No. 4 (iq2l) FISHERIES OF NORWAY It 



The budget for 1921- 22 is much greater, partly because of the 

 increased cost of labour and materials, partly because of the 

 vigorous development necessary to counteract the many disastrous 

 sequelae of the war, and still more to the inclusion of the extra- 

 ordinary item of Kr. 1,000,000 of non-recurring expenditure 

 for the new administration building in Bergen (at the present 

 time the administration is housed in a rented building at a con- 

 siderable distance from the sea and like that of the Madras 

 Fisheries department quite inadequate to meet the largely 

 increased requirements of the staff). In next j^ear's budget the 

 administration charges are set down at the large sum of Kr. 292,350 

 (Rs, 2,19,262). While the bulk of this is for salaries, it also includes 

 an allotment for the expenses incurred by the members of the 

 Fishery Council when attending the Annual Conference. 



A sum of Kr, 15,000 is set apart for the expenses of various 

 committees of inquiry, a dozen in number in this latest budget. 

 This system of delegation to committees is a great feature of the 

 administration at the present time ; in part it has been adopted 

 owing to the lack of staff in the department itself adequate to 

 cope with so many and varied new inquiries ; the plan, in spite 

 of obvious drawbacks, has justified itself, and has been increasingly 

 made use of in recent years. 



After the provisional budget proposals have been discussed in 

 detail by the Fishery Council, the members take the opportunity of 

 discussing any subject of interest to the industry and several days 

 are usually devoted to this. Thereafter the Director of Fisheries, 

 after giving due consideration to all modifications in the estimates 

 urged by the Council, submits the amended draft proposals, 

 accompanied by a full account of the discussions in the Fishery 

 Council, to the Minister for Commerce, who, if he has no objection 

 to take, forwards it to the Parliamentary Budget Committee of the 

 Development departments. This Committee after considering it 

 with due regard to the financial position of the country, report 

 upon it and it is then incorporated in the general national budget 

 for submission to Parliament. This final statement contains, be 

 it noted, not merely a bald list of items with the individual 

 appropriation required placed opposite each one ; to each head is 

 appended a short explanatory note. This is found particularly 

 useful in curtailing discussion and obviating submission of un- 

 necessary questions and resalutions. The estimates pass tlirough 



