CO129-525-3 Estimates 1931 and other financial papers 16-1-1930 - 1-9-1932 — Page 99

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item of this vote.

accustomed to very high standards from the Public Works

Department: but, with the devil of necessity driving it

is felt that a proper margin of efficiency can still be

secured at a lower cost, though perhaps a reduction of

the finish that adorns the department's work may be

necessitated.

The Colony has for long been

Head 31. Public Works Extraordinary.

Here again the

utmost possible economy has been enforced, and most of

the expenditure is in the nature of commitments for works

already in hand. We cannot call an absolute halt in

but

the matter of development/when the business of balancing

the Budget was taken in hand it was clear that

expenditure under this Head beyond a figure of two and a

half million dollars, simply could not be contemplated and

the Director of Public Works has drawn up his programme,

or rather cut it down with this figure in his mind: his

customary memorandum on the subject is in the hands of

Hon. Members. Many desirable items have in the

circumstances necessarily been deferred such as markets

and latrines asked for by the Sanitary Board, the C.

Block of Kowloon Hospital, Postal developments in the

Kowloon Peninsula and of course road extensions. The

drastic nature of the cuts made will be realised when I

state

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