HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
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THE CHAIRMAN.-It seems a perfectly correct procedure.
Of course,
THE HON. MR. PATERSON.-I don't think I agree. a good deal of what I am thinking comes into the Retrenchment Committee's Report, so, perhaps, I had better stop.
THE HON. MR. W. H. BELL. While I fully agree with you, Sir, that it is perfectly reasonable to charge these salaries to loan work, I have had a case in my own business when my head office insisted on charging the salaries of men engaged on special work to the Division in the ordinary way.
THE CHAIRMAN.-Without knowing the full circumstances which govern your own case and the case referred to by Mr. Paterson, I would not be prepared to express an opinion as to which was right, because the circumstances might be entirely dif- ferent from those under which the Government, from time to time, seconds an officer for loan work and charges his salary to that loan work. Personally, I find it difficult to understand what the objection to that position is. It seems to give a far more accurate record of what the work has cost.
THE HON. MR. BELL.-My own personal opinion is in ac- cordance with yours, but I had a case where I was building an entirely new installation and a great deal of work was done by contractors and outside labour. I took one of my own engineers and put him in complete charge, and charged his salary to the capital cost of that particular piece of work, but my people said "No."
THE CHAIRMAN.-I should have thought it was quite right.
The votes were approved.
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