August 8, 1908.]
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
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first is that the tax is too heavy; the conditions are not the same as they were ten years ago when the Gap Book Lighthoune was built, Competition is kooner; ships are larger and pay more in dues, and rival ports are springing up. Secondly, they say they are not opposed in principle, bat would like a longer time. They would like the contribution to be spread over a longer time. n order to meet their views have reduced the proposed tax from 24 osnts to two cents, and it is now spread over a period of eleven years instead of five years as was anticipated at first. n the letter written at my instance by the Hon. Colonial Secretary to the Chamber of Commerce I examined that proposal to finance the scheme by means of an overdraft on local bank at six per cent. I propose a counter çoheme myself, into which I will not go at the present moment until I hear the views of unofficial members upon it. After all, gentlemen, what is the matter in dispute? The shipping agrees to the principle; it agrees to the half cent, The Government has knocked off half a cent, There is therefore only half a cent in dispute. Half a cent at the present returns from shipping represents a sum of $40,00 a year. I notice that the signatories to this protest all represent British firms. If you turn to the Harbour Master's report for last year you will find that the tonnage on British ships stood at 5,922,830, and on foreign ships at 5,589,393. That is to say, it is practically half and usif. The extra liability thrown прод
the Bitish firms amounts to $20,000 per annum. Really, gentlemen, I think that is a small sum, and it is hardly worth the indignant protests which have been received by the Government in the matter. If indeed the disastrous effects which the shipping in- terests contemplated will follow upon the policy of the Government it may perhaps some years trial be possible to alter our fatai course, but in the meantime I think, 3.8 have already stated, that the proposal which is now before the Council is a reasonable one, and a moderate one, With regard also to the point as to the onus which falls upon the shipping, it will be interesting for you to know that careful calculation shows that during 1907 including obarges for light dues, and buoys, the charge to each P. and O. mail steamer was 8248, the charge to each Messageries Maritimes steamer 8144, and to each German steamer $203. These, gentlemen, don't seem to me to be at all outrageous figures. It is to me a matter of the very greatest possible regret that we have not reached perfect unanimity on this question. The decision is a very grave one, and I can assure you it has been duly weighed. It is not pleasant at any time to impose extra taxes, least of all at a time when the community is suffering from great depression; most of all is it distasteful when the proposition is opposed by members of the community of such weight and standing as those who have signed this protest, members of the community whose views are entitled to receive the utmost weight and consideration from the Government I had hoped that the compromise of two cents per ton wouk have produced ananimity, and 1 greatly regt that it has not. done so. It is, as we all know a year of increased taxation, We know that at home in the United Kingdom, in Japan and other places in the Far East, and all round, the burden of taxation is increasing, and we cannot hope that Hong kong should remain exempt. Nw, g. ntlemen, turn to another aspect. In this matter the Government is placed,” as we may say, under cross fie. On the one hand I find myself standing here to-day to defend the principle of constracting a typhoon refuge. What I expected to have to defend the Govern- ment on, if anything, was the question of delay in not having done it sooner. I trust I haTO CLE- ried with me those who were s'ill doubtful about the shelter. I will now endeavour to do my best to show to those who have urged that it should have been done long ago that there has been no undue delay. In the debate on September 17th on the estimates, which was practically the first meeting of the Council I attended, I stated that I concurred in the principle of the typhoon refuge. On October 3rd, in reply to the speeches of Mr. Osborne and Mr. Hewett, to which have already alluded, I said an estimate had been received for $1,400,000 and as this seemed an enormous sum Í had to refer it back
a half on half a million sterling. That will amount to a capital sum of £6 1,010, or £55,000 which in the falling rate of exchange will mean something lipe $600,000 out of our revenue. I, think hon members will agree, after what I have said, that the Government may feel that it has a mandate, a mandate of quite an ex- traordinary and unanimous description, to undertake the construction of this refuge, It has been urged in the strongest terms in this Council. It has been urged by the Chamber of Commerce. It has been arged by committees which represent the varying int rests of this colony. It has been urged by the local Fress. Acting ou that mandata the Government bas prepared a scheme and it has come to definite decisions. The sanotion of the Secretary of State to the proposals has been asked and we have already gone to the extent of acquiring a dredger to commence the work. I think therefore that we must say that the decision to build a shelter is one that has been taken by the community as a whole and Dot merely by the Government. The pledge of the late Governor and myself that this should be undertaken without delay was unanimously welcomed. Therefore we have acted upon it. Reconsideration of this fundamental question appears to me now to be impossible. If the Government were to hang up the question again, to reopen the arguments on various sides, it would in my opinion ay itself open, and justly, to the charge of vacillation and ineptitude. I will not travel over the various arguments which have been em. ployed in this question, but I will rec pitutate very briefly in order to show of what the mandate consisted. In 1904 the Chamber of Commerce urged that Causeway Bay was inade- quate. They also said it was on the wrong side of the harbor and that they would wel come a change of position. They welcomed a larger area. They added that they had con- stantly urged that since 1898. Unofficial mem- bers of the Council, including the representative of the Chamber of Commerce and the shipping interest, endorsed this view. The Typhoon Committee was unanimously in favour of the typhoon refuge to be established at Mongkok (sui. In their last latter the signatories who represent the shipping interest say: "It is quite true that two of those who signed the protest bad also signed the report of the Typhoon Refuge Committee." But, gentlemen, if you turn to the list of members of that Typhoon Committee you will find not merely two, but you will find the representatives of the P. and O., Jardine, Matheson & Co., Butterfield and Swire, Gibb, Livingston & Co. David Sassoon & Co., aud Shewan, Tomes and Company. You will find that six of the shipping firms record. ed their opinion that this typhoon refuge was absolutely necessary and that at should be con. structed at Mongkoktaui-six put of the eleven signatories who happened to be on the committee. In addition there are three other signatories of leading shipsping firms who I notice did not sign the present protest. Finally, the question was referred to the Public Works Committee of this Council. They unanimously recommended that the typhoon shelter should be built at Mongkoktsui. Their recommendation carries greater weight than perhaps any other, looking to the fact that the day before that committee revised an estimate in which it was stated that the typhoon shelter would cost a million and a half of dollars. n spite of that they recommended that it should be built. The Public Works Committee included I think, the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce wap also represents very important interests in this Colony. A fiercer light beats upon a sebeme when you know who has got to pay for it and in the last letter which came from the Chamber of Com- meros or from the shipping interests they prao. tically say that it is quite true that some of them signed that typhoon report, They, however, were under the impression that Government was going to pay for it. With that I certainly sympathise. It is no doubt hamsa nature ti st it should be so. I expected a protest from the shipping industry, and they drew a very doleful picture of the rain and disaster which is going to overlake the Colony in consequence of the extra cent in light dues, but practically their arguments, I think, may be summed up in two general views. The
in the form of an increase in the light does. The reasons which prompted me to this conclusion are in brief form in the papers which have been laid on the table to-day in the memorandum which was communicated to the Chamber of Commerce. I will not go into detail on that subject in introducing this resolution, but I shall be glad to give any additional information that may be required later. I will add one or two remarks to the observations contained in the memorandum. In the first place it may be said that this typhoon refuge is mainly for the bene- fit of native oraft. Why then should the native craft not pay for it? The answer to that I have briefly given in the memorandum, namely that it is not only the native craft that benefit but European shipping. As European firms them- selves said in one of their earlier letters, "We materially benefit from the typhoon refuges." To this point I shall recur later in the observations I am now making. The following facts may, I think, be of interest to you: In 1907 it is calculated that licensed and unlicensed junks paid 3 cents per ton. That is one cent more than is now asked from ocean shipping as a temporary means to provide for this shelter. It has been calculated, too that of the revenue, produced by the fees and other charges on native oraft 59.3 per cent, is spent upon them, w ereas for the ocean shipping 83.5 per cent. of what they produced is spent upon them. Fishing junks pay practically the same as trading junks. River steamers, on the other hand, paid only cent per ton by night, equalling 0.19 or one-seventh a ton on all river tonnage entering the harbour. We therefore have calculated that in the increased percentage they shall pay in the resolution now before the Council. In going into this question it was demonstrated that the fees levied on cargo boats, lighters, and water boats was somewhat in dequate, and this is why they have been raised. In the second place I would remind the Council that in December 1896 the unofficial members of this Council were unanimous, with one exception, that the light dues should be permanently increased, not temporarily, to 2 cents per ton. That recommendation was not at the time accepted again. In 19.12 the committee appointed to investigate sources of possible increases in the revenue, proposed that 24 cents should be levied on shipping, s that the proposal now before the Council is not a novel one. is one which has already been fully investigated nd one which has been unanimously approved in this Council with our option. The papers which have been laid on the table show that uring the time the light dues were increased for the erection of the Gap Rock lighthouse to 2 cents the tonnage entering this port steadily increased, but it was noticeable that the tonnage of junks remained stationary, Why was this? I think it is reasonable to assume that it is due to the fact that this barbour will not accommodate more junke in safety. You cannot expect a larger junk traffic so long as junks are exposed to the risks which they are at the present time in every typhoon which blows. It may be further asked why should this tax be imposed upon shipping only? I fear, gentlemen that when we come to frame the budget for next year we may find that shipping is not the oly industry which will have to pay extra taxation. What with the fall in exchange, what with the precarious position of the opium monopoly, what with subsidiary coinage, what with the heavy loss suffered in this last typhoon in addition to the rain. storms which preceded it, what with increased interest on railway construction, and the pre- vailing trade depression, I fear that the out- look is not a very bright one. Already the margin that we have over the capital expendi- ture on public works extraordinary has fallen practically to its lowest limit. If only stands at two-thirds of what it was last year and is only sufficient to continue the works already under construction and those minor works which from year to year become absolutely neo ssary, Next year we shall have to provide $150,000 extra for interest on railway construction, and these sums for the railway will go On steadily increasing until they oulminate in 1911 when we shall have to create a sinking fand our borrowings, In that year including interest and sinking fund, we may assume we shall have to pay four and a half on one million sterling and three and
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