1897 - The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce

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Le gmutetl ant.! n charge of l ceut instead of 21- cents a ton ts levied the
nmonnt of the Estimate will be rednced to $45,200.
12 .. As you nre aware, the ~onrccs of taxation iu this Colouy me limited,
nud only two years ago the fees chargee! for various licence:; were raised considerably.
It is true the tax charge• I on the rat-eable value of house property
is not a heavy one and might he increased without imposing too great
a lmrclcn on owners of property.
But I do not regard the present· time a
favourable oue for increasing taxation in this direction, as recent sanitary
legislation has itwoh·ed a considerable outlay on home property. tlJOngh,
should the ueccssity ari:>e, an increase might be made.
13. After a careful consiucratiou of the arguments ad vunct:tl IJy the
petitioners and of the views held by others on the subject of the ta1:ing of
European shipping cut.cring 'this port, I am of opinion that a charge of 2 ~
cents a ton impo~cd on such shipping as harbour dues is not an uufair ono
aml is not calcnlat.etl to injuriously affect the prosperity u£ thi:; port, which,
even if this charge Le imposed, will still be one of the clleapcst ports for shipping
in the world.
If it appeared to me that harbour dues, such as I recommend
shouhl be imposed, would have an injurious effect on the welfare of
this Colony, I should not hesitate for a moment to advise that no snch a tax
should be lcvietl.
I mn fully alive to the importance to this Colony of shipping
ami to the ueccssity of care being taken to avoid imposing on it any
burden which would detct• vessels from visiting it. Bnt iu view of the figmos
gh-eu above, which show that the tollnagc entering the port has steadily
inereased, though it has had to pay for seven years a tax of 2! cenLs a ton,
exactly tlte same amount which it is uow· proposed to impose pm1nancutly as
harbour dues, and of the fact tltat Hougkong is snch 11 cheap port for shipl1i1w
I am led to the conclnsiou that the fears cxprcsscll by the petitioners
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are groundless anJ that harbour dues of 2!! Mitts 11 ton will not keep vessel~
away from the Colony to the injnry of its trade and its prosperity.
H. Jam addsed that in onler to gt\'e legal effect to the change which
1 propose of converting the present light dues into harbour dues it will be
necessary to pass un Ordinance.
I have therefore to request, if you concur
in the conclusion at which I have anived, that you will authorise me to
introduce iuto the Legislntive Council an Ordinance for this purpose, nud
that you will convey to me your autlwrity by telegram, as it is important
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that this question he defiuitely settled with as little delay as possible.-!
have, &c.,
The Right Honourable .Joseph Cha,mberlain, lf.P.,
~-c., ~·r.., ~· r..
Wrr.UA71£
Do-wNING STnEET,
R OBTNSON.
lith March, 189i.
Sm,-With reference to your Despatch No. 15 of the 18th of January
last and to my telegram of the 15th instant, I have the honour to transmit to
you copies of correspondence with the Peninsular and Oriental Steam N avigation
Compauy, as noted in the margin, on the subject of the L ight Dues at
Hongkong.
2. I consider thnt the shipping interests were given a reasonable expectation
that the Light Dues should be reduced, when the cost of the Gap Hock
Lighthouse wns met.
At the same time, I coucnr in your ''icw thnt moderate.
tines mny properly be levied in Hongkong, provided the proceeds do not in
ordinary times exceed the total expenditure on the H arbour Dopa.rtment,
including Lighthouses, Water Police, etc.
3. I am, however, of opinion that in calculatiug the proceeds of the
l•arbour dues, the charges on native shipping must be included, as well as
those on ocean-going steamers, as suggested in the enclosrd letter from the
Peninsular nnrl Oriental Ste~un Navigation Company.
4. I am not therefore prepared to sanction yonr proposal to make a
permanent charge of 2~·
cents per ton on general shipping, although that
charge must he continued to the end of the present year, in order t~ avoitl a
dislocation of the year's finances.
5. Next yeat· t.he charge must be reduced to such a rate as will, with
the other harbour receipts, be sufficient to cover all harbour nnd lighthouse
ex.penditure; and it will be necessary to find some other source of revenue
t.o make up the deficiency, which may perhaps most conveniently be done
by increasing the Assessed Taxes.
I shall be glad to learn, at your early
convenience, what changes in taxation you will recommend in or,Icr to carry
out the above decision, so that the matter may be settled before the time
nrri"e!' for pas~ing next year's E stimates.