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revenue surplus of nearly $80 million was from collections under the head "Duties". This head was responsible for over $341⁄2 million of the surplus and the duty on tobacco was the principal contributor.
5.
As a result of the generally unsettled conditions in the surrounding areas and the interruption in the normal distribution of cigarettes from Shanghai factories, exports of duty paid tobacco rose to quite unprecedented levels. At one period of the year a revenue of about $1 million per week was being obtained from this source, and in one particular week receipts from tobacco duty totalled $1,371,826. The final figure in respect of tobacco duty was approximately $351⁄2 million which was $194 million in excess of the estimate. Thus the excess over the estimate was greater than the total collections during the previous year. Receipts from duty on hydrocarbon oils also reached a figure far exceeding any recorded in previous years. In this case the excess over the estimate amounted to approximately $72 million and this was largely due to a steady stream across the border of compara- tively small consignments of duty paid kerosene, which in the aggregate reached important proportions.
6.
7.
Another major factor in producing the very satisfactory revenue surplus was the large influx of population resulting from the unsettled political conditions in China. This automatically increased the receipts from such items as royal- ties from transport companies, entertainment tax, dance hall tax, liquor duties, bets and sweeps tax, restaurant meals tax and the revenue derived from water, postal and railway services.
The revised expenditure figure represents an excess over the approved estimate of just over $52 million, but with the supplementary payment to the 3% Rehabilitation Loan Sinking Fund, in regard to which your approval was sought when the size of the surplus became apparent, the excess of expenditure became $10 million. Later indications are that this figure may be on the high side owing to Crown Agents expenditure for the closing months of the year having been over-estimated. The excess over the original expenditure estimate would have been much greater but for an appeal issued early in the year to Heads of Departments to exercise every possible economy. At that time revenue prospects did not appear to be very satis- factory and expenditure on defence and internal security was obviously going to be considerable. The response was very satisfactory, as is shown by the fact that in spite of very heavy internal security expenditure which, including Police and Defence Force expenditure, is expected to reach $32 million, the original expenditure estimate was only exceeded by a comparatively small amount. Some millions of the defence and security expenditure would normally have been met by the War Department, but under the proposal that expenditure carried out by the Public Works Department at the request of the Military authorities should rest where it lies, this was met from Colonial funds as part of the Colony's contribution towards the cost of reinforcing the garrison.
8.
If the final revenue figure for 1949/50 slightly exceeds $260,000,000, as now seems probable, and if the final expenditure figure, when the Crown Agents accounts for February and March are finalised, turns out to be appreciably below the revised estimate of $190,000,000, the surplus for the year will be in the region of $80 million. This will bring the estimated general revenue balance at 31st March, 1950, up to a figure of some $152 million.
9.
It is satisfactory that, since the liberation of the Colony, it has so far been possible year by year to increase the revenue balance. This year, a surplus of just over $31 million has been budgeted for, which is of course dependent on
the....