export from the colony of arms and ammunition P With your Excellency's permission I would mention to be that you were good enough to cause me to favoured with an answer some little time after the last meeting of Council, which answer was duly communicated by me to the firms interested in this trade, and they very much appreciated the fact that your Excellency then gave an instead of leaving it. over till the next Council meeting. If your Excellency has no objection I will pass the correspondence on the subject to the press for publication. I have a copy of it here.
answer
corre-
His EXCELLENCY-Oh, yes. The COLONIAL SECRETARY—The spondence to which the hon. member refers might have been handed to the press when it was written. I do not know what the reason of the delay is. The reply to the hon. member's ques- tion is no.
THE GOVERNOR'S OPENING SPEECH.
His Excelleney read his opening speech, which was as follows:-
Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, The time having arrived when it is usual to convene the Legislative Council for the purpose of discharging those important duties which annually devolve upon it, I gladly resort to you for assistance and advice. The pleasure of meeting you again is enhanced by the satisfactory state of public affairs, especially as regards the finances of the colony.
܃
Before proceeding to deal with that and other interesting matters, I have to express the gratification which it affords me, and which I am sure you all share, to welcome the presence at this table of His Excellency Major-General Black and Mr. Wei A Yuk, as official and un- official members respectively of this Council. The course of events which brought about this change in the constitution of the Legislative Council is still fresh in your memory. I shall not refer to them in detail, but content myself with remarking that as His Excellency the General Officer Commanding is to administer the Government during the absence at any time of the Governor, it is obviously advanta- geous to the colony that he should occupy a seát in the Legislative Council, while the appoint- ment of Mr. Wei A Yuk, a resident highly respected in Hongkong, will, it is hoped, bring the
Government into still olöser which touch with the Chinese community, forms such an important element in the population of the colony.
The constitution of the Executive Council has also undergone a change, which was recom. mended by me and approved by the Secretary of State. It now consists of two unofficial members, Mr. Chater and Mr. Bell-Irving, in addition to the official members who previously composed it. You will agree with me in the opinion that the colony is to be congratulated on this reconstruð- the addition of two able advisers, whose ex- tion, which has strengthened the Executive by perience, especially on matters affecting mercial welfare of Hongkong, cannot fail to be of the highest value at all times to me and my successors in office.
the com
Turning now to the orders of the day, the first item which claims attention is a Bill en- titled "An Ordinace to appropriate a percent- age of seventeen and a half per centum of the Colonial revenues as a contribution for the defence of the colony."
This Bill is the outcome of lengthy corre- spondence and negotiations with which yo familiar, and it is it cduced under instruc from the Secretary of State. I may mention On the South, by the contour of the hill-side that the unofficial members have recen
600 feet above sea level.
warded a memorial praying that the
On the North, by the Harbour.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.