Mr. E. A. Hewsrr—t now rise to move—
Resolution V:—That the estimated expenditure in the Municipal Budget for the year commencing Ist January, 1901, and ending Bist December, 1901, as proposed by the retiring Council, together with the recommendations attached thereto, be approved and adopted, and that the Council be authorised to impose, collect and recover the rates, taxes, dues and fees recommended therein, and to raise, should it be considered expedient to do so, a sum not exceeding Tls. 240,000 (taels two hundred and forty thousand) by the issue of Debentures redeemable in not less than five and not more than twenty years from date of issue and bearing interest atarate not exceeding six per centum per annum, for the purposes Mined in' the estimate of extraordinary expenditure.
Iwill explain later, I have a slight alteration to propose in this.
Twill preface my remarks by stating thai while no great change is proposed in the taxation during the current year it must be remembered that year by year our expenses are rapidly increasing.
T have already in my previous remarks indicated certain directions in which additional heavy expenditure may be incurred in the immediate future. I would recall to your minds the very able manner in which the Chairman of the Finance Committee two years ago pointed out that before long it would be necessary to make the income more nearly approach the expenditure, and flint we stiould in the future rely less "upon loans for developing our Settlements, more particularly as regards unremunerative works such as roads, ete, ete, While it is admitted' that the ratepayers of the future should bear their share of this development so far as may be, it must also be remembered that the cost, including as it ought, and indeed must, many miles of roadways, cannot be entirely met by borrowed' money. One of tivo things would in the course of a few years happen. Either we would be weighed down with an excessive debt, or the necessary improvements would not be carried out, to the manifest disadvantage of the Shanghai of the future.
The question of increasing the revenue must therefore be one which will require early attention, and the incoming Finance Committee will be asked to give it their special consideration. It may be that as a result of their deliberations, you may be asked a year hence to sanction an increase in certain of the modes of taxation.
The remarks prefacing the Budget ax published in the Report and Budget (page 435/45) give a brief summary of the main points.
In this connection I would to state that since the printing of the Budget the question of licensing lotteries has assumed an entirely different aspect owing to the position now taken up by the Consular Body. I shall deal with this subject Later and will therefore confine myself for the moment to remarking that if the decision of the Council meets with the general approval of the ratepayers the estimated revenue to be derived from lotteries will be reduced by about Tls. 35,000. To meet this deficiency I will therefore propose an amendment to this resolution to the effect that the Counci be authorised to raise by debentures the sum of Tls. 270,000. This will leaves with an estimated credit of some Ts.
2,000 instead of Tls. 7,500 as shown in the printed Budget of 1901.
The schedule of the rates, taxes, license fees, etc., for 1901, as'recommended by the outgoing Council, is before you, and will, with your permission, be taken as read. This is practically the same as that adopted last year with the exception that it is proposed to levy a tax on Foreign establishments for the sale of liquor, as well as Chinese; that the monthly Cee for lotteries be raised from $1000 to $2000; and that a monthly fee be levied on native lodging houses.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.