A (2) 18
97. Post Office-Specimen Stamps.
Specimen postage stamps of British possessions and of foreign countries belonging to the Postal Union, which are sent to the Postmaster-General from time to time by the authorities at Berne, have now been classified and mounted in albums. In accordance with instructions from the Director of Colonial Audit, these stamps and albums will be subjected to audit examination.
L.-OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS ON 1936 REPORT.
98. Estate Duty.-With reference to paragraph 37 of the 1936 Audit Report, regarding acquisition by Government of a property in lieu of payment of Estate Duty and the non-recording of the transaction in the Colony's accounts, it appears that no progress has been made with regard to the sale of the property in question. The assessed duty on the estate amounted to $20,384, and the corresponding revenue head has not yet received credit for this sum. The matter has again been brought to the notice of Government.
99. Suspense Accounts. Shing Mun Locomotives.
The detailed statement of Suspense accounts as at the 31st December, 1936, which was submitted with the Audit Report for the year 1936, included a Debit balance of $609.62 in respect of the above. This represented expenditure held in Suspense incurred in reconditioning locomotives, ex Shing Mun plant, which were taken over by the Railway. The account was adjusted in January 1937, the Resident Engineer in charge of the scheme accepting the debit.
100. Audit Report 1936.
The Audit Report for the year 1936 was laid before the Legislature on the 15th December, 1937.
101. Outstanding questions not affecting the accounts.
There are no outstanding questions of importance, other than those mentioned in the report, which do not affect the accuracy of the accounts.
102. Kowloon-Canton Railway.
A copy of the Manager's report for 1937 of the British Section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway, which was received by Auditor on 28th July, 1938, is forwarded (Enclosure R.). The accounts have been regularly rendered and satisfactorily kept.
103. The final division sheets of Through and Joint Sectional Traffic Receipts have been audited to the end of September, 1937. These have been accepted by both administrations.