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HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Item (j) provides for widening and improving curves on Victoria Road.
Item (k). This road will have the effect of opening Conduit Road to wheel- ed traffic.
Item (1) is really a new work as none of the money voted for this year has been spent. It is proposed to begin a road from Wanchai Gap along the south side of Mount Cameron where building sites are being applied for.
Item (n) is required for a road to give access to sites already sold on Victoria Road.
front
of
Under Item 56 provision is made for the work in connection with the Praya East Reclamation Scheme which will be necessary during the year.
In Kowloon large sums are provided for work on the hospital and police sta ions at Yaumati and Mongkoktsui. Item C0 provides for a cattle and swine
at depot Yaumati, the necessity for which has been urged by the Sanitary Board. Under Item 61 provision has been made for beginning the construction of quarters for the scavenging staff. The extension of the Fire Station (Item 62) is for the accommodation of the firemen for whom there is no room in the Police
Item (p) is for a road in building sites on the side of the ridge Station. Item 65 provides for an under-
in the Happy Valley.
ground chamber at the Royal Observatory for the Seismograph and other delicate Item (q) provides for making the road-instruments. The remaining items for way in Queen's Road East as resumptions buildings require no special comment. become possible.
Under the heading
" roads "the prin-
covenants entered into to connect
the houses on Broadwood Road with the road from Morrison Gap to Wanchai and Wong-noi-chong Gaps.
Item (s) is required in accordance with cipal work of construction is the 100 foot road from Sham Shui-po to Kowloon City, with the nullah to carry the large stream from the east side of the railway. Provision is made for this under items 74 (a) and 75 (a). It is also proposed to spend a sum of $100,000 in improving the surface of the existing main roads. Under the heading waterworks "
pro- vision is made for improving the distri- bution of water in Kowloon.
Item (t) provides for much needed im- provements in the aligument of the roads mentioned.
**
Item (v) is for raising and paving the Praya at Kennedy Town where it has sunk below the proper level.
Under Drainage provision is made for completing the sewer from Wanchai Gap to the sea near Aberdeen and for drainage on the road to Wanchai Gap and at Repulse Bay. The last named work will be paid for by lessees of land. Under Miscellaneous Works. Item 25 is
Statue wharf.
for the construction of the new Queen's Item 26 for enlargement of the Government depot at Tsat Tsi-mui where all the work in connection with reinforced concrete piles, paving slabs and road surfacing is carried on.
t
As regards the New Territories, under which heading New Kowloon is included, it is hoped to make a start with the gaol at Ngau Shi-wan and to build a Police Station at Shatin, a new Public Works Bungalow at Taipo chiefly for the use of surveyors, and other buildings as set out in Items 94, 95 and 97. I would men- tion specially Item 92 which provides for Chi Kok at present used as a gaol, as reconstructing three of the sheds at Lai it is considered that the present sheds would be unsafe in a typhoon. The Diaphone Fog Signalling Installation at Waglan Island on the Canadian model should prove of great value to shipping.
the continuation of the surfacing of the Under" roads" the principal work is
main road from Lai Chi Kok to Castle Peak and Taipo.
Iterus 28 to 40 require no special com- ment. Large sums are provided under the beading Waterworks for develop. ments to meet the increased consumption of water which taxed the existing means of distribution severely during the sum- mer months. I would take this oppor- tunity of remarking that a careful ex- amination of all possible catchment areas in the island shows that we are approach-Scheme relate to a large housing scheme, ing the limit of our water supply and which has been under consideration for that in the not distant future it may be
some time. It has been decided that necessary to tap new areas.
the best method of carrying the scheme
Item 102 and 105 (a) and (b) described as the Kowloon Tong Development
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
382
139
into effect is for the Government to do revenue is due solely to the very large the work of leveling and draining the programme of public works for which aren and to sell the land to a company. provision has been made. Judging from which under certain restrictions will the experience of the past, I think it is arrange for the building of houses. The unlikely that we shall be able to spend road provided for under item 101 (f) will during the year the whole amount of give access to the area from Kowloon.
$6,611,300 which appears on the Esti- Under Item 104 a sum of $200,000 is mates. It is always the case that some provided for continuing the reclamation works cannot be begun till late in the at Sham Shui-po.
The refuse dump referred to under Item 107 is an alternative method of disposing of refuse to that of dumping at sea, which has certain disadvantages The dump will eventually when con- solidated form a valuable reclamation,
Under "Waterworks " provision 19 made for two small schemes at Taipo and Fanling both of which should prove
remunerative.
POST OFFICE
Under Post Office, provision has been made for the re-organisation of the staff of the Cape d'Aguilar Wireless Station on transfer from the Naval Authorities to the Colonial Government. Increased work in connection with the provision of Wireless Telegraph on ships and the issue of licences for Wireless Telegraph -necessitates a larger staff.
KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY
an
re-
In the Kowloon-Canton Railway, anticipated increase in the Traffic has entailed increased estimates for items such as coal and oil, which is partly counter-balanced by a reduction in pairs and renewals, sleepers, etc. The programme of Special Expenditure in this Department is heavy, but has been reduced to its minimum. The chief items are Improvements at Kowloon Station, an extension to a carriage shed at Hung Hom, new sidings and station at Sheung Shui, a new Carpenters Shop at Hung Hom and a sum of $30,000 for Spares for Locomotives," all of which are considered necessary,
26
THE GENERAL FINANCIAL POSTION
year:
that circumstances prevent as much work being done on others as was hoped when the Estimates were framed and that others still have to be postpon ed owing to unexpected difficulties and delays. It is impossible to forecast what works may or may not fall under one of these categories and the best course that we can take is to make provision could hope to carry out if all circum- for the maximum programme which we stances were favourable. It is, therefore, more than probable that the balances tent which the Estimates appear to in- will not have to be drawn on to the ex- dicate and I think also that there is some reason to hope that we have taken a conservative view of the revenue which we may expect to receive.
Even, however, if the balances are re- duced to the full extent suggested, I consider that the result may be regarded not only without alarm but with satis- faction for this reason--that by far the greater part of the expenditure on Publie Works Extraordinary is for undertakings which, apart from the general benefits which they will confer on the community, will actually prove remunerative in the near future. The amount spent on these works is, therefore, not so much expen- diture in the ordinary sense as a change of investments. We are moving our money from one form of security to an- other, transferring our capital from the scrip of loans into land and buildings. Take for instance, the votes amounting to practically half a million dollars for the Praya East Reclamation. This money will come back to us and will bring a handsome profit with it as soon as the reclamation is completed and might in- deed be regarded for accounting purposes rather as an advance than as actual ex- penditure.
May 1, in conclusion, revert to the general financial position as indicated by these Estimates? "The proposal to deplete our balances by a sum not far short of three million dollars may seem to reis in practically every
Then again the expenditure on roads quire some defence, but I submit that sooner or later by the sale of the build- case recouped it is in accordance with sound policy.ing sites which they open up.
This ex- The estimated excess of expenditure over 'penditure enables us to sell at good
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