684
were:
As regards (iii.), the works on which the expenditure fell much below the estimate
"Law Courts" ($37,309.88), "Post Office" ($87,939.14), "Prison" ($40,000), "New Roads in Kowloon" ($12.130.75), "Permanent Marks for Traverse Survey Points in New Territories ($11,000.00), "Reinforced Concrete Piers ($18,781.07), “Insanitary Property Resumption" ($12.066.62), "Kowloon Waterworks" ($31,082.83) aud "Reconstruction of No. 2 Tank" ($14,935.85).
As regards the item "Prison ", instructions were received that no expenditure was to be incurred in connection with it and, as regards the item "New Roads in Kowloon", that a saving of about $12,000 was to be effected. In the case of the other items mentioned, the savings were mostly due to less progress being made with the works than was anticipated or to stores ordered from England not arriving in time to be charged against the votes, but, with regard to the last item, it has been considered advisable to adopt another scheme which will probably render it unnecessary to proceed with the Reconstruction of No. 2 Tank.
The principal items on which expenditure occurred in excess of the provision made in the Estimates or for which no provision had been made were :-
"Harbour Office" ($17,142.60), "Western Market" ($12,299.93), "Post Office, Shanghai" ($15,381.35), Railway to Canton, Survey and Preliminary Work" ($31,207.84), "Forming and Kerbing Streets" ($39,205.36), "Tytam Tuk Scheme" ($9,972.18), "Gunpowder Depôt, Green Island ($14,652.93), Typhoon Damages" ($68,949.51).
1
In addition to the foregoing, a considerable excess expenditure was incurred under the heading "New Roads in New Territories", which vote was largely applied to the construc tion of the railway between Tai Po and Lo Fu Ferry, the intention being to utilize the route as a road until it became necessary to lay the rails for the railway, but, as a sum of $42,402.06 was refunded from the Railway Loan Account, the amount appearing as Public Works Expenditure was correspondingly reduced. Two sums of $5,200 and $2,500 respectively were contributed by the Military Authorities towards the extension of the Kowloon City Road in the direction of Customs Pass and the improvement of the road to Kowloon Pass and these amounts also do not appear as Public Works Expenditure.
The apparent expenditure of the Department is still further reduced by the sum of $18,434.71 which was paid from Volunteer Funds for the construction of the New Volun- teer Head Quarters.
The actual expenditure on Public Works Extraordinary, as shown by the statement, fell short of the amount provided in the Estimates by $97,831.34, but, if the amounts refunded from the Railway Account and obtained from other sources be included, the expenditure only fell short of the estimated amount by $29,294.57 or less than 2%. The disastrous typhoon of the 18th September, though it caused the expenditure of a large sum in repairs to existing works, had the opposite effect as regards works in course of construction, as most of the temporary structures in connection with these, such as matsheds, scaffoldings, &c, were entirely demolished, progress and expenditure on Public Works Extraordinary being thus diminished.
The following is a statement of the expenditure in 1906, as compared with that of the previous year-
1905.
1906.
Increase.
Decrease.
Personal Emoluments and Other Charges,...
219,603.56
203,068.43
16,535,13
Annually Recurrent Works,
Extraordinary Works,......
383,798.06 379,797.77
1,775,138.83 1,163,868.66
4,000.29
311,270.17
Total,.......
$ 2,378,540.45 2,046,734.86
331,805.59
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