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7. With the exception of two items all excesses on Heads and Subheads have been covered by the necessary authority. The two items 164 and 165 of Finance Message No. 5/1934, are under reference to the Secretary of State.
8. The 1933 Supplementary Appropriation Ordinance (No. 16 of 1934) was passed by the Legislature on 12th July 1934 thus providing complete local authority for the expenditure of the year.
FORM OF ESTIMATES.
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9. Following the instructions of the Secretary of State (Despatch No. 47 of 15th February 1932) the year 1933 saw the abolition of the
Heads of Personal Emolu- Omnibus ments referred to in paragraph 10/12 of the 1930 report and the salaries of the Cadet Service, the Senior Clerical and Ac- counting Staff and the Junior Clerical Staff were spread over the various Departmental Heads.
10. The initial stages of this transformation inevitably pre- sented difficulties due mainly to the temporary filling of posts of officers on leave and to promotions within each of the three classes but there is no reason to anticipate that these will not disappear as the local authorities get accustomed to the new procedure.
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11. It would not seem unreasonable to claim that if each department is organised so that normal leave can be met without outside assistance then Estimates can be prepared with a fair degree of accuracy. If it can be decided that a particular department (including leave provision) requires so many officers of each of the three classes then any slight excess or deficit due to the salaries of the particular personnel allotted whether temporarily or permanently to that department would not be a difficult matter for adjustment.
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12. It can at least be claimed that even though there may have been a certain amount of initial difficulty in their pre- paration the change in form of the Estimates has resulted in a more accurate allocation of expenditure than was formerly the
case.
ESTIMATES 1932.
(Para. 7. 1982 Report).
13. The items referred to received in due course the ap- proval of the Secretary of State.
ASSETS.
ADVANCES ON ACCOUNT OF FUTURE LOAN.
14. A statement (Enclosure H.) is forwarded showing the Expenditure from Surplus Balances during the year and to date on Public Works in anticipation of a Loan.
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15. Though the Secretary of State has authorised a total expenditure of $1,864,000 on the Vehicular Ferry, the excess of $16,232 over the authorised expenditure for the year which has been passed by the Legislative Council has still to receive his formal approval.
(Para. 20. 1932 Report).
16. The $58,487.20 referred to received the sanction of the Legislature by Resolution of Council and was later approved by the Secretary of State.
PURCHASE OF THREE LOCOMOTIVES FOR CHINESE SECTION
K.C.R. $267,468.26.
17. This advance is being repaid by monthly instalments of $10,000.
INVESTMENTS.
18. The Investments were revalued at the end of the year and the sum of $13,043.14 transferred direct to Revenue. This procedure was not in accordance with Colonial Regulation 291 which enjoins the use of an Investment Adjustment Account but the Treasurer's explanation is included in his reply to Query No. 195/E (Enclosure 0.).
UNALLOCATED STORES (P.W.D.) $486,713.30.
19. A reconciliation between the books of the Treasury and those of the Public Works Department is forwarded (En- closure J.). The Standard Stock is within the amount fixed by the Secretary of State.
UNALLOCATED STORES (RAILWAY) $187,916.81.
20. Explanation has been given and the covering approval of the Secretary of State obtained for the excess of $12,916.81 over the authorised Standard Stock. A reconciliation statement of the Railway books with those of the Treasury is attached (Enclosure K.),
TREASURER'S CASH BALANCE, $3,574,679.79.
21. This represents the balance standing in the books of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to the credit of the Treasurer's and four other Government accounts, to- gether with actual cash collected on the last day of business in 1933 too late for deposit in the Bank.
22. The Board of Survey appointed under Colonial Regula- tion 311 found in the Treasury a total sum, in cash and cheques of $385,466.41 (of which $189,664,07 was in incompletely signed cheques, $192,417.65 in completely signed cheques and $3,384.69 in cash) representing disbursements in respect of 1933 not yet completed.
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