I shall be enabled to
At the latter end of the year by direction of His Excellency, his services were dispensed with, together with the 2nd Clerk Mestayer, the Office Clerk and the Messenger. The services of the first of above named officers I supply by employing the Foreman of Coolies, Ah-low who is apparently a good scholar, and can copy out Chinese documents, under the superintendence of Dr. Gutzlaff the Chinese Secretary, sufficiently well for all the purposes of the office, he is a useful and trustworthy servant and I have always found him attentive to his work and show anxiety for the good of the service; as an attendant and interpreter for myself and Clerk of Works and Road Overseer, in
the Roads visiting or works, he is most useful, for which service His Excellency was pleased to sanction Home allowance for him, but this together with
House allowance to the Road Overseer
has been discontinued since the stoppage of the works.
The two native Overseers of Convicts, one at £50 per annum and the other at £37, 10s per annum, were also discharged; both intelligent and useful men, but the services of one happily enabled me to avail myself of as he is appointed Sergeant of the guard, I am nearly equally well served by him in his new capacity, and a saving effected of £62, 10s per annum; at the same time it obliges me to keep all the gang together which is sometimes very inconvenient, particularly when executing repairs in the Streets.
Reductions to a small amount were also made in the Salaries of the Road Overseer and Accountants, forming an aggregate saving in the cost of the
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