for the clerical assistants examination, and six passed and were duly promoted.
161. The Department's offices in the West Wing of the Central Government Offices having become very congested owing to an all- round increase in staff, provision had been made in the year's Estimates for the Companies and Trade Marks Registries to move into rented accommodation. On hearing, however, that additional accommodation was going to become available in the West Wing in the summer of 1963, it was decided to accept the congestion for another year rather than lose the benefit of having these Registries in the same building. To alleviate the situation the Department's Library, a bright and pleasant room, was albeit with much reluctance converted into offices in July 1962. As a result of this decision the Department saved the people of Hong Kong over $80,000 but at the expense to it of con- siderable inconvenience through congestion and the loss of staff amenities.
Photostat Section
162. The Department has a Photostat Section equipped with a Photostat machine Model 4 Type P, capable of copying plans, documents, registers, etc., up to four feet by three feet in size, and a Verifax copier capable of taking up to six foolscap copies from one matrix. During the year 3,236 photostat and 3,748 Verifax copies of documents, etc., were made, the latter requiring 4,253 matrices and 14,380 sheets of copying paper. Most of the copies were made for the use of the Department and other Government Departments, but $9,469 was collected in respect of copies of public records supplied to the public. These fees are included in the figures for the fees of the branches supplying the copies.
Miscellaneous
163. The Department received from the Secretariat for custody a trunk full of old documents, many dating back to the 1840s, which seem to have been held before the war by the Crown Solicitor or the Treasury. These documents are of considerable interest and importance, since they will provide a mine of material to future social historians of Hong Kong. A preliminary sorting out by subjects was undertaken in January 1963, but owing to extreme pressure of other work it was impossible to make further progress with the classification and catalogu- ing. Among the documents were 140 bonds executed by men who
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