CO129-545-1 Estimates 1934 4-10-1933 - 17-4-1934 — Page 176

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in 1933 will relax their pressure and our estimate of revenue

for 1934 is accordingly set at $31,731,625, a figure which can

hardly be called over-pessimistic when it is remembered that,

as I have just said, our revenue of 1933 apart from windfalls

cannot be expected to go much above $30,000,000. On the con-

trary we may have tended to optimism in some of our items.

Import duty on liquors and tobacco are set at $1,000,000 and

$2,300,000 respectively; opium revenue at $1,300,000 where-

as the revised estimate of receipts for 1933 under these items only amounts to $900,000, $2,600,000 and $1,200,000. As re-

gards the less speculative items of increase for 1934, I may

mention $25,000 on motor spirit where the reduced price

should send up consumption; $35,000 from the new Ferry

franchise under Licences and Internal Revenue and a further

sum of $23,750 under Miscellaneous Receipts (Royalties):

$240,000 under the same head in respect of the new Land Trans-

port franchises; $600,000 increased water revenue: and

$200,000 increase in Assessed Taxes, commonly known as Rates.

The last item is inserted with less confidence than the others

as although a good deal of new building is still going on

there is reason to think we may be overbuilt and such a

position though it makes for public health by spreading

population brings in its train empty houses and flats on

which rates have to be refunded.

I now turn to the expenditure for the coming

year and before going into details feel bound to say a further

word on a point of general structure which occupied a promi-

nent place in the Colonial Secretary's speech when he intro-

duced the Budget for the present year, namely the allocation

of what I may call general staff, i.c. Cadet Officers and

Clerical Officers, to individual departments. The drawbacks