156
and Mr Plunkett may consider himself fortunate after an appointment to a post nearly equal in value to the one he held at Singapore.
If however it is considered desirable to avoid the inconvenience of a refusal on his part, to gratify him from something from this Colony's funds it should, I think, be as much as will Equate the offer made to him there with the certain fees (for Singapore I understand : fees which he would, even under the new arrangement, continue to receive) with that which he had as "Inspector General of Police, exclusive of the House allowance.
29/4.
All things considered I do not know that £1200 is too much to give Mr. Plunkett but I do not like taking £200 from the Straits. We have already done something like this in Mr. W. Hackett's case and come in for criticisms which I have seen altogether with reason.
Cannot we make up the £1200 from Hong Kong revenue?
30 April.
We cannot interfere with the fees paid to the Registrar when acting in the V. Admiralty Court. There they vary in amount from $78 in 1870 to $3,255 in the following year. Taking however an average of 10 years they amount to $1,070 a year, equal to £922.
I therefore propose to appoint Mr Plunkett to the H. Kong vacancy on a salary of $4,000. He will