upon to pay for houses, pointing out that the Clerks in the other departments
of the Colonial Government;
are
as a rule
better paid than they are, and.
praying in consequence
that their salaries
may
be increased.
In bringing this matter under
notice I cannot more fully express
my opinion of the reasonableness of the application, or more strongly urge the necessity for a compliance with the wishes of the applicants, to a moderate extent, than I did in my
letter No 21 of the 16th June last, to which I
would beg a reference; since
that date
however the work of the department has
been added to to such an
extent, caused
by the increased number of Steamers employed in these waters conveying mails, that more duty has been required
of the officers of the Port Office,
both as
regards
the
sorting and delivery of letters in Hongkong, and the despatch of correspondence to other places, that, the additional labour devolving on the Clerk in keeping the Books, has made it necessary, in order to have the
monthly accounts ready in proper time, for him to keep himself employed upon their
preparation up to
a
late hour
every night of the
week.
I am aware
that obstacles exist in the
way of altering the salary of the Clerk, which is fixed by the Civil