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of which were transferred from personal emoluments. These are $43,814 for casual labour which shows a small reduction from the previous year and a sum of $58,000 for honoraria to housemen in substitution for $46,200 previously shown under personal enoluments to cover the basic salaries of eleven internes, whom it is considered are more appropriately provided for under Other Charges. The third new sub-head is medical fees for Government consultants which requires the sum of $156,000. As in the case of Government medical officers, this represents a revised accounting procedure involving payment from an expenditure instead of a revenue sub-head. The former individual sub-heads for certain small sub-departments of the Medical Department have been amalgamated into the main provisions and largely account for such minor increases as have occurred in a number of sub-heads. Some savings have been made on a few sub-heads, of which the most important are $150,000 for provisions, $24,800 for rent of premises, $20,000 for uniforms, $20,000 for extra diets for staff of anti- tuberculosis institutions consequent on a revised scale of issues, and $20,000 for maintenance of lepers.
An increase of $163,250 for Special Expenditure is accounted for by the provisions of $93,000 to replace departmental motor transport, and an extra $78,250 for hospital and laboratory equipment.
The total increase in the expenditure of the
Medical Department is $939,165.
Head 20. Miscellaneous Services.
Estimate 1951/52.
Revised Estimate 1950/51. Approved Estimate 1950/51. Actual Expenditure 1949/50.
$49,024,456 101,147,761 *
37,521,500
38,234,810
(includes $50 million loan advances charged
off to expenditure).
Recurrent expenditure in 1951/52 is estimated at
$36,414,556 compared with $37,011,500 in the previous year. The major change which has occurred is the inclusion of a new sub-head for charges by Cable & Wireless Ltd., for which provision of $1,398,000 is made. This expenditure represents the charges by the Company for the services it provides to the Government consequent on the transfer of the activities of the former Telecommunications Branch of the Post Office to it. The payment to Cable & Wireless Ltd., considerably larger than the amount formerly shown in the estimate for the Telecommunications Branch, but of course the latter did not cover cost of living allowances, which have to be taken into consideration in fixing the contribution, which also covers certain aeradio services. The new arrangement represents an appreciable economy.
is
The next most important change is the deletion of a provision of $1,250,000 for currency expenses consequent on the proposed introduction of new legislation which will make it possible for the note and coin issues of the Government to be financed from the Currency Security Fund. The third important change involves the transfer of the provision for printing and binding, which was $1,000,000 last year, from this Head to the Stores Department for the administrative convenience of the Controller of Stores who operates the vote, Smaller increases which are required are $90,000 for commission, remittances, etc., $70,000 for both Chinese New Year bonuses and telephone rents and services,
199