- 2 -
acquisition of buoys in the Harbour. Decreases were mostly due to savings on Personal Emoluments and high exchange.
EXPENDITURE.
Governor
83,708.01
Colonial Secretary's Department and Legis-
lature
73,638.42
Secretariat for Chinese Affairs
54,966,19
Audit Department
30,722.02
Treasury
65,300.60
Harbour Master's Department
363,062.94
Imports & Exports Department
753,228.85
Royal Observatory
21,977.78
Miscellaneous Services-
1,318,404,52
Judicial nod Legal Departments
253,457.27
Police and Prison Departments,
869,859.05
Medical Departments
224,653.30
Sanitary Department
351,967,14
Botanical and Forestry Department
Education -
321,101.68
Military Expenditure
2,174,833.82
401,205.44
624,872.51
1,246,871.75
318,982.54
296,691.63
Expouses of Con-
108,718.40
640,069.15
309,27162
34,87 IN2
б
Public Works Department
Do. Extraordinary
Kowloon-Canton Railway, Working Expenses
Charge on account of Public Debi.
Do.
Pust Office
-
Do..
struction
Recurrent
Pensions
Charitable Services
TOTAL,
47,325.89
* 11,079,914.82
The balance to the good on the year's working was $2,753, 172, and the assets and liabilities account showed on the 31st December n credit balance of $2,300,785.
The following is a statement of the revenue and expenditure of the Colony for the five years 1912-1916 : ---
1912
1913
1014
1915
1916
Expenditure.
Revenue.
$
8,180,694
7,202,553
8,512,308
8,658,012
11,007,273
10,756,225
11,786,106
15,149,267
13,833.387
11,079,915
The amount of the consolidated loan stands at £1,485,732. Against this there is at credit of the Sinking Fund a sum of £233,784.
A luty on Tobacco was imposed during the year, estimated to bring in about $400,000 per ann The actual figure collected
for about a half-year was $211,180.
3-
For the year commencing 1st July, 1910, the existing valuation
was adopted, the difference in rateable value being the result of interin-assessments and appeals.
Increases.
The Hill District, $915 or 028%.
Shaukiwan, Saiwanho, and Quarry Bay, $4,615 or 1:20%. Hongkong Villages, $32,206 or 1861%.
Yaunat, $20,330 or 6·15%.
Mongkoktsui, $415 or 0.19%.
Kowloon Point, $11,050 or 1:81%.
New Kowloon, $1,998 or 1.91%. Kowloon Villages, $3,120 or 3:51%. Decreasca.
The City of Victoria, $77,570 or 0-65%.
Hung Hom aud Hok Un, $2,340 or 071%.
The rateable value of the whole Colony amounted to $14,282,186 being a decrease of $5,009 or 0-03%.
There were 187 appeals against the adopted assessments of 919 tenements, and reductions aggregating $197,220 in rateable value were made by order of the Court.
For the period 1907-1916 the assessment of the whole Colony has risen from $10,716,173 to $14,282,186, an increase in value of 33.27%.
The circulation on the 31st December of notes of the thres Banks having authorised issues was as follows :-
Hongkong & Shanghai Bank,... Chartered Bank of India, Australia, & China, 4.Mercantile Bank of India,
$25,025,355
7,765,117 950,577
$33,741,049
The currency of the Colony consists, in addition to the notes
of the leg of British, Hongkong, and Mexican Dollars and of subsidiary coin.
The rate of discount on Hongkong subsidiary coin disappeared during 1916. It ranged from 10% to par at the end of the year.
Bank notes also were at par value at the close of the year. The total issue of subsidiary coins, less those demonetized, now amounts to $21,264,370 nominal value, and they were up to the year 1905 readily absorbed at par, large quantities being taken by the neighbouring provinces of China. During 1916 ten cent pieces of the face value of $5,028,000 were shipped to England for purposes of demonetization. The discount which has prevailed since 1905 may be attributed to the immense quantity of similar coin which bas latterly been minted at Canton as well as to the amount of Hongkong coin minted largely in excess of the needs of the Colony by itself. In 1905 the Hongkong Government ceased to issue any subsidiary coin and in 1906 it began a policy of demonetising all its subsidary coin received as revenue. This policy has been continuous- ly followed since except during a brief period in 1911. Coin to the
269
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