INWARD TELEGRAM
This document must be paraphrased if the communication of its contents to any person outside Government Service is authorised.
Cypher
FROM HONG KONG (Commander-in-Chief).
TO S. OF S., COLONIES.
D. 3rd April, 1946. R. 5th
22.00 hrs, (via War Office)
154
IMPORTANT
CA3685 cipher 3rd April Restricted.
For Civil Affairs and Colonial Office,
Your 99497(0.A.4.) 011035 March.
54126/1/4
Estimates submitted by Departments are inevitably largely guesswork and, without experienced staff normally available, it has not yet been possible to carry out any. extensive check. Details which follow are only an attempt to give some idea of position. This will be followed by more accurate figures.
2.
Estimated revenue 41,500,000 plus 15,000,000 assuming that taxes equivalent to those imposed by War Revenue Ordinance are continued. It is still extremely difficult to estimate expenditure with reasonable accuracy, ac sums required to make good damage and neglect of war years are far in excess of normal (actual) expenditure, It is in the interests of the Colony that this work of rehabilitation should be carried out at the earliest possible date, so amount that can be usefully spent is only really limited by capacity of staff to control the work efficiently. On this basis, expenditure figures submitted by Departments total 104,100,000 made up of
Personal emoluments
Other charges
22,500,000 55,100,000
Special expenditure (repeat expenditure) 26,500,000.
Personal emoluments are swollen by
rehabilitation allowance. Temporary retention of departments not normally included in Colonial Government and necessity to pay double staff owing to abnormal numbers on leave.
/Special