326**
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
Further experience of the situation and a study of the financial prospects for 1893. confirmed me in my opinion, and, in laying the Estimates on the 16th November, 1892, 1 definitely announced to you that a loan had become a necessity. You admitted that necessity, and ia 1893 au inscribed slock loan of £200,000 at 3 per cent. was negotiated by the Crown Agents. In the fol lowing year, the unredeemed balance of the 1887 loan, aшonuting to £140,000, was con- verted from 4 per cent. debentures into 34 per cent: inscribed stock, and thus brought into conformity with the 1893 lonn,
The Public Debt of the colony now stands at £341.599, the figures over and abore the sum of £340,000 representing extra stock issued in connection with the expenses of con- version. Against this debt must be set the sum of £1,594, already contributed to the new sinking fund, and the unexpended balance of the loan which, on the 31st August last, stood at £43,139.
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The arrangement has so far worked satisfac- torily, and it is hoped that the additional pro- tection thus afforded will tend to reduce the uniber of armed gang robberies, which are only too frequent in the winter months. The other innovation is the withdrawal of the Night Puss and Light Regulations. Night passes were first introduced in 1857, when, no doubt, good reusous In this existed for such a stringent measure. present year of grace, however, such restrictions cannot but be regarded as a relic of a barbarens past and inconsistent, in these enlightened t mes, with the liberty of the subject. Results bare justified the repeal of these regulations, and I | am sure the relief has been fully appreciated by the respectable Chinese. (Applause.)
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[October 27, 1897.
between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., thus re-opening of the Belilios Public School for inforcing the police by forty auxiliaries of a very Girls in December, 1893, for which wo useful stamp.
bave to thank the generosity of an honour- able member of this Council; and (4) The in November, 1895, of grants- limitation in-aid to schools giving a European educa tion in the English language—a measure which was induced by the very marked deficiency in this respect on the part of the Chinese com. munity resident in this colony, and the neces- sity recognised from the experiences of 1894 of providing a more enlightened education. I trust that this policy will be maintained, and - that a training institution, which will furnish a supply of qualified teachers and so place the means of acquiring a useful knowledge of the English language and Western ideas within the reach of the poorer classes of the Chinese community, may be provided. I consider that such expenditure will be incurred in a most im- portant cause, and I commend to the notice of the Council the desirability of increasing the Grant-in-Aid Vote, and of continuing to sub- stitute subsidised schools for the Government schools that still remain in existence.
As regards the attendance at the various educational establishments in the colony, I' regret to say that the check experienced in 1894 on account of the plague has been more permanent in its results than was originally anticipated, and recovery has been further im- peded by its recrudescence in 1896. that, given favourable circumstances, the pro- gress in this direction, which was so noticeable during the first three years of my term of office, may again make itself evident at an early date, and that education will receive that support which it so fully deserves.
You are
And here I must refer with great regret to the grave irregularities which have recently been shown to exist in the Police Force and in other departments of the Government Service amongst the subordinate officers. aware of the action taken by the Government in this matter, and I believe that it has been I fear there can be gnided to a proper course. no doubt that these irregularities have been in existence for very many years. That they have now been brought to light, and that stringent measures have been taken to put an end to them nltimately conduce to a better state of things in the future.
The relief afforded by the loan soon produced visible results. At the end of 1894, our balances in hand amounted to no less than $450,000, and my early-expressed hopes seemed destined to be fulfilled. It was not, however, within the power of human foresight to contemplate the excep- tional circumstances which intervened at this juncture, and which absorbed the entire amount of our credit balances. The plague of 1894 and its recrudescence in 1896 has cost this colony-must directly and indirectly-nearly $1,200,000, not to
As regards the public health, I can give you mention the large increase in the cost of the Sani-
an exceptionally favourable report, which may, tary Department, and the expenditure on various sanitary improvements. Then again, the dollar to some extent, compensate for the large amount has dej recited in value nearly 100 per cent., of sanitary legislation which has of late years
fallen upon us.
There have been only 17-cases and our sterling payments have increased pro- portionately. It was not therefore a matter for of plague during the year, several of which are surprise that a: the end of 1895 our balances of said to have been imported from the mainlaud. $450,000, in addition to the ordinary surplus for This is very satisfactory when it is remembered that the disease was prevalent in the neighbour- the year, had been wholly expended, and that a debit balance of $171,908 was carried forwarding ports of Amey and Swatow, and in the to the 1896 account. It is, however, a matter island of Formosa for several months. The for congratulation that that debit balance was comparative immunity from plague enjoyed by wiped out during the year, and that at the be- Ilongkong during 1897 may be due to the in- ginning of 1897 a balance of $13,400 stood to proved sanitary condition of the colony and the our credit, and that, notwithstanding the Goy increased vigilance of the Sanitary Board, ernment contribution to the Jubileo Fund, there is every reasonable prospect of the ac- counts for the year 1898 opening with a balance on the right side. (Applause.)
The death rate of the British and foreign community for the first nine months of the year is 21.5 per thousand as compofd with 223,6" for the corresponding period ta death rate amongst the Chinese community je the hike periods has been reduced from 26.99
This represents an 1,000 to 18.9 per 1,000. annual saving of nearly 2,000 Chinese lives and about 17 European.
The main drainage has been, practically, completely re-modelled. Thirty-six miles of sewers have been laid, not including the drains constructed in connection with the re-drainage of houses, which would nearly double those figures. I am informed that Victoria may now be regarded as one of the best drained cities east of Snez-(applause)—and that its domestic sanitation will compare favourably with that of any of the large cities in England.
And now, gentlemen, my statement in regard to the financial position has been necessarily somewhat loug, but it will, I venture to hope, be regarded as most satisfactory taking into consideration all the opposing circumstances to which I have referred. I have endeavoured to fulfil my promises to avoid all "harassing and
to legislation, and embarrassing'
effect economy. The fulfilment of the former will be recognised in the way in which the estimate of revenue for 1898 has been framed, and of the latter in the retrenchment which has been generally effected throughout the Service. I think it right, however, to state that, in my opinion, certain posts in the Civil Service are
Bye-laws have been made for the compulsory insufficiently paid, especially when compared with similar appointments in other colonies.. I concreting of ground floors in dwellings, for trust it will be possible to remedy this defect, the prevention of overcrowding, for the regu- and thus retain in Hongkong the services oflation of bake-bouses, laundries, opium-smoking experienced officers who might otherwise accept divans, offensive trades, and animal depots, for the regular periodical cleansing of tenement a transfer to colonies where they would be more
dwellings, and for the notification of communic- highly remunerated.
able diseases, and these are being quietly and steadily enforced.
While on this subject I desire to avail myself of this opportunity to acknowledge the great assistance I have received during my govern- ment from all branches of the Civil Service. and to express my appreciation of the loyal manner in which they have co-operated with me in furthering the interests of the colony.
I have every reason to adhere to my con- fidence in the resources of Hongkong and its financial soundness. A handsome advance has been secured on the price at present paid for the opium farm-I may say it is increased from $286,000 to $372,000-and I wish I could look forward with equal certainty to a rise in the sterling value of the dollar.
As regards the events of the year, with one exception to which I shall refer later, there is but little to record. The Captain Superinten- dent of Folice reports a period of compara- items of Police news" to which I may refor. tive peace. There are, however, two noteworthy The first is the placing of district watebmen on police beats under the supervision of Europeans
The New Central Market, the slanghter- houses and adjoining cattle depots at Kennedy Town and Kowloon, which have an important bearing on the food supply of the colony, have been completed during my administration, whilst the water supply, which is of vital importance to the health of the community, has been increased to 400,000 000 gallons, and extended to the Kowloon Peninsula and to the populons villages of Shaukiwan and Aberdeen.
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I hope
The shipping returns, though not attaining to the figures of 1896, are, nevertheless, quite satisfactory. During the nine months ended on the 30th September, 7,108 vessels of Euro- peau construction, aggregating nearly 9,0:0,000 tons register, entered and cleared at the Har- our Office. The increase of shipping under has been very noticeable, but 68 per cent. of foreign flags (principally German and Japanese) the total tonnage, and 56 per cent, of the ocean- going tonnage alone was British. These ships carried, in and through our waters, about 54 million tons of cargo and bunker coal, and over
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million passengers. As might be expected, uuks followed the European shipping, and the figures do not come up to those for the corres- Pouding period of last year.
There is no reason, however, for assuming that the fulling off is anything but temporary, and it can in a large measure be traced to a short rice crop in the period under review, dur- ing which 430,000 tons less were reported than in the same period of 1896.
The commercial progress of the colony during the last five years is very marked. The ton- page, which is always a more or less reliable indication, has increased by 2,510,255 tons, whilst the value of the transit trade has im- proved to the extent of 28,933,788 Haikwan taels, or nearly £5,000,000 sterling. No less remarkable is the development of local indus. tries, of which, believing in the policy of in- dependence, I have always been a warm suppor- ter. The establishment of two large kerosene oil depôts, feather-dressing and match factories, soap, coal bricquette and rattan works, the ex- tensions of the docks, the large sugar refineries, the rope and cement works, are standing monu- ments of that development, whilst the spirit of local enterprise is again evident in the recent formation of a public company for the establish- ment of cotton mills in Hongkong.
I am particularly gratified at this latest move- ment. It is nearly four years since I first made the suggestion to you in this Council and pro- mised my co-operation so far as the acquisition of land was concerned. It is nearly two years since I repeated the suggestion and renewed my promise. I trust that whilst yon have given practical effect to the former, I have not failed in my fulfilment of the latter. (Applause.)
It remains to mention one other event of
The most noticeable features in the history of education during my term of office have been —(1) the revision of the Grant-in-Aid Code in 1893, which added arithmetic to the subjects for which grants should be given to schools giving a purely Chinese education, elementary science in the case of schools giving a European educareat importance to the trade of this colony, tion in the Chinese language, and a seventh graduating of two pupils in July, 1892, from standard in all classes of schools. (2) The the Chinese College of Medicine, being the first two graduates from that Institution. (3). The
viz., the opening of the West River ports to recollect that in my address to you of the 25th November, 1895, I assured you that although foreign trade on the 3rd June last. You will
for a time, at least, local interests might neces-
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