CO129-550-1 Estimates 1935 14-9-1934 - 15-9-1934 — Page 334

17.

404

Head 10 Harbour Department and Air Services.

As

There are certain re-groupings under Harbour Department which, while they complicate the departmental

Estimates for 1935, will simplify those of future years.

A large increase is shown in Special Expenditure but this is mainly due to the provision of launches and launch

engines for other departments such as the Police and the

Imports and Exports Department. It will be observed

that Sub-Head 20 New Launch to replace H.D. 1 $10,000 -

is a re-vote. The delay in construction is due to cer-

tain experiments which had to be carried out in the Model

Tankat The National Physics Laboratory at Teddington.

stated in the footnote to Sub-Head 25 the present boat at

Tai O has been condemned. A motor boat is essential for

patrolling and searching duty at Tai O and outlying dis- tricts including Tung Chung. The existing Police Launch

No.9 (Sub-Head 26) is now due for replacement,

built in 1922 at a Chinese Yard and purchased from stock,

the boiler only being built to Government specification,

at a time of urgent necessity when piracy was rampant in

local waters. The launch has never been up to the

standard of the remainder of the fleet and has required

constant attention to maintain a reasonable state of

efficiency. The existing No.1 Police Launch, the replace-

ment of which is provided under Sub-Head 27, is a wooden

vessel built in 1900. It is not equipped with wireless

telegraphy and has ceased to be seaworthy in other than

fair weather. Provision was made in the Estimates for

It was