304
of the Colonial contribution
of £116,000 for the Defences
of Hongkong.
The contention of
the Secretary of State for
War, which has also been advanced by the local Military Authorities, that
in the War
the discrepancy between Department and Colonial
accounts of the expenditure,
has arisen from
a different rate of exchange having been employed
by each department in converting the dollar expenditure into
sterling, must, I think, be
considered as inconclusive.
in the
light of the following facts :-
A careful inspection of former records which has
been made
by the Acting
Colonial Secretary with the
assistance of the Local
Auditor shows that the
conversion of the dollar into sterling,
or vice versa,
has