Colonial Despatches

I have to acknowledge your Despatch No. 9 of the 28th January last, enclosing the estimates of your Government for the year 1870 accompanied by a report from the Auditor General, and various returns called for by my instruction the 18th August last.

2. It has given me much satisfaction to receive these Estimates in so greatly improved a form, but I have to point out to you some defects which should be remedied on future occasions.

3. In the first place the Estimates are not accompanied by the Appropriation Ordinance. You have no doubt forwarded the anticipation of the passing of the Ordinance in order to place me in earlier possession of your financial arrangements for the year, but as a general rule, it will be moreconvenient convenient to adopt the course already prescribed in the 3rd paragraph of my instructions referred to vizt. not to separate the appropriation Ordinance and the Estimates.

4. Secondly, the returns submitted of assets and liabilities include the permanent Debts and sinking Fund. This is erroneous. The floating or Temporary debt should no doubt appear among the liabilities, but permanent debt and in the like manner Sinking Fund should be given in a separate statement as pointed out towards the end of paragraph2 2 of the printed Despatch to the Straits Settlements enclosed in my Despatch of the 18th August.

5. Thirdly, the detail in the estimates does not extend to the expenditure for the civil establishments sanctioned by permanent Law. Only the gross amount of this Expenditure is given. The Estimates should be set out in detail in future, the entire proposed expenditure for the year, at the same time that they distinguish as is of course proper, what has been secured permanently, on the one hand, and what has to be voted and includedin in the annual Appropriation Ordinance on the other. The best mode for giving this information appears to be to print, preceding the detail of Establishments (page 5 of the present Estimates) a Tabular statement of the sums permanently secured.

6. As regards measures for the consolidation of the debt I refer you as (I have already done by Telegraph) To my Despatch No. 13 of the 23rd February sent on the 26 Idem. Otherwise I have for the present no objections to make to the financial arrangements submitted. I however necessar[il]ypostpone postpone sanctioning the Estimates till it is made known by receipt of the Appropriation Ordinance, that they have been adopted by the Legislative Council.