own absorbing pursuits would possess neither time nor inclination to devote to the interests of the public' However, he requested the fifteen Justices of his selection to consult on the organisation' of a 'Municipal Committee of Police Commissioners.' The Justices thereupon passed, at their meeting of 6th December, 1849, the following resolutions,—first, that no advantage can be derived from having a Municipal Council, unless the entire management of the Police, of the streets and roads within the precincts of the town, and of all other matters usually given to corporations are confided to it, and secondly that, whereas the mode of raising so large a revenue from land rents is only retained as being the most convenient and is in lieu of assessment and taxes, consequently the amount raised from that source, together with the £3,000 or 4,000 raised from licences and rents, should, with the police assessments, be applicable, as far as may be required, for municipal purposes. If the Justices had been satisfied to begin, in a small way, as a mere Committee of Police Commissioners, looking to future improvement of the revenue to provide the means for extending the scope of their functions. Hongkong would not have remained for fifty years, longer without municipal government. As it was, they demanded'a full-blown Municipal Council under impossible financial conditions. Governor Bonham, earnestly desiring to meet the wishes of the community as far as possible, made later on some fresh propositions (January 10, 1851). He offered to place the whole management of the Police under a Municipal Committee on condition that the entire expense of the Police Force be provided by an adequate police tax. He further proposed to hand over to this Committee the management of streets, roads and sewers, on condition that the requisite funds be provided, either by an assessed tax on real property (as proposed formerly by a Draft Ordinance of Sir J. Davis), or by a tax upon horses and carriages. Sir George was evidently determined on reserving the land rents to meet the establishment charges and, at great risk to his popularity, strove not only to raise the general revenue by increased taxation but to make the Colony as soon as possible
