CO129-545-1 Estimates 1934 4-10-1933 - 17-4-1934 — Page 171

Sir,

Jucuzume Two 6 Лисици

211

I rise by Your Excellency's command to

move the first reading of a Bill intituled "An Ordinance

to apply a sum not exceeding $27,029,235 to the Public

Service of the year 1934.

The Budget for the present year was

described by the Colonial Secretary as "colourless".

The Budget I am not submitting does not, I fear,

contain any large amount of colour either. This will

probably come as an unpleasant surprise to many in

this Colony.

high hopes

I do not refer to those who have built

hopes as high as reduction in taxation

on the monthly financial statements issued by the

Treasurer. These statements have to be reviewed in the

light of our experience of the movements of the revenue

and expenditure over a whole year. Our income is

largest in the first half of the year our expenditure

in the second half. But apart from the somewhat mis-

leading figure of $16,000,000 which these fluctuations

have caused to appear as surplus in the statement for

May, this Council may have some difficulty in appreciat-

ing the grounds for the Government's attitude of res-

traint when it is seen that the estimated surplus of

assets over liabilities at the end of 1933, is now put at

over $13 millions instead of the $10,600,000 odd antici-

pated in the Estimates for 1933. But the fact is that our revised estimate of Revenue for 1933 - $33,027,000 con-

tains two abnormal items; first a sum of 18 lakhs in death duties from Lord Inchcape's estate and secondly a sum of $1,250,000 accruing from the sale of a portion

of the City Hall site, to which is to be added a sum of

$4,000 representing the sale price of the demolished