Excerpt from book: Address from the Karachi Municipality. and sinew of Our strength?from an incubus which is slowly, but steadily, wearing them down. ADDRESS FROM THE KARACHI MUNICIPALITY. [ The Viceroy left Simla on his Autumn Tour on Thursday morning, 2yth Oct. 19o0 trie 25th October 19oo.. He was accompanied by Her Excellency Lady Curzon, the members of His Excellency's staff, and Sir William Cuningham, Foreign Secretary. Karachi was reached on the morning of the 27th, and, at ii A.m., His Excellency received, at Government House, addresses of welcome from the Municipality, the Chamber of Commerce, and the National Mahomedan Association. The Municipal address, after cordial expressions of welcome to Their Excellencies. referred to the serious outbreaks of plague and cholera from which K arachi had suffered in recent years. These epidemics had caused a serious deficit in the Municipal revenues, and it had been found necessary to increase the house tax too per cent. and the water tax 5o per cent. in order to meet the loans from Government and the public which were necessary. These taxes bore hardly upon the people, and the value of landed property had seriously depreciated. His Excellency's attention had been drawn to the question of terminal charges which, with the sanction of the Chamber of Commerce, the Local Government had imposed. They had been in force two years, and, it was admitted, caused no detriment to trade. Nevertheless their abolition was ordered by the Government of India. The Municipality was,therefore, compelled to propose the re-imposition of the octroi duty on piece-goods, which was abolished in 1885. This was regarded as likely to prejudice the trade of the port in favour of Calcutta and Bombay, and His Excellency was requested to treat Karachi as a special case, and al...