N°
די
17
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONGKONG. 21st. January, 1914.
51
Sir,
Cove
0333 I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of
your Despatch No. 378 of the 12th. December in which you inform me that His Majesty will not be advised to exercise his power of dis- -allowance with regard to Ordinance No. 30 of 1913 entitled "An Ordinance to apply a sum not exceeding eight million one hundred and sixty-seven thousand one hundred and two dollars to the Public
Service of the year 1914".
2.
With regard to the second paragraph of your Despatch it has hitherto been the practice to pay possession fees into the Treasury under the head "Deposits not Available" and to use the money for the purpose of paying the First Bailiff's convey- -ance allowance and the wages of the Bailiffs' watchmen. In view,
however, of Colonial Regulation No. 266 it was considered to be a more correct procedure that such fees should be paid into revenue and that the conveyance allowance and the watchmen's wages should appear in the Estimates of Expenditure. I would call your attention in this connection to foot-note No. 17 on page 42 of the Estimates of Expenditure. A revenue sub-head has now been opened into which the possession fees will in future be paid. These fees will be liable to assessment for the purpose of the Military Contribution.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
LEVIS HARCOURT, M.P.,
&0..
&C..
&c...
3.