The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-01-27

and other perquisites. He Is practically gu
preme. although there Is q legislative coun-
ell. a Governors Council. and q number Of
other officials. All Offices are held only at
the pleasure OF the Queen The Legislative
Council can be dissolved by her. and she
has the right to change any appointment
Crime and the Police.
The laws are made by the Legislative
Council. and they are enforced by the po-
lice and the courts. There are 900 police
men, of whom 16 are Europeans. $50 IN
dian Sikhs and 400 Chinese There Is q Su-
preme Court, a Police Court and a Marine
Magistrates Court. all of which have pien-
ty to do. The courts OF Hong-kong have
their own codes of procedure. They have
regular terms OF sitting. their fees are all
fixed by law. and they are. l am told. rea-
sonable.
The of the Colony.
Hong-Kong is a free port and the Gov
eminent has to raise its revenues chiefly
by stamps and by taxing its citizens. There
are stamps upon everything You pay so
on every contract: 8 on every deed. and
IS in stamps IL you make your will. Every
bank check has its 2-cent stamp. and the
bank must pay 1 per cent per annum on
the average amount OF its bank note cir
culation. Bonds OF all kinds pay 10 per
cent taxes. and every roker's note pays
80 cents. A~uctioneers are charged 500 a year
for their licenses; billiard tables must pay
SO each. and every pawnbroker must give
$3.50 annually to the city IL he would do
business.
In addition to this. the Government gets
something out of the m~onopolies. 1t receives
$4,000 a month from its opium farms and
less sums from ether factories With all
this II f. easily able to meet its expenses.
Its revenues are about 100000 silver every
year and its expenditures are considerably
less. Its debt is less than 100000. and IL
NAYS an iDfarnor rate of Only Sn ner cent
Hong-kong Money.
And what kind of. money do they use in
this English colony? Pounds. shiliings and
pence? No. They use the silver dollar.
which is worth just as much as the value
of the silver Il contains. Many of the dol
lars are made in Mexico and many of those
In circulation have been plugged and
sweated until they are worth less than par.
Nearly every dollar that you get at the
bank has a black mark stamped Upon 1t.
guaranteeing its circulation by the last man
who passed IL. II you want clean Next
cans-that is. new dollars-the Hong-Kong
and Shanghai bank will charge you 2 per
cent extra for them. All kinds OF Hong
Kong money are at a discount in Shang-
hal Even the bank notes OF the Hong
Kong and Shanghai Bank are taken at a
discount by the Shanghai branch Of This
same bank II presented at Shanghai
There Is a great deal of Speculation IN
money The silver dollar ranges IN value
from 43 to 80 cents gold. and II bobs up
and down according to the rise and fan
OF silver. Some Chinese merchants deal in
silver In bulk. taking everything by weight. |
Ineir unit Is the tael. containing one and
one-third ounces ayoirdupois and worth
about 20 cents Their copper coin a the |
casn. OF which II takes more than a thou
ssno 70 make one of our dollars. Hong !
Kong mas a mint, where L. now make d.
iars and half dollars OF it's own. n bas siso !
SUBSIDIARY coins imported from Enxland.
1e most beautiful OF these = the scent