A (2) 4
CHINA COMPANY FEES.
18. The annual local examination of the Registrar of Companies Accounts at Shanghai was made in September and the accounts audited to date. The revenue from this source during the year was $177,867, as compared with $141,342 for the previous year.
COUNTERFOIL RECEIPTS.
19. Consequent on your Circular Reference Sheet No.167 a special investigation was made early in the year into the control of this important method of accounting for the collection of revenue.
With one exception the departmental control was satisfactory though in every case discrepancies were revealed between the Central Register kept in the Treasury and that kept in the department.
POST OFFICE.
20. A shortage of $357.86 in the cash and stamps of an absconding clerk was made good in part by the estreatment of his security and forfeiture of salary while the balance was written off with the approval of the Secretary of State.
KOWLOON CANTON RAILWAY.
21. A copy of the Manager's Annual Report is forwarded (Enclosure N). The accounts have been regularly rendered and satisfactorily kept.
The final division sheets of Through and Joint Sectional Traffic Receipts have been audited to the end of the year and accepted by both Administrations.
22. A new Working Agreement came into operation on 1st October 1934, the chief feature of which being that the British Section Share of terminal through traffic receipts was reduced from 35% to 28%. In spite of this the total revenue showed an increase over the revenue of the previous year.
During the negotiations leading to this new Agreement it was agreed that claims against the Chinese Section amounting to $1,025,533 should be waived (Vide para 31 of 1929 Annual Report). This has been reported to the Secretary of State.
23. During the year arrangements were brought into force for issuing combined rail and bus tickets, the bus companies being both in the Colony's Territory and the Kwangtung Province. The experiment was entirely successful and the division of receipts presented no difficulty in audit.