Referring to the estimated revenue of $3,500,000 from opium, the Governor remarked that it depends not on the economic, but on the political, conditions external to the Colony. "For a long time past it has been recognized that the Colony must make up its mind to lose eventually any income from opium. Although Hongkong is probably as lightly taxed as anyplace in the world, we, to-day, are in a position in which we could face a loss of all the revenue from opium without becoming involved in serious financial difficulties. It
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.