CO129-469 - Governor Sir Stubbs - 1921 [9-12] — Page 349

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The rice business of the colony also passed through a severe crisis during the year, due to a great extent to the failure of certain San Francisco buyers to honour their contracts, on the ground that buyers in Cuba, as a result of a considerable amount of overbuying, were repudiating their contracts.

The trade position was further embarassed by the unrest in the neighbouring provinces of Kwangtong and Kwangsi. The lawlessness which has, unfortunately, so long been a feature of the situation, and which during 1919 was chiefly due to the presence throughout the province of the unpaid and uncontrolled soldiery of both factions, continued throughout the year to the grave detriment of trade in the two provinces.

Between August and October there were several minor out- breaks on the wharves and along the waterfront in Hongkong. caused by the nocival of numbers of Kwangsi soldiers on their way through the colony to or from Swatow. The bitterness engendered by the struggle between the rival parties of the two provinces was reflected in these attacks made on Kwangsi soldiers by the Kyangting coolie element in Hongkong.

During the early portion of the year serious inconvenience was caused to business frms by the irregular arrivals of English mails. This was due to failure on several occasions to make the steamer connection at Nagapatam. The position was remedied later in the year by the provision of more fast vessels on the London-Bombay service and by an arrangement with the Straits Settlements Postal Administration for Hongkong letter mails to be sent by rail from Penang to Singapore.

The year was marked by a number of strikes among the workmen in various trades in the Colony. The most serious was the Fitters' strike in April, which was, however, amicably settled within 10 days. Other strikes were those of the Blackwood Furniture makers and the Chinese tailors' assistante.

A new valuation of the Colony was made during the year, by which the Rateable Value was increased from $17,408,959 to $18,696,660, an addition of 7.40 per cent.

I. FINANCES,

The revenue for the year amounted to $14,689,672 being $625,128 less than the estimate and $1,835,303 less than the re- venue for the previous year.

Compared with the returns for 1919 there were increases under every head with the exception of Licences and Interest.

The expenditure amounted to a total of $14,489,594 inclusive of a sum of $2,555,878 spent on Public Works Extraordinary.

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The detailed figures for 1920 are set out in the following

statements:—

Light Dues

Light Dues, Special Assessnicnt Licences and Internal Revenue unt otherwise

specified

-

Fees of Court or Office, Payments for specific

purposes, and Raimbursements in Aid Post Office -

HEADS OF REVENTE.

$ 0.

94,225.44

102,609.57

-

10,325,918.57

1,120,566.51

541,295.01

520,170.10

1,063,455.21

240,400.84

118,815.55

$14133,322.80 556.349.13

Kowloon-Canton Railway

Ilent of Government Property Land, and

Houses

Interest

Miscellaneous Receipts

Tora (Ordinary) -

Land Sales, (Premia on New Leases) -

TOTAL

$14,689,671.93

The total expenditure brought to account amounted to $14,489,594 being $396,879 less than the estimate, and $3,426,331 less than the expenditure in 1919. Compared with the estimates there were increases under 15 heads as against 9 beads where there were decreases. The excess amounting to $742,979 under Miscel- laneous Services was due to the grant of $1,000,000 to Hongkong University and $378,104 in the case of the Police and Prison Departments due to increase of Staff and revision of Salaries. Military Expenditure was less than the estimate by $168,752 on account of the Revenue for 1919 having been over-estimated. The item Charitable Services was reponsible for an excess over the estimates of $104,339 due to a grant of $100,000 to the North China Famine Relief Fund. Decreases were mostly due to the starling value of the dollar being bigher than that on which the estimates were based, and to certain Public Works for which provision had been made not being proceeded with.

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