1938-10-14 — Page 8

PAGE 2-HONGKONG DAILY PRESS,"

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1938.

EXTERNAL DEFENCE AND INTERNAL SECURITY

Scheme.

·PUBLIC WORKS

are entitled under the existing supplementary vote will in due Connected with improvement of be assisted by the new proposals -

course be placed before Council for health are certain items of ex-jregarding the training of teachers, approval. The additional expen-penditure

the reliet and the annual expenditure on grants FAR-REACHING EFFECTS

diture was decided upon after the assistance to various classes of the bound to increase very substan- The effects of this change on printed Estimates before you were community.

tally. Government accounts will be. first. prepared and instead of the figure that we shall have to provide a appearing in them of $50,000 the re- sum, probably running into mil-vised estimate for 1938 must now lions of dollars, representing the

be pat at $120,000. In 1939 the pecumulated Hability, necessitating head shows a further large ex. a further substantial diminution in pansion to a total of $338,065. Even our, nominal surplus balance; and that, however, is providing for a secondly that each year thereafter first instalment only of what the we shall have to provide in the Air Raid Precautions Officer con- 'estimates a contribution represent-

attack

ing the true amount of the Gov-siders. necessary for the protection ernment assistance given to the the civil population against air fund, while losing the receipts on the revenue side representing the cfficers' contributions. I am sure that Honourable Members will agree that it will be better to face pur abilities in this way instead of deferring them to an, indefinite Inture but so far as future es- timates are concerned it will mean an increase in net expenditure.

Another head which may be expected in a few years to show an automatic increase is that of public debt charges. We have been charging to loan account consider- able capital expenditure on water- werks and other items but much of the actual money has so far been found" from advances made out of our surplus balances. That cannot go on for ever and some day a lean must be raised to repay, these ad- vances. The amount advanced at the end of the current year is ex- pected to be something over $12, 100,000 and debt charges on that, the same rate as are now being paid on the part of the loan already raised would amount to about $900,000 a year.

at

Next there are a number of heads of expenditure in which in creases are not automatic in the sense of arising out of legal com- mitments but are, as your Excel- lency has already suggested, un- avoidable unless substantial changes in government policy are made. These are defence services and the large group of social ser- vires. particularly health education.

I may say that his original estimates provided for expen- diture next year of many times the sùm now in the estimates and there can be no doubt that large further, additions to equliment and stores, will be necessary in subsequent years. Decisions have not yet been taken as to the exact supplies of, for example, gas masks which should be provided and most of this Head is contained in the single sub-head of $250, 000 for all kinds of equipment under the title of Mobilkration Stores, which may well have to be substantially supplemented even during 1939.

are

The problem we have most prominently before us at the moment is that of the un- fortunate persons who destitute on the streets as a re- sult of the incursion of refugees from South China. A sum of $150,000 has been provided un- der Charitable Services for the relief of such destitutes next year but if the camps which are now being erected have to be maintained in full operation at the cost which your Excel- lency has stated for the whole of next year I fear that the expenditure will" substantially exceed that amount. Moreover the possibility must be faced that many of these people who have become the responsibility of the Colony as a result of the disturbances in South China will remain a responsibility for years to

come.

· SCICIAL AMELIORATION

The other big field in which a large increase in expenditure may be seen is 'under the head of Publie Works. A plan. which is now be fore Honcurable Members. has been | prepared providing for a number of big works which it is proposed to undertake in the next five years I doubt if anybody will argue that any of these works is not neces- sary and, in most cases, overdue. Criticism is likely to be directed, I think, to the omissions, eg. the new Mental Hospital' and a new Queen's College, rather than to the items included. As the Sessional Paper shows, it is desired to main- tain

this expenditure on

pro- in future years and while the plan gramme at a steady annual figure is such that postponement could be made, the works are in fact be put off if it can be avoided. urgently needed and ought not to

It may be asked whether some of these could not be met from

You have ninted. Sir, at a policy loan. I think that would be pos- of social amelloration involving sible, but I belleve that it is al- necessary a regulation of entry into ways sound finance to meet as the Colony. It may be taken as much as we can out of revenue. I In addition to the expenditure probable, or indeed certain, that

have already pointed out that shown under the Air Raid Precau- such a policy, whether its primary meeting works from loans is merely tion Head, provision is being made purpose is improvement of housing postponing the evil day. We have under Pubile Works Extraordinary or correction of malnutrition; must fact effected a compromise be- for the erection of certain stores also involve expenditure, and large tween loan and revenue because all and other buildings in connection expenditure, by Government. I waterworks capital expenditure is with air raid precaution work at an venture to express personal agree-for the time being met from the estimated cost of $200.000. Here ment with the objects of such a loan account. again it may be necessary to come policy but it is my duty to em- to council later for approval of phasize to this Council the certain

supplementary Totes for other financial consequences in order that special constructional work con- preparation may be made for meet- nected with air raid precautions. Ing them.”

INTERNAL SECURITY

ין

MEDICAL DEPARTMENT

for

WATERWORKS

Mention of water draws atten- on to another large increase of

of

expenditure, that is the contribu- tion of some four lakhs a year to Two other Items. of haritable the Waterworks Renewals Account. After external defence comes in- expenditure deserve mention not so I suppose the Ineradicable"suspicion termal security. The Police Esti- much because of their magnitude of Government's motives in this mates are higher, owing mainly to but because they illustrate the matter will make it diffcult for increased personnel which is neces- effect of social policy on finance. the public to belleve, but that

Government sary in view of the greater popula-The

has recently contribution is a real charge on andtion and other responsibilities re-adopted measures which were very general revenue and represents, to- sulting from the present situation generally welcomed both in the gether with the loss of revenue in South China. It is unfortunately Colony and in England to improve which is expected to result os DEFENCE CONTRIBUTION

not possible to hope that those the protection afforded to certain balance from the adoption of the Under the head of defence in the responsibilities will soon disappear classes of women and girls. As a new scale of charges, the cost at estimates very much the largest

Naturally connected with Police result of those measures the Chl implementing the new water policy. Item is the "defence contdbution, are Prisons, Under that Head no nese Secretariat had in the first So much for the major increases Apart from the possible change increase is provided in the Es place to be strengthened by ad- of expenditure envisaged next year the whole system, that expenditure timates as now drafted but the ditional personnel to carry on in- or in the near future. I must... is not within our control. Other plans for reform referred to by spection duties but it has also belowever add also some minor or detence expenditure is legally at Your Excellency will entail expendi-come responsible for the well-being less imminent increases which are least within the discretion but forture of which estimates will have of increasing numbers of girls and likely to be entailed by other all practical purposes we are com-to be submitted to Council at a something has to be done to provide developments foreshadowed in Your pelled to an increase in it by later date.

them. Accordingly the Po Excellency's address. Many forces beyond the control of this

Leung Kuk has had to be asked to these, for example the development Colony.

undertake increased responsibility of town-planning and the greater The next large increase is under with the inevitable consequence of attention it is hoped to pay to Our expenditure Is truly for

the Medical Department. The an increased Government grant; agricultural and forestry develop- defence purposes and is de-memorandum which has been dir and for similar reasons a new grant ments, are in the nature of invest signed solely to help in meet- · ing any possible attack, but it is rendered imperative by the fear of war which, ghastly as it seems to all intelligent peo- ple, overhangs and darkens the world to-day. The compara- tively small heads of the Volunteer "Defence Corps and the Naval Volunteer. Force are increasing in cost as a result. Those increases must continue in future year so long as the dictates of policy require increases in the numbers of those forces and the supply to them of more and more expensive equipment in order to keep pace with modern ruilltary requirements,

culated gives detalls of the in-is proposed to the Tal Fo Rural ments and may be expected to creased medical services which Orphanage.

13

TRAINING OF TEACHERS

yield a return in the years to come

-

by way of increased revenue economies in public expenditure.

OT

are proposed. Experience of the epidamics which have struck the Colony in the last two years must Last among the group of social But I fear that in nearly every case have brought home to everybody services is education. The es-the first thing necessary to imple- that it is just as necessary to timates before you show very Httlement all those developments will strengthen our defences against increase in the proposed expendi-be more money. disease as to strengthen them ture of that department for next against military attack. Nor must year but the implementation "of·

H

LIKELY EXPENSE RISE

It be imagined that the increases the policy as regards teachers Of recent years the expenditure proposed next year are the end of training referred to by Your Ex-of the Colony has been in the the story.

cellency has not been provided for neighbourhood of $30,000,000 witha.. Proposed additions and improve-in these estimates. It is likely to a tendency to rise. Next year we ments to hospital provision, the require both capital expenditure at are contemplating an expenditure establishment of public health once for the erection, or conversion of nearly $30,000,000-if we deduct centres throughout the Colony and of bulldings and eventually athe special payment of military numerous other very desirable steady annuði expenditure on contribution it is $38,000,000-II developments of a similar kind will teaching staff and grants to stu- the policies I have referred to are demand in due course both ad-dents in training. Government has to be maintained, my successor of ditional personnel and increased also recently adopted new coded a few years hence may be present- The principal increase in defence recurrent charges for their main governing subsidies to vernacular ing regularly Budgets of $40,000,000, expenditure for which we must tenance and operation. - Buch schools which are deliberately de-] In suggesting that, I am delth- allow is, however, in the sphere of additional financial commitments signed to encourage the provision erately trying to correct the im- air raid precautions. In the 1938 can only be avoided by abandoning of fully qualified teachers by offer pression of a rosy financial out- estimates a figure of $50,000 was what is the present polley of ing increased scales of grant to look which our soaring revenues inserted, admittedly as a token Government, of endeavouring to schools possessing certain pre- may have given, but I am not by vote. I regret to say that it has remove at least the most obvious scribed percentages of qualined any means, painting too gloomy a been necessary to exceed that menaces to the health of the teachers. As the schools react to picture. figure very substantially and a Colony.

'that stimulus, in which they will(Continued on Paré.3, Col. 1)

AIR RAID PRECAUTION