3
that $7,500,000 will have been borrowed from
surplus balances for loan works. The Governor
stated in his final speech on the Estimates
that the raising of a loan might be necessary before
very long. It is intended that the money should be
raised locally when required. It is doubtful
whether during 1934 the Governor will be able to
submit a supplementary budget for additional public
works extraordinary, as was done during 1932 and 1933.
The Estimates have been worked out on a
basis of 1/3d. to the dollar (as against 1/2d. to
the
the dollar for/1933 and 1/- to the dollar for the
1932 Estimates). The dollar at present stands
around 1/5d. As the Colony's sterling commitments
(salaries, purchases, pensions, etc.) greatly
exceed the revenue received from such duties as
are now collected in sterling, the Government can
look for considerable savings on the Estimates if
the dollar remains substantially above 1/3d.
Figures of revenue and expenditure for
the past few years are as follows: but figures
for different years are not strictly comparable,
owing to the different rates of exchange for the
dollar which have been adopted:-
Revenue
$
Expenditure
1930
27,818,474
28,119,646
1931
33,146,716
31,160,774
1932
33,549,716
32,050,284
1933 Approved
Estimate
34,002,575
35,199,247
Revised
Estimate
33,027,000
32,564,261
1934 Estimate
31,731,625
33,442,695
+ Includes $1,250,000 received for part of City Hall site, which the
Governor has proposed elsewhere should be paid into a special fund, and $1,800,000 from Lord Inchcape's estate.
/Surplus