276
7. Since writing your despatch under acknowledgment, you will have received my despatches Nos. 273 and 274 of 21st November last, regarding the proposed extension of the Gaol, and I shall await the result of the action which you are therein directed to take.
8. As regards the Extraordinary Public Works for which votes have been taken on these Estimates, I have to remind you that in my despatch on last year's Estimates I limited my approval to those works "to which the Colony is already committed and to those which are deemed to be of urgent necessity," but Mr. FLEMING'S despatch No. 313 of 28th August last, forwarding a Memorandum on the Public Works in execution or contemplation, did not clearly indicate what works were already begun or were regarded as of such urgent necessity that it was necessary to proceed with them or commence them during last year. I gather, however, from the last column but one on page 38 of the 1891 Estimates that a considerable number of new Public Works were begun during 1890, which must therefore be taken to have been sanctioned by the qualified approval referred to above as given in my despatch No. 67 of 18th April last.
9. I proceed to refer to some of the works, placed on the present Estimates, in order of relative importance, according as they were lettered A, B, or C, in the Memorandum enclosed in Mr. FLEMING'S despatch of 28th August last.
As regards (Item 1) the Central Market, (Item 10) Cattle Depôt Extension and (Item 11) Slaughter House, &c., I trust that it will be found possible to carry out the strong recommendations of the Un-official Members of the Council, (in enclosure 8 to despatch under acknowledgment), as to reducing the estimated cost of these works, and before committing the Colony to the proposed expenditure, I request you to furnish me with a special report as to the possibility of some ap- preciable reduction in regard to each of them.
10. I have also to request you to report whether you cannot adopt the sug- gestion of the Un-official Members, that a portion of the Hospital Staff Quarters (Items 15 and 16), which are said to be on too large and extravagant a scale, should be converted into an addition to the Hospital, and whether, in that case (Item 17) the vote for Alterations and Additions to the Hospital cannot be dis- pensed with. In the meantime I will suspend my sanction to this vote.
11. I am prepared to approve the vote for (Item 27) Magazines for Explosives and Pier at Stone Cutters' Island, if it is really of primary and immediate import- ance to proceed with them this year, but if not, one or both of them should be postponed, in view of the considerable number of other works in hand. The ex- penditure on these two works should apparently have been voted separately. I gather from the letter referred to in my despatch No. 3 of the 3rd ultimo that the new Pier is to cost about $6,300, so that I presume the estimated cost of the Magazine is over $11,000..
12. With reference to (Item 8) "Improvements-Recreation Ground," I am prepared to sanction the completion of the sanitary improvements already begun, (as I understand), around the site of the Race Course, but I am unable to sanction the remaining portion of this vote apparently amounting to $24,000, (which should have been taken separately), intended for alteration and extension of the Race Course, at any rate pending further information as to the necessity for this work, which would hardly seem to be justified until at least other more pressing works have been executed.
13. I observe that (Item 12) Slaughter House, Kowloon, is set down at $6,500 whereas its cost last year was only estimated at $3,000, and I request you to inform me why this increase is considered necessary.
14. I approve the commencement of the Public Laundries (Item 13) if you are satisfied that it can be undertaken by the Public Works Department this year