4.1
6th March, 1925.
Dear Private Secretary,
As explained to you over the telephone this afternoon the Navy Estimates, which are now in print, contain an item for the Singapore Base with a provision of £250,000 to be spent in 1925-26. Against this, among the appropriations in aid, appears the contribution of £250,000 from Hong Kong towards the Singapore scheme.
Since the Estimates were settled the Cabinet decided on the 2nd March that we were to confine our op- erations for the present to preparing the site for the Floating Dock, and the estimate for this work is £204,000 only. The amount of the Hong Kong contribution, if paid into Navy Account in the year 1925-26, will therefore be It in excess of the estimated expenditure on the item. is true that there is a certain amount of expenditure on
staff (about £9,000) and on dredging plant (about £15,000) that is required specially for Singapore, but even these sums do not bring up the total expenditure provided in the
Estimates to the full amount of the contribution.
In/