To sum up the position, gentlemen, wi have an annual income of between Tls. 750,000 and Tls. 800,000. Out of this, provision has to be made for policing a continually increasing area, and for maintaining law and order in the midst of a native Rome 52 aniles of road require to be population of between 300,000 and 400,000.
policed, lighted, scavenged, watered, and maintained to meet the needs of ever-growing trafic; improved sanitary work of various kinds has to be introduced and extended; the food supply to be controlled and its sources supervised; existing Public Works and Municipal properties require to be maintained. Here I may observ that whereas ten years ago there were 17 public buildings in the Council's charge, there are now 62, a fact which, amongst others, accounts for the growth of the Municipal debt, and testifies to the increased wants of the community. When it is remembered that about 28 per cent of our revenue has to be devoted to Police purposes, and another 12 per cent to Interest and Sinking Fund, that out of the remainder it is necessary to provide certain grants in aid of Hospitals and education, maintenance of the Fire Department, Volunteers, Public Band, ete., items of expenditure which do not always devolve upon ordinary Municipal revenue elsewhere the position becomes moderately clear. do not wish to unduly emphasise the that Shanghai is, comparatively speaking, lightly burdened in the matter of taxation, hut what I do wish to ask every Ratepayer to consider and realise is that there are a if any, towns of the same size and population in the world to-day, where such results are attained on the same income, and further I would like to point out that if the foreign residanits of Shanghai desire to be provided ery modern convenience and an jent_ public service, if an adequate Police Force, satis lighting, moder sanitation e considered essential, not to mention expensive whis such as the Crematorium, then I say the Ratepayer has to face the prospect of paying for these things; that what the tax payer in England has to pay for at th of -o Ts. Gd. in the £ cannot be obtained in Shanghai at our present rate of Gentlemen, it is out of the question to suppose that this com y can continue indefinitely to raise loans for any expenditure which should be wholly or partially defrayed out of incom: already pointed out that we are not: us sion for dept tion of certain publ such as bridges, and T submit thi which deserve to be borne in mind.
se who pay taxes, and those.who are elected to.supeti pendituy seldom approach the subject from the ndpoint. It is only annual meeting that your Councillors are able to upon which their actions ed, while the other point of spliced before you, gentlemen—if I may so exp yess myself—with monotonous frequency, and sometimes with a slight disregard of accuracy as regards the facts. trust therefore that you will excuse what to some of you may appear a somewhat Jengthy explanation of obvious matters.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.