*938
HONGKONG
The following is a statement of the revenue and expenditure of the Colony since
1913:-
Revenue Expenditure
1913... 1914... 1915...
...
...
...
...
...
$8,512,308
$8,658,012
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
11,007,273
10,756,225
...
***
...
...
11,786,106
15,149,267
1916... 1917...
...
...
***
...
...
...
...
13,833,387
11,079,915
...
...
...
...
...
15,058,105
14,090,828
1918...
1919... 1920... 1921... 1922...
...
...
...
...
...
18,665,248
16,252,172
...
...
...
...
•
...
...
...
16,524,975
17,915,925
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
14,689,672
14,489,594
...
...
...
...
17,728,132
15,739,652
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
22,291,064
18,563,002
1923...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
***
...
24,783,762
21,571,904
1924...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
24,209,638
26,726,426
1925...
...
...
...
23,244,365
28,266,817
1926 .. 1927...
...
...
...
23,524,716
...
...
...
...
...
20,845,065
1915 Debit Balance 1916 Credit Balance
...
...
...
1917
""
21,131,581 21,344,536
The following figures show the Colony's credit or debit balance at the end of each year from 1915:-
...
...
...
...
...
$ 452,686 2,300,785 3,268,061
...
...
...
...
...
1918
""
""
1919
""
""
...
...
1920
...
22
""
...
...
1921
...
19
"9
...
...
...
1922
""
"
...
...
...
...
...
1923
""
...
...
...
...
...
1924
...
1925
1926
1927
""
""
...
...
...
...
...
1928
""
""
...
...
...
***
...
...
....
5,681,138
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
4,290,187 4,490,266 6,478,745 12,658,642 15,971,495 13,107,549
•
8,113,482
...
...
...
***
...
...
...
3,486,290 3,985,761
(estimate) 7,804,972
...
DESCRIPTION
The island of Hongkong is about 11 miles long and from 2 to 5 miles broad; its circum- ference is about 27 miles. It consists of a broken ridge of lofty hills, with few valleys of any extent and scarcely any ground available for cultivation. The only valleys worthy of the name are those of Wong-nai Chung and Little Hongkong, both of which are remark ably beautiful and well wooded, being in fact the only parts where any considerable arborescent vegetation was formerly to be found. The island is well watered by numerous streams, many of which are perennial. The city of Victoria and suburbs are supplied with water from the Pokfolum, Tytam, and Wong-nai Chung reservoirs The first-named, constructed in 1866-69, has a storage capacity of sixty-eight millio gallons, while the Tytam reservoir, constructed in 1883-88, and extended in 1896 has an area of about 29 acres and a storage capacity of about three hundred anci ninety million gallons. From the Tytam reservoir the water is conveyed into town by means of a tunnel a mile and one-third in length and a conduit along the hillsid some 400 feet above the sea level and nearly four miles in length, on which a fine road-called the Bowen Road-has been formed, which commands the most charmin views of the city and the eastern district, and is a favourite resort of pedestrians In many parts the conduit is carried over the ravines and rocks by ornamental ston bridges, one of which, above Wanchai, has twenty-three arches. The Wong-nei Chung reservoir, completed in 1899, has a capacity of twenty-seven million gallons. A bye wash reservoir of about thirty million gallons capacity, situated immediately below the overflow of the Tytam reservoir, was completed in 1903, and a dam at Tytam Tuk t impound 194 million gallons was completed in 1909. A further extension of thes waterworks was completed in 1917 at a cost of about $2,400,000, making provision foft impounding 1,500 million gallons of water. This was expected to meet the needs of the Colony for another fifteen years but experience in dry seasons has shown tha it is barely adequate for present requirements and a project has been started to dar the Shing Mun river and to tap practically the whole of the Eastern and Southern slope