would have been highly advantageous.
Chusan, I have never had the good fortune to visit, but have invariably
heard it spoken of as a delightful place, in a high state of
cultivation, possessing an extensive commerce, with fine harbours, and,
lastly, with a numerous population already made acquainted with the
difference between living under a free and enlightened Government and
under that of a despot. These people (if one can credit even half of
what one hears from them) are, one and all, anxious that Great Britain
should retain their island, and seem to dread the day, now fast
approaching, when, according to the Treaty, it must be evacuated by the
British, consigning them again to the tender mercies of the Celestial
Mandarins. Several English merchants have erected warehouses on Chusan,
in the hope that it will ultimately be retained by Great Britain, or
that the Chinese Authorities will not object to their remaining on the
Island subsequently to its restoration to their Imperial Master. I hope
that their expectations may not prove fallacious.

Hong Kong is a free port, and, in my opinion, ought never to be
otherwise than free. Let its harbour be a refuge for the shipping of all
nations, and its stores will then be filled with their goods. I would
not encumber the commerce of this Island with one single dollar of
charges: no port-charges ought for a moment to be thought of; and, as
for import and export duties, the most moderate charges of this kind
would ruin the place. What brought Singapore forward so rapidly, was,
the entire freedom of its trade. If Hong Kong is but treated in the same
way, its progress will be, if possible, still more rapid than that of
its sister settlement.

A revenue more than sufficient to remunerate Government for the annual
expenses of Hong Kong, may be raised on the spot, without hampering its
commerce, by taxing the retail opium-trade, the retail spirit-trade,
carriages and horses, licensed gambling-houses, rents from public
markets, ground-rent on building and other lots, and an assessment on
rents, say of five per cent. The revenue derived from such sources in
Singapore, is cheerfully paid, and it more than pays the expenses of the
place. That all the houses in which opium is smoked, spirits are drunk,
and gambling is carried on, should be under a strict surveillance, is
absolutely necessary. To check either the one or the other, is
impossible; and, as they are legitimate objects for tax