(
C. S. 0. M.F. 237.
285
DEFENCE CONCESSIONS.
A
A "Yorkshire" Budget.
The Hon. Colonial Secretary in have kept us constantly in touch with moving the second reading of "A the Government of this Colony, and Bill to apply a sum not exceeding are most useful. $26,324,219 to the Public Service of the year 1935," said: I have Your Excellency's authority for saying that should it be the wish of the unofficial members, I am authorised to propose an amendment in com- mittee which will enable the sum of $80,000 to be inserted under Public Works Extraordinary for continuing the work on Wanchai Market.'
The Attorney-General seconded the motion.
Sir William Shenton.
on
The Hon. Sir William Shenton, who spoke on behalf of the Unofficial Members on matters of general con- cern, said:
Your Excellency,-It is my privilege this
to speak, year behalf of the Unofficial Members of this Council, and deal with matters of general concern, arising out of the for the coming year, leaving to my Colleagues the subjects in which they are individually, or particularly interested.
Estimates
It has been the practice in the past, not only to deal with the items of the Estimates as presented, but to take a general survey of the past, a scrutiny of the Departmental Reports, Memoranda and Notes, and a con- sideration of the future. My Colleagues desire that a similar procedure be followed this year.
our
We wish to record
real appreciation of the clear and concise way in which Your Excellency has placed before us the Estimates for the year 1935. An exhaustive fund of information has been made available to us, and we have had no difficulty in following the mass of figures.
We congratulate Your Excellency, and the Members of the Government concerned, on the healthy position of the Colony's finances. In these days of depression, stress and strain, we look for an orthodox Budget. The present is not the occasion for flights of high finance, nor monetary experiments, nor do we regard the time as at all appropriate, for new extensive, and unproductive, public works extraordinary.
We believe
solid Yorkshire Budget is more in that something along the lines of a keeping with the present circum- stances.
An estimated deficit for 1934 of
the $1,215,366, thereby reducing excess of assets over liabilities to $12,601,259, and for 1935 of $1,390,452, thereby reducing the excess of assets over liabilities to $10,710,807, is not anxiety, especially when we consider a position which we regard with that the figures are based on a 1s. 4d. dollar. We do not think it requires of 1934, and again in 1935, we shall a Daniel to prophesy, that at the end find the balance is on the right side.
We realise that a favourable ex- change has been a most important factor in the preparation of the Estimates. and this becomes strik- ingly apparent when one reads the abstract of differences, or peruses the footnotes For a continuance of this satisfactory of the Draft Estimates. position, we must look for similar or higher rates in the future.
a
When all is said and done, reduction in Expenditure for the year 1935 of $774,093, is a novel experience in this Colony in recent years.
Crown Colony Budgets.
The speech of the Honourable Colonial Secretary was an excellent
We have noted from a speech made guide, and has been of great assis- in the House of Commons in England, tance to us in following the ramifica- on the 12th July last, by the Right tions of the Budget.
Honourable Sir P. Cunliffe-Lister, that several of The Memorandum on the financial Colonies have been able in the im- our sister Crown position 1933, 1934 and 1935, placed mediate past, to produce favourably before us by the Honourable Colonial balanced Budgets, which they have Treasurer, is an illuminating not previously done for some years, document, and has been appreciated by us.
much and we hope that this is a good augury for the future prosperity of our
The abstract of differences between Colony. the approved Estimates of Expendi- ture for 1934 and for 1935, is indeed state that we view the immediate It would not be correct for us to useful, and enables us with ease to future with optimism. The follow the variations in the respective for a considerable period escaped from Colony Estimates.
The Notes on the 1935 Estimates, to a number of circumstances, which the general world depression, owing prepared by the Honourable Director I need not go into here. of Public Works, have given us an contestable that we are now feeling It is in- excellent insight into the and
many the full blast of the depression, and varied works under his until there is a real and solid improve- ' supervision.
The many Departmental Reports we cannot
ment in the general world conditions, for the year 1933, which have come improvement in our present position.
look for a substantial i into our hands from time to time, It is, however, the considered view
of Unofficial Members that, although the immediate future is depressing, nevertheless, the great recuperative powers, which this Colony has always evidenced in the past, will re-assert themselves, and that, taking a long view of the future, we unhesitatingly state that Hongkong holds out even greater possibilities of prosperity than in the past.
Looking over the past few years, we consider that the merchants and other business elements in the Colony have derived considerable benefits from the stability of the value of our dollar, and although there have been fluctua- tions from time to time, such varia- tions have not been so violent as they might have been; in addition to which the premium on the Hongkong dollar, which was so detrimental to Hong- kong, has practically disappeared. For these favourable positions, are indebted to the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
Declining Revenues.
we
The empty houses and flats, the declining land sales, the fall in the collection of stamp duties, and Government fees, the diminishing river and coastal steamer traffic, are
matters of grave concern, but as so clearly pointed out by the Honourable Colonial Secretary in his speech, external, and until those Hongkong's troubles are largely external look for better times. conditions improve, Hongkong cannot
nationalistic policies now pursued by History teaches us that the
the nations of the world are no new which there is plenty phenomena, but an economic phase of In Europe in the pre-Christian era of precedent. and days of Sulla, and again after the wars of Napoleon, similar posi- tions existed, and there are
many other examples.
We are fully aware that the value of our manufactures, though small in volume, is far greater than many deal with this subject in detail, as people realise. I do not propose to several of my Honourable Colleagues will speak
on this aspect of our Colony's economic position.
No one can deny that China is pass- ing through a
very critical time economically. Since she obtained tariff autonomy in 1928, duties have been ever on the increase, with an every direction, making trading most unfortunate degree of uncertainty in difficult. and the rest of the world, will realise It is to be hoped that China, that
what is needed is an inter- change of commodities, freed from taxation and restrictions, other than such as are necessitated by a genuine revenue policy.