J
Code
INWARD TELEGRAM
COPY FOR REGISTRATION
FROM HONG KONG (Sir M. Young
28
MAR
XI XI
TO S. OF S. COLONIES.
D. 26th March, 1947. R. 26th
14.00
#
ECEIVED
1947
I
IN
143
No.533
Estimates 1947/48 as submitted to the Legislative Council show small surplus of $351,317. Revenue is estimated at $109,839,750 against recurrent expenditure of $109,488,433, which figure includes a token sum of $5,000,000 in respect of possible increase under personal emoluments consequent on the recommendations of the Salaries Commission and initial grant of $1,500,000 to the new Municipal Council to provide them with working balance until certain heads of revenue transferred to them. Some minor adjustments are likely to be made in the Select Committee and surplus will probably be reduced.
2c Provision has been made for rehabilitation expenditure to the total of $60,611,900 to be met from loan to be flaoted in the near future. After providing for charges of special expenditure incurred during the present year to loan, considerable difficulty was experienced in limiting the necessary rehabilitation expenditure for 1947/1948 to a figure of approximately $60,000,000, and it is clear that during the years 1947/ 1949 and 1949/1950 heavy expenditure on building, drainage, port work, waterworks and railways will be necessary before various public services are restored to anything approaching their pre-war standards of efficiency. Additional expenditure may well total 75,000,000 and there are also a number of possible claims relating to the war years, the incidence of which is uncertain.
(1)on 53627/47
3. As explained in my savingram No.121 of 14th March, the damage to rolling stock and to the railway system generally has proved more extensive than was at first believed, while owing chiefly to the high cost of
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