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482. It is recommended that officers should be directed to follow the instruc- tion issued.
Cost of urgent slips.
483. The cost of the "Urgent" slip G.F.69 now in use is four times greater than the slip previously used.
484. It is recommended that the "Urgent" slip should be printed on paper of medium durability but less costly than the board now used.
Preparation of minutes and memos.
485. Instructions have been issued from time to time on the method of preparing minutes and memos, usually with an emphasis on phraseology. Many documents have been seen which fail in three essentials of a good minute, namely: completeness, brevity and clarity.
486. It is recommended that officers should be given further instruction in this matter, and it is suggested that originating minutes and memos should be in three main parts in the following order:—
(1) Statement of the problem.
(2) Appreciation of the situation.
(3) A brief statement describing what is required.
Minutes and memos prepared in that manner will require the minimum words to be used by an approving or replying officer.
Telephone communications,
487. There is no private branch exchange within the Secretariat. The arrange- ment with the Telephone Company which permits the Government to use a number of telephone lines free of cost for local calls, negatives in part the cost of savings otherwise made by inter-communication equipment. Verbal communication between officers now is either via the telephone exchange or by officers visiting each other. Both methods are time consuming and are sometimes dismissed in favour of the written word, the latter often eventually costing more in time than either of the previous methods.
488. It is recommended that a private branch exchange be installed in the Secretariat building with extension numbers allocated to each instrument and where the operators should give the following service to officers:
(1) Connect with incoming calis and trapping wrong numbers, of which
of late there seemed to be a large number.
(2) Obtain connection with outside telephone numbers as required.
(3) Receive messages for officers in their absence.
489. This private branch exchange should permit one officer to dial the exten- tension number of another officer in the building without the call passing through the Telephone Company's main exchange.
490. When the private branch exchange is installed an additional telephone in- strument with a direct line to the Telephone Company's main exchange should be supplied to each of the following officers:
(1) Colonial Secretary.
(2) Financial Secretary.
(3) Defence Branch.