LIFTS AND THE RATING
ONDINANCE.
It will be remembered that a short time ago the Supreme Court decided that the rateable value of premises in which lifts are used must be subjected to dednotion, under the exemption of machinery clause of the Rating Ordinance, corresponding to the difference between the valne of the premises with and without lifts, A Bill to amend this state of the law was intro. duged at Wednesday's meeting of the Legislative › Council. › It provides as follows:-
"1
The word "machinery as used in the Rat- ing Ordinance, 1888, shall mean machinery used for purely industrial or manufacturing purposes, but shall not include lifts and machinery used as adjuncts to any tenements occupied as offices, dwellings, or hotels. In making, however, any valuation of such lifts and machinery in the future the Assessor shall deduct the expenses of working anch lifts and machinery from the rateuble value thereof if such expenses are paid by the landlord.
Every valuation which has been made by the Assessor prior to the commencement of this Ordinance under the provisions of the Rating Ordinance, 1888, shall be construed and inter- preted in any Court of law as if such valuation had been made under the provisions of the Rating Ordinance, 1888, as modified by this Ordinance.
+ XPENDITURE ON THE NEW TERRITORY.
The following is a summary of the actual and estimated expenditure for 1899 in connection with the New Territory :- Police
Public Works Department
Harbour Office
Treasury
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
...$88,972.10 16,489 89 11,536.14
Botanical and Afforestation Depart-
ment
Medical Department...
Extra Salaries Miscellaneous
187.00
440.00
[October 7, 1899.
1.-The lekin tax and lekin stations shall 100 boats were capsized. Three flower boats be abolished and there shall be substituted caught fire, and a steam launch also got ignited, therefor a shop tax divided into classes,The theatre and adjoining mat-sheds were com payable monthly, quarterly, or yearly, according persons were either drowned or burned to It is said that over 50 namely, first, second; and third, which shall be pletely destroyed.
to the amount of business done by the shops. responsible for the payment of the tax. Shops The seventy-two commercial guilds shall be in villages and small market towns are to be ex- empt from the tax.
2-The committee or head
guilds shall establish an office or department men of the with a Waiyuen to look after its affairs, and brauch offices shall be established in the differ- ent prefectures.
3.-All the shops in Canton shall be required to fill in, ou forms to be supplied by the depart ment, their addresses, and the amount of business they are doing. The opening or closing of shops shall be promptly reported to the committee.
4.-A register of the shops shall also be kept in each market-town.
5.- In each market-town there shall be a
meeting house in which any business relating to the lax shall be discussed, and the committee shall be at liberty to petition the Waiyuen if anything goes wrong.
death.
SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST
CHINESE DETECTIVE.
Gompertz, Su Yeung, a Chinese detective in At the Magistracy on Wednesday, before Mr. the Water Police, was charged with having attempted to obain a bribe.
Deputy-Superintendent Baddeley conducted the prosecution and Mr. H. W. Looker appeared for the defence.
Kwok Yan said he was a fisherman and also
September he gave information to the defendant an informer. On the morning of the 24th
that there were some arms concealed on board a boat. He found the defendant in a brothel at Yaumati with another man whom he did not know. He asked the defendant to engage a boat to seize the arms, and he did so.
He and the defendant and the other man got in, and went to a large boat anchored at Yanmati. They went on board and searched and fonnd a bag containing about ten revolvers, and also a lot of ammunition. Witness said to 7.—An extensive business having been done.
the defendant. “These are the goods, make the in the district of Suntak by the machine filntures.
arrest and told him to arrest the offender. and a large quantity of silk shipped to Hong. The defendant asked one of the meu on the kong, the tax on the same ought to be increased. boat if he was the master, and the man said 8.-Hitherto the lekin on imports and exportsNo, the master has not yet returned.". Then has been heavy and on other lines of business light, so that the shops engaged in the import and export trade should willingly pay the same amount after the lekin stations have been abol- ished.
6.-No tax shall be levied on rice, firewood; oil, or trade of small value.
9. From the date upon which the regula tions come into force the price of all goods should be reduced.
10. The committee shall report once every five days to the merchants in Canton and to the branch offices in the different prefectures con cerning the price of rice and other goods. 1,000,00 11.-There having lately been a great amount 3,000.00 of piracy and robbery, the committee shall 105,001.04 devise measures for the suppression of the same $346.629.17
and the protection of the merchants, and ten The items included under the heading of
per cent. of the amount yielded by the shop tax "Miscellaneous are expenses incurred on ac-
shall be appropriated to meet the expenditure count of the taking over of the New Territory in this connection. and are as follows -
Total
"}
Amount distributed amongst the poor $ Expenses incurred to fit the steamer Kong Nam for a trip to Mirs Bay in connection with the ceremony of hoisting the British flag Amount of insurance of Hankow to
Mirs Bay
Expenses incurred for preparing lunch, &c. on board the steamer Hankow
Amount due for provisions supplied
on board H.M,S. Humber for the proposed trip to the New Territory Preparations for hoisting flag Mat-sheds
Expenses of H.M. Navy Transport
Three launches
10,00
35.20
12. The institution of a shop tax being attended with initial difficulties and entailing considerable labour, a reward of ten per cent. on the amount collected shall be paid to the head shop on who succeed in satisfactorily carrying out the schemes.
13. These rules, shall be subject to amend- 625.13 ment at any time.
600.00
424.46
The scheme having fallen through, owing to the opposition of the merchants, Kang Yi hus now made an additional levy of Tls, 100,000 on the Lekin Bureau. It appears the High Com. missioner intends to raise annually Tls. 1,600,000 70.00 from the Kwangiang province in addition to the amount already contributed, and this 3,964.20 Tls. 1,600,000 he has divided as follows:-Salt 3,061,05 monopily, Tls. 200,000; Board of Reorganisa 5,114.00 tion, Tls. 200,000: Official Contributions. Tls. 91,100.00 200,000; Lekin Bureau, Tis. 100,000; making in all Tls. 700,000, leaving a balance of Tls. Total $105,004.04 900,000, which the Viveroy is to raise as best he
Kang Yi is shortly returning to Peking.
DISASTROUS FIRE AT CANTON,
KANG YTS PROPOSAL TO ABOLISH LEKIN.
SUGGESTED SUBSTITUTION OF A SHOP TAX.
THE PROPOSALS NEGATIVED BY THE MERCHANTS. Amalready reported, the High Commissioner Kang Yi proposed to the Canton merchants that lekin should be abolished and a shop tax anbatibuted, but at a meeting of the guilds, held on the 26th September, the proposal was nega- lived, the merchants apparently thinking that the shop tax would-be more objectionable even than lekin. The scheme put forward by the High Commissioner possesses some interest, indicating, as it does, that the Imperial Gov. erament would not be averse to the abolition of the lekin stations if the revenue could be otherwise secured. The scheme was embodied in twelve rulesɛas: followay-
сап.
FIFTY LIVES LOST.
་་
the defendant said, “ Wait until your master comes back." They waited there for about an hour, when he saw two jars of ammunition and two kerosine boxes filled with ammunition bronght on board. Finally the master came on board, and the defendant spoke to him in Hakka, which witness did not nuderstand. Then the master sent a small boy for the owner of the goods. About half-an-hour afterwards the boy returned with a man (whom witness identified). This man spoke to the defendant, but he could not, hear what was said. He afterwards heard the other man ask the defendant to go over to Hongkong, and they all four went to Hongkong, When they got to Hongkong the defendant told him he had better go home to get his meal. and he did so.
Witness was cross-examined by Mr. Looker. The further hearing was adjourned.
THE DOUGLAS STEAMSHIP COM-
PANY, LIMITED.
The 16th ordinary general meeting of share- holders in the Douglas Steamship Company, Limited was held on Saturday at noon. The chair was occupied by Mr. J. H. Lewis, were also present the Hon.
and there
J. J. Keswick, Messrs. C. A. Tomes, C. H. Thompson, H. Shellim (Consulting Com mittee), W. Parfitt (cecretary); D. Gillies, T. Arnold, W. S. Bailey, C. Mooney, T. Yule, A. G. Morris, R. Mitchell, E. S. Whealler, A. A. H. Babington, J. H. Cox, T. H. Reid, G. L. Tomlin, J. Orange, W. H. Gaskell, J. C. Peter, J. E. Gomes, Capt. Itoach, M. Mahomed, Chun Long, J. M. Gomes, Capt J. Douglas, R. T. Hond, H. Haynes, F. Jorge, W. Davis, eto.
The SECRETARY read the notice convening the meeting.
F
The CHAIRMAN. said-Gentlemen, the report and accounts have been in your hands for some days. I propose with your permissson to take them as read. As stated in the report, it was only after most thoroughly considering the posi Particulars have reached Hongkong of a
tion that the General Managers and Consulting Committee decided it would be inadvisable to most disastrous fire which occurred at Canton recommend the payment of a dividend, and on Monday midnight. In the iocality known as Shek Kong a mat-shed theatre had been whilst fully appreciating the disappointment of erected, and other mat-sheds smaller in size and shareholders, we are quite convinced that under the present circumstances the best interests of also been put up in the same neighbourhood, the company are being considered in the pro which really bore the appearance of a fair posed appropriation of the profits for the year. Hundreds of people had been in the habit
With reference to the opposition on the T'amsni of flocking to the place to see the thentri- cal performances and to witness the cricket line, I think, gentlemen, you will readily uu- fights which took place in the same building connection with it which it would be imprudent derstand there are many important features in Fantan and other forms of gambling were also in full swing. Some of the flower boats bad
to publicly mention and discuss, as we should also gone and anchored close by. The fire
be giving valuable information to our opponents that they could not fail to profit by, of course to appears to Lave commenced in a mat-shed eating house, and to have spread with great rapidity.tinues, b.t our opponents have discoveædithat our prejudice This opposition still keenly con- In the rush which was made for the boats about
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