125
an
I
ner in which the accounts are presented to the ratepayers. I think on one occas on the reply giren was that the form in which the accouufs were rendered was in accorance with a certain dispatch from a certain Secretary of State. However, be that as it may, it does not seem reasonable that the accounts of an important colony like this should be put before us in such a form that it is neces- sary for the ordinary business man with some knowledge of accounts to spend hours and days wading through books before he can flnd what the proper financial position of the Colony is. Now take this paper, the fiuavci 1 statement in connection with the estimates for 1912. The heading is Statement of assets and liabilities on the 31st December 1910." That is, I take it, of the assets of the Colony, and that is in effect the balance sheet laid before the ratepayers of the Colony. If it is, I do not understand it in the least. Amongst the assets there is the sum of $6,144,111,41 for railway construction. This appears to be the amount spent out of the £550,000 repaid by the Viceroy of Wachang, but it is not at all clear. The total amount spent on the railway down to last year was $11,884.427 Of this, £550,000 was mouey refunded by the Viceroy of Waohang; 1 million dollars came from current revenue, and the balance was borrowed from the Crown Agents. These entries are on page 2. They show
£550,000 on
at a rate of 19 equivalent of $5,740.316. Well. make £550,000 at 1,9 $6,285 714, a difference of about half a million. The next entry is put in sterling at two different rates of exchange but I have not even attempted to cheek those Figure star 3 represen's a sum of £660,000 which remains to be refunded by the Vi ceroy. Thers again the exchange is wrong, and the amount in dollars should be $7,542 852, a difference of about six lakhs. Figure star 4 is again worked out at 1/9, and that also is incorrect. There are two entries which on the face of them I do not altogether understand, The first entry is under the bead of liabilities, deposits not avail- able, $234,356 01. I should be pleased if the hon. member on my left informed me what that amount is. I should also like to be informed whether the sinking fund is on page 2. The sinking fund appears as written off against the loan of the Crown Agents, Sinking fund investment is shown as £97,759 68. 10. but I cannot see in the so-called balance sheet any entry, vor can I find any place where this mouey is invested. That, I think, ought to be explain- ed. Your Excellency spoke with satisfaction of the point that the credit balance of the Colony stood at $1,452,379, which gave us funds in band towards our public works. That, of course, is based on this statement, and your Excellency presumably when you made that re- mark was under the impression that that was actually the eredit balance of the Colony, but as far as I can make out it is nothing of the sort. I make out instead of a credit of 1 millions a debit balance of 24 millions, a difference of 4 millions. J may be wrong, but I have taken a great deal of trouble over the matter, and only this morning complet- ed the estimate of what I thought the balance account should be. I find on the liability side no entry made at all for the can to the Viceroy of Wachaur, We still owe that £1,100,000. That clearly ought to stand on the liability side of the account, together with the Crown Agents' advances. On the other side, instead of prediting the Colony with 6 million odd, little more than half the actual cost of railway construction, the whole of the amount paid for railway construction at the
~ 27 28 / 5 =
272 8/1 =
10.
cau
fend of 1910, $11,864,227, should be entered as an asset, an not this six million odd. Then, again, another entry as an asset ought to be the amount still due by the Viceroy, £660,000, which does not appear. Arain, the sinking fund ought to appear. It those figures were altered we would find a deficit of $3 429,599 18 as against a credit of $1,406,924,96. If this is not meant to be a balance sheet of the Colony I do not know what it is meant to be. We are entitled to have a balance sheet, before us once a year, and this document must be the balance sheet, but no ratepayer would expect such a thing as this. Not a single auditor in the Colony dare put his amo to such a document and say. This is the balance sheet of the Company represent." If there wore such an anditor all I say is that he would be very shor ly starving. I have done my best to find out the true position of the Colony, and I am satisfied in my own mind that we have not this big credit bala ce you think we have, but a descit. That being so, the accounts ought to he made plain. I do not say that my accounts are correct, but they are as correct as I can make them from the figures anpplied by the Government. Hn. Dr Ho Kai-Sir, I wish to express my general concurrence with the hou member representing the Chamber of Commerce in his criticism of the Budget speech, but I cannot quite agree with him on some small particulars, especially in his strictures on the architects of the Post Office and the Law Courts. Nor can I quite agres with him with regard to his TV- marks on the policy of the Imperial Government in suppressing the opium trade. Although I quite agree with him and the other unofficial members in thinking that the compensation granted to us by the Imperial Government is far from adequate to the less we have sustained or will sustain through that policy, yet I never was one to oppose the most enlightened and liberal policy of the Imperial Government in their endeavours to assist China in putting down the evil babit of oping smoking in her vast empire. As regards the lunatic asylum, I think some satisfactory arrangement should be made with regard to the Europeans, ond also for sending the Chinese lunatics to some well arranged and well-conducted place in Canton, For their accommodation there we should certainly make a grant, and I hope the Government will entertain the proposal that if these lunatics are transferred to Can- ten iher will be received in a woll-conducted establishment there under foreign medical su- pervision. I agres with the hon, member most emphatically as regards the Trtain Tak reser- voir. I think the work should be pushed on as quickly as possible, inasmuch as the need of an increased water supply is being fell from Year to year very keenly by the Chinese community of this Colony, $100,000 for next year is certainly a very small sum to be spent, and if the staff of the Public Works Department is not sufficient to spend more or conduct the work more rapidly I think arrangements should be made to get ont extra hands to supervise the rapid construction of the work. Farthermore, if money is required I think a short temporary Town might be raised At all events a good part of the surpins revenue should be appropriated for the werk. As regards the Government's educational policy, I desire to go a little more fully into the question than the hou. member who has just sat down, because I take, as your Excellency knows. the protest interest in probably promoting education in this Colony. Your Ex- cellency will therefore, no doubt, graut in- dulgence if I go fully into the question.