British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 541

CHAPTER XIV.

7. The marked variations in the expenditure on services relating to development arises from the fact that in certain years - in 1937 /38 and 1943/44 in table 3 for example - substantial sums chargeable to expenditure have been made available by way of loans. Departmental organisations and expenditure have expanded during the period under review.

8. The total expenditure on Public Works Extraordinary since the date of the formation of the civil government on the 1st July 1920 to March 1945 has been £P. 9 ,560 ,000. The works have been of great variety, including roads and bridges, land acquisition, the relatively small number of Government buildings and a number of major development schemes such as, inter alia, the Jerusalem water supply, the airports at Lydda and Haifa and the Haifa oil dock. Details of major projects undertaken were given annually up to the war in the reports submitted by His Majesty's Government to the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations. Some £P.3,000,000 of the total expenditure on Public Works Extraordinary is specifically attributable to the internal disturbances or the war but this does not represent the full expenditure on such works.

9. During the same period expenditure under Posts and Telegraphs Extraordinary has amounted to £P.1,043,545. This covers equipment and installations but not Posts and Telegraphs buildings which are accountable under Public Works Extraordinary. The Posts and Telegraphs Department's renewal fund stood at £P.349, 931 as at the 31st March, 1940.

10. As was mentioned in section B of chapter IV, the accounts of the Palestine Railways are separate from those of Government and tables 1 and 3 have reflected railway revenue and expenditure only to the extent that there has been a surplus or a deficit in the year's working. In the former case, the surplus accrued to Government and in the latter the excess expenditure was met by Government; (it is grouped under (i), Miscellaneous, in table 3). The combined results of the four systems (Palestine, Kantara Rafa, Hejaz and Petah Tiqva) operated by the Palestine Railways administration provide the basis. The Kantara-Rafa railway (which lies on Egyptian territory and is operated by the administration as agents for His Majesty's Government) is subject to special arrangements under which any surplus is shared between His Majesty's Government and the Palestine Government iu proportion to the capital investment of each. The Hejaz railway (which normally shows a deficit) is operated on behalf of His Majesty's Government who hold it in trust. During the period covered by table 1, 1922/23 to 1944/45, the total revenue accruing

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