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October 1, 1908.]
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE RE PORT.
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place for us to discuss it here to-day. Tarn- ing now to the remarks of the hon. member representing the Chamber of Commerce, lie referred to the faulty policy of postponing public works, and suggested that we were now postponing public works in a manner hitherto not done. Far from that being the case, we have in the last few years been carrying out new works at a greater rate than at any previous time in the bistory of the Colony. Of course we have been spending more money but not only that, we have also been spending lately agreater proportion of our revenue on thes works than for many years past. In the year 1896 we spent 13.77 per cent of our expenditure on public works; in 1897 16.04; in 1898 18.21; in 1899 13.41; in 1900 21.54; in 1901 19.96; in 1902 30.22; in 1903 25.38; in 1904 33 40 and last year I think it was about 34.00 per cent. I look upon it as a healthy sign that we are spending about one-third of our revenue on public works, and I hope we shall not fall far below that proportion. I disagree with the hon. member that this Colony was ever justified in issuing $41,00 1,000 of sub- sidiary coins. If they had been really sub sidiary coins the issue might have been justified, but their unrestricted issue tended to make them the main coinage of South Chins and it was a coinage of which the face value was far below the actual value. had issued subsidiary coins with the proportion of silver in them as the dollar or if we had made a reserve for redeeming them, we should have been justified. I do not think W8 were justified in issuing an indefinite amount of subsidiary coins of which the value was far below the face value and for the redemption of which no provision was made. On the minor points referred to by the hos. member there is little for me to say. As I stated in my remarks on the 13th, we are outting down very few trees in the coming year. My fear is that we may presently find large areas of dead trees, and this would mean vacant spaces on our bill sides for many years. However, this matter will be carefully considered by the department responsible for it. Another minor point referred to was the expenditure of $2,490 in payment to the police for supervising the work of the shroffs in the villages in the New Territory. Owing to the lack of supervision last year we had defalcations amounting to $1,900. These shroffs have to work in various vil ages in the New Territory where there is no one to supervise them unles the police are appointed for that purpose. I am inclined to think that $2,400 will be a very reasonable insurance to pay against the loss we should incur through a few dishonest shroffs. Not only is there that consideration but there is another one having great weight in the New Territories. The villagers were largely swindled by the defalcating shroff and that might, without the supervision we are providing, happen again and is even more to be avoided than the Govern. ment loss (app'ause). There remains the matter brought up by the hon. member of excaange compensation to civil servants. Since the meeting of the 13th instant I have received from the ecretary of State the following reply to the despatch addressed to him on the 13th July:-
supply, and now we have nearly completed the first Tytam Tak resərvəɔir, which gives another 198,000,1-00 gallons. We know now that these are insufficient, and we are going tɔ start a new reservoir for 1.20,000,000 gallons. I am per- fectly satisfied that that in itself will fail to supply the ultimate needs of the Colony, and if not the next generation, then the on after it will have to consider fresh water supply schemes. This has been a progressive Colony, and we hope it will continue to be so. So long as it is pro- gressive, no works that We put up can be considered to meet the ultimate require ments of the place, and no works should therefore be paid for from loan. From this, of course, I except such works as the railway now under construction. lf the cost of the typhoon shelter is not to be met by a loan, and I think I have the majority of the Council with me that it should not be so met, the question whether additional taxation should be imposed by higher assessed taxes or light dues will have to be considered. I hardly think the hon. member who represents the Chamber of Com- merce can be allowed to have the last word on that subject. He stated that the Colony depended entirely on its shipping, I know that is the usual way of putting the cas1, but is it really the correct way? Does not the Colony depend as much on its trade as ita shipping? Would the shipping exist without ita trade? I think not. The shipping makes its profits and I imagine they are large ones -from the Colony, and it is not clear why those profits, as well as the profits on trade, should not be taxed. At any rate, that is not a matter I need settle at the present moment. Turning now from the question of the typh on rhelter and the manner in which the expendi- ture required for that sh lter shou'd be met to the statistics pentel by the hon. member at the foot of the table (Mr. Gresson), I conf› s I fouad it a little difficult to grup the geners' principle at which he was aiming, but if I uzderstood it right, he 'ooks upon the portion of Personal Emoluments to total expenditure as excessive. In other words he considers that the proportion that other charges bear to total expenditure in any department as the coefficient of efficiency of that department. With that I can hardly agre Supposing that ins es of paying the P. and O. 8. N. Company $125,000 we paid them an annual subsidy $150 00), and cut off $25,000 from per- snoel emoluments by reducing the nuu. ber of postmen and the frequency of delivery of letters, are rd'ng to the hon. member's method of reck›ning, the Post Offic would be mo e efficient. I can hardly think he means that, but I cannot see to what other con olusion his remarks lead. As regards t'e special ca-s into which hw n' in soms defail, that of the police and th jail, Tam surpr sed he did not get the hon. member who represents the Chamber of Commerce to back him up. as that member from his experienc on the Shanghai Municipal Council would have certainly added great weight to the suggestion, if it is a correct one, that our police were expensive compared with the police of Shanghai (applause). This question, as
the Captain Superintendent of Police points out, depends very largely on the proportion of the different nationalities which constitute the police. I considered this a year and a half ago when I had a discussion with regard to it with Mr. May, who had, as members are aware, a wide experience of the Police department Ioame to the conclusion, after hearing all he had to say, that our present proportion was a good one Reverting for the moment to the general question raised by the hon. member at the foot of the table, who stated that 30 per cent of our expenditure is for personal emoluments, it will interest him to learn that Singapore's estimate for 1906 showed 29.7 per cent of the expen- iture for these emoluments: the percentage of the actual expenditure under this head in Mauritius in 1903/04 was 27.88 in Trinidad in 1904/05 it was 30 and in Malts in 1914/05 34.47, so that if our proportion is a bad one, at any rate it does not differ very largely from those of other o.lonies. The hou, member in the course of bis remarks made a violent attack on the Sanitary Department, but as he himself sta ed, the "administration of that department is under consideration by a competent commission, so that it would be out of
"I have carefully considered your observa- tions, and I regret that I am unable to satisfy myself that measures of relief are necessary or justifiable at the present time. In the matter of remittances to this country the Government servanta in question are no longer affected by the rate of exchange, and a reduction in the dollar value of imported articles must presum- ably be only a matter of time if exchang continues to rule high. Moreover I would remind you of the statement in your Despatch No. 72 of the 29th. March that "house rent is the chief, if not the only, expense of living which is not lower in this Colony than in most others, where customs duties are levied and where wages are higher. I am bound to add that in my opinion the scale of pay of Government servants in Hongkong compares favourably with that obtaining in most other parts of the Empire. I would observe, with reference to the suggestion made in your Despatch under reply, that sterling salaries were introduced in order to get rid of the system of making payments in dollars at fictitious rates of exchange, and even if I were convinced of the necessity of taking
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stops in the direction which you advocate, I could not agree to any arrangementà whereby that system would be revived.”
(8d.) ELGIN."
Continuing, His EXCELLENCY said—One of my suggestions was that which the hoo, mem- ber himself put forward—a sliding scale between a 1/8 and à 2 dollar. I am not prepared to adopt the proposal of the hon. member that a committee should be appointed to go into the question of civil servants' salaries. Certainly such a committee, if appointed, should not be an official one as its members would naturally hesitate to make any suggestions which would involve increases to their emoluments. I will in this matter confine myself to putting the hon. members' remarks before the hon. Secretary of State.
The motion that the Bill be read a second time was agreed to.
'The COLONIAL SECRETARY moved that the Bill be referred to the Finance Committee
The COLONIAL TREASURER seconded and this was agreed to.
OPIUM ORDINANCE. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the second reading of a Bill entitled an Ordinance to amend the Prepared Opium Ordinance. He said-The principal object in introducing this ordinance is to include morphine and compound opium within the scope of the present law with regard to the sile of this drug. The magistrates have given decisions which apparently bring these drugs within the meaning of the word opium and within the scope of the law in force, but there are doubts whether these decisions would be upheld if questioned. It is obviously advisable to pat beyond all doubt the question whether morphine and compounds of opium do or do not come within the privileges afforded to the Opium Farmer. Another object of the Bill is to establish under Government supervision a bonded ware. house for opium and compounds of opium introduced into the Colony. At one time the authorities required the Opium Farmer to provide a bonded warehouse. He did not do so and pressure was put upon him to make him do so. Ultimately we came to the conclusion that a warehouse should be provided by the Government and that the Opium Farmer should be permitted to esta¬lish one also if he desired to do so. His establishment would of course be ander Government rules and regulations. The principle of the Bill shortly is to bring the provisions of the law with respect to arrest, search, seizure and disposal of morphine and compounds of opium into operation.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
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The Council went into committee, and considered the Bill clause by clause. On the Council resuming,
His EXCELLENCY reported that the Bill had passed through committes with one amendment.
BILLS PASSED.
The ATTORNEY General moved the third reading of the Bill entitled an Ordinance to amend the Lunacy Ordinance, 1906.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded and the Bill was read a third time.
The ATTORNEY-G«NERAL moved third read- ing of the Bill entitled an Ordinance to amend the New Territories Land Ordinanc», 1905.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded and the Bill was read a third time.
The ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the third reading of the Bill entitled an Ordinance to transfer to the General Revenue certain sums forming part of the Prays Reclamation Fund. The COLONIal Secretary seconded and the Bill was read a third time.
The ATTORNEY Ĝeneral moved the third reading of the Bill entitled an Ordinance to amend the Regulation of ChinessOrdinance1888. The COLONIALS CRETAry seconded and the Bill was read a third time.
HIS EXCELLENCY-After the meeting of the Financs Committee which will be held later, I propose the Council should resume in, order to pass the Supply Bill in its third reading. I understand that next Thursd will not be a convenient day for some members of the Council. I don't want to avoid a meeting and if no one has any objection then we will have a meeting another day. The Council is adjourned till after the meeting of the Finance Committee.
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