Expenditure.
Item (i).The increase is due to the increase of staff.
The average rate of exchange for 1924 was 244 as compared with 2/34 for 1923.
Item (ii).—The increase is due to :--
(a.) Excesses of about $105,600, $21,500 and $3,600 on Hongkong, Kowloon, and New Territories Build- ings, respectively.
(b) Excesses of about $53,700, $22,000 and $20,800 on Hongkong, Kowloon and New Territories Com- munications, respectively.
(e.) Excesses of about $9,400, $3,500, and $200 on Hongkong, Kowloon, and New Territories Lightings, respectively.
(d.) Excess of $118,300 on Typhoon and Rainstorın
Damages, Hongkong.
(e.) Excesses of about $83,300, $4,600 and $3,300 on Hongkong, Kowloon and New Territories Water- works, respectively.
That the actual aggregate increase is only $369,435.89 as stated in the above table is due to decreases of about $47,400 and $52,100 on Typhoon and Rainstorm Damages, Kowloon, and New Territories, respectively and small decreases of $3,665.48 on Drainage Works, Hongkong, Kowloon and New Territories.
Item (iii).The expenditures on Hongkong, Kowloon and New Territories show increases of $1,864,776.05, $557,948.59 and $586,967.06, respectively.
The expenditure on Votes not appearing in Estimates for the year is $533,817,55 as compared with $147,326.70 represent- ing an increase of $386,490.85.
The increases are on Compensation and Resumptions which alone accounted for an increase of over $1,900,000 and on
nearly every sub-head under " Buildings", "Communications", "Drainage "Miscellaneous " and "Waterworks ", with the exception of Buildings, Hongkong and Kowloon, Miscellaneous Hongkong, and Drainage, New Territories, which show decreases of $4,145.69, $46,653.27, $9,824.85 and $33,204.50 respectively.