6
216
in 1933 will relax their pressure and our estimate of revenue
for 1934 is accordingly set at $31,731,625, a figure which can
hardly be called over-pessimistic when it is remembered that,
as I have just said, our revenue of 1933 apart from windfalls
cannot be expected to go much above $30,000,000. On the con-
trary we may have tended to optimism in some of our items.
Import duty on liquors and tobacco are set at $1,000,000 and
$2,300,000 respectively; opium revenue at $1,300,000 where-
as the revised estimate of receipts for 1933 under these items only amounts to $900,000, $2,600,000 and $1,200,000. As re-
gards the less speculative items of increase for 1934, I may
mention $25,000 on motor spirit where the reduced price
should send up consumption; $35,000 from the new Ferry
franchise under Licences and Internal Revenue and a further
sum of $23,750 under Miscellaneous Receipts (Royalties):
$240,000 under the same head in respect of the new Land Trans-
port franchises; $600,000 increased water revenue: and
$200,000 increase in Assessed Taxes, commonly known as Rates.
The last item is inserted with less confidence than the others
as although a good deal of new building is still going on
there is reason to think we may be overbuilt and such a
position though it makes for public health by spreading
population brings in its train empty houses and flats on
which rates have to be refunded.
I now turn to the expenditure for the coming
year and before going into details feel bound to say a further
word on a point of general structure which occupied a promi-
nent place in the Colonial Secretary's speech when he intro-
duced the Budget for the present year, namely the allocation
of what I may call general staff, i.c. Cadet Officers and
Clerical Officers, to individual departments. The drawbacks