77.
32. We consider that the salaries at present paid to the Private Secretary and the Aide-de-Camp are inadequate and we note that the Secretary of State for the Colonies agreed (Despatch No. 130. of the 17th April 1928) that some increase is desirable. We recommend that the salary of each post be £500 per annum.
33. The salary of the Custodian at Government House is the same as that of several groups of Subordinate European officers of the lower or 2nd Class. It is desirable that the officer performing the duties of Custodian should remain in his post over a con- siderable period of years and should not be tempted to look for promotion to other posts. We consider therefore that the scale of salary should be a long one covering roughly the same range as that of subordinate officers of the 2nd and 1st Classes. We recommend a scale of £260 rising by 5 annual increments of £10, 2 of £20 (after the sixth year in accordance with the principle laid down in paragraph 19) and 7 further increments of £10 to £420 with an efficiency bar at £350.
34. Chinese Staff of Government House. Provision is made in the Estimates for certain household servants only. We recommend that their salaries shall in future be as follows:-
1 Chauffeur:—$960;
1 Amah:-$324;
1 House boy-$252 to $300 by $12 after 3, 6, 9 and 12 years;
1 Laundryman :--$360;
4. Messengers and 4 House coolies :----$156 to $204 by $12 after 3, 6,9 and
12 years; and
1 Stoker -$216 to $240 by $12-annually.
35. Apart from these we understand that the Governor employs one chauffeur, three table boys, one hall boy, one personal boy, one kitchen boy, two cooks, nine house coolies, two amahs, one motor-cleaner, twelve chair coolies and one laundryman, whose wages exceed $7,000 per annum. We consider that the major portion of the Staff at Government House and Mountain Lodge should be provided for out of public funds and we recommend that a sum of $5,000 should be provided annually in the estimates for the purpose.
36. The Governor receives no conveyance or travelling allowance, but a sum of $1,040 is provided for running expenses of one car. We consider that the Governor should be provided with two cars and that they should be maintained and run at Govern- ment expense.
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We consider also that the Governor should at all times, and his staff while on duty, have free conveyance on any of the Government launches.
37. Expenses are incurred from time to time for house decorations; we consider that these should be defrayed from public funds and that H. E. should be required to pay for coal, gas, electric fans, light and power only when consumed in the non-public rooms. The central heating plant recently installed in Mountain Lodge is required mainly for the preservation of the building and its contents from damp, and should be operated and maintained wholly at Government expense.
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2. THE CADET SERVICE.
38. Since the revision of salaries in 1920 the emoluments of the Cadet Service have been determined by means of a "time scale" in so far as the junior or Class II Officers are concerned, with five posts on a higher scale of salary for senior or Class I Officers in charge of the main Departments of Government.
The scales then fixed commenced with a salary of £350 per annum for an Un- passed Cadet rising to £375 on his passing his second examination in Chinese, usually after about one year's study, and to £400 per annum on passing his fourth and final ex- amination after a further year. Thereafter his salary rose by two annual increments of £25 and fifteen annual increments of £50 to £1200 per annum with two "efficiency