CO129-324 - Governor Nathan - 1904 [10-12] — Page 61

60

k

2.

the abrigh ∙erican Dollar during

рівне

3 mm thr AK

preading

find that the #silver

market is

they 884.

AY

1. take the

ratî which is

Alated in the every

proceding 3 muthr.

I this the

14829/03

Sir M.Nathan appreciates justly the care

which has been taken in explaining and annotating these

estimates. It is the more to be regretted that so

much trouble should have been largely thrown away as the

estimates of expenditure are to agreat extent vitiated

@d by the calculation of the dollar at 1/8. This rate has of course been taken for convenience ($12 - £1)

but it does not even approximate to accuracy. The

s, d x Treasury rate for next quarter is 1/11. This is prob-.

8 d

ably based on the Straits exchange rate, which averages ld more than that of Hong Kong and 1/10 would have been

the most reasonable rate for Hong Kong. This means

that all the sterling and exchange compensation expendi-

ture is over-estimated by about 10 per cent. It would

be possible to get nearer to accuracy by making this de-

duction but the labour involved would be scarcely re-

paid as, if they follow precedent, they will begin to

put in estimates for supplementary expenditure within

the next month.

We had better accept the figures as they stand

leaving this 10% on the sterling expenditure as a margir

of error but ?Ask them next year to take some figure

nearer to the actual rate e.g. the average of the pre-

vious 3 months.

The ordinary expenditure exceeds the revised estimate for 1904 by nearly $270,000, the largest in- creases being Military Contribution $38,306, Pensions, $31,618, Education $24,356 and Police $29,611.

The