CO129-505-12 Estimates of expenditure 1928 1-9-1927 - 12-1-1928 — Page 78

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It must be

the Colony's share of the Kai Tak Aerodrome.

remembered however that nearly $2,000,000 of this amount

is required to pay back to our balances sums already

expended on the waterworks scheme. This sum is expected

to be available before the end of this year and is duly

taken into account in considering the money available for

expenditure next year.

Before proceeding with the details of the budget

I propose to deal briefly with the general financial position of the Colony, and in this connection I would ask

Honourable Members to refer to my remarks when introducing

the Supplementary Supply Bill for 1926 on 23rd June last.

We started this year with a Surplus Balance of $3,486,290

of which we regarded $1,400,000 as liquid assets. We

budgetted for a deficit of $1,307,305 to be met from the

surplus balance. The Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure

for the current year have been carefully revised and are

shown on pages 5 and 12 of the draft Estimates now in

Honourable Members' hands. It will be seen that we

anticipate a shortfall of revenue of nearly $500,000 and

an under expenditure of some $730,000. Since the figures

were printed it has been decided to charge to revenue

instead of to the loan the cost of the old site of the

Diocesan Boys' School, viz. $253,500 which will reduce

our under expenditure to $476,544 and leave us with an estimated deficit on this year's working of $1,302,257 to be met from our estimated liquid balance of $1,400,000. We might therefore have expected that we should have to

commence next year with a surplus balance of $2,184,033 of which only some $97,000 would be liquid and available.

As it happens however more of our balances have become

liquid

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