ENG-1953 — Page 265

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1953

Trade, Finance and Development. Since 1938 the Financial Secretary has assumed a purely administrative function in the Colonial Secretariat and under his direction the Accountant General is responsible for the public accounts, all of which are subject to the supervision of the Director of Audit. The Accountant General is also responsible for the control of enemy property and property abandoned during the war. The assess- ment and collection of rates are the responsibility of the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation; and the collection of miscellaneous indirect taxation and of the direct taxation levied under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, 1947, and the Estate Duty Ordinance, 1932, are the responsibility of the Commis- sioner of Inland Revenue.

The Director of Commerce and Industry is responsible for Government bulk purchases of essential foodstuffs, trade promotion, price control, rationing, the collection of import and excise duties, the direction of preventive work and for the production of any statistical matter required by any department of Government. Procurement of Government requirements other than essential foodstuffs is the responsibility of the Controller of Stores.

The Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is administratively responsible for the Government's services in agriculture, fisheries and forestry, each of these divisions being under the supervision of professional officers.

The Registrar of Co-operatives and Director of Marketing is responsible for fostering the development of co-operative societies, chiefly among fishermen and farmers, and also con- trols the Government Wholesale Fish and Vegetable Markets.

214