Tae total ordinary expenditure in 1899 was estimated at Tls. 763,610. The actual expenditure was Ts. 797,464, which included an expenditure of Tle. 15,927 in surveying, cleaning, scavenging, policing, and collecting taxes on the Extension. Excluding this last item, the Council only spent the very moderate sum of Tls. 17,926 above their estimate. In the statement previously alluded to the expenditure is divided under twenty-four heads, some of them showing an increase, some a decrease. For purposes of comparison we extract a few of the principal ones. The figures represent Shanghai taels Estimated. Actual. Police 197,457 Health depar 37,170 Lighting 48,640 Ensineer's office. 34,460 Public works. 203,880 Secretariat 52,868 General charger Fire department, Volunteers Public band..
Interest.
Sinking fund That's the way the money goes," as a once popular song tersely expresses it.
The increase in Public Works, amounting to over Tle. 10,000, is such as must always be expected in a Settlement in which improvements of all kinds are being constantly made. The only other important increase is in General Charges, and this again is inevitable. The only material decrease is under the heading of Police, and this is due to the fact j that the difficulty of getting suitable foreign recruits remains very great. From the case of O'Keefe reported a day or two ago it seems also that there is great difficulty in keeping new men after they have been obtained at considerable cost. The ratepayers, however, may feel assured that if there are causes for this state of things which do not come to the surface, the Watch Committee are as anxious as they are able to get to the bottom: of them. It remains that as a whole our police force is one with which Shanghai may be justly satisfied. In reference to the difficulty of keeping the foreign section of the force at its full strength the Captain-Superintendent says in his report on page 34:—There has been the usual difficulty in obtaining Foreign Recruits, and we have been short during the whole of the year.
Through the kindness of Sir Andrew Reed and the Irish Government an cxperiment is now being made of on! 10 men on the R.L.O. recruit having them Depot for will prove satisfactory. It is an advantage to get the recruits young.
Mr. Keaneth McEuen, son of the late Captain McEuen, has bosn appointed by the Council Cadet Officer: he also is under-Boose and will bring the Recruits out with cing a course of training at the RIC.
Tu April, 1899, the Inspeeto rank and file of the Foreigners res increase of ten per cent on their pay. This increase has not, howerer, attracted as many recruits as might have been expected, and it appears that there must employment to be easily obtained in Shanghai at a more remunerative rate than the Police pay.
All ratepayers must have read with great interest and satisfaction at the time it appeared in the Council's minutes, the news that a son of our late worthy Captain-Superintendent McEuen is qualifying at home for a position in the force his father ought up to such o high level of excellence.
'A comparison of the actual expendture in 1899 with the estimated expenditure in the present year gives the following result, also in Shanghai taels:—
1899. 1900, Police.197,437 237,866 Health 87,170 60,326, Lighting 640) Engineer's office " 34,460 971,766 Public works 203, Secretariat. 57,486 General charge 16,750 Fire department 16.000 Volunteers. 18,000 Public band.. 10,808 10,500 Interest 2 47,015 Sinking Fun 45,800 45,000
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.