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There was no Principal Medical Officer at Hong Kong, and I am told that it is a very considerable time since one was present.
20. General Broadwood was generally satisfied with his staff, and I feel confident that under him the state of the troops at Hong Kong will steadily improve.
21. I now come to a question about which I feel very strongly, viz., the pecuniary loss to the officers, non-commissioned officers and men by the fall of the dollar and the rate of exchange. This hits the Indian regiments particularly hard.
I must express my opinion most strongly, that if our officers and men are ordered to serve in far distant stations, they should not be permitted to suffer personal pecuniary loss by circumstances over which they have no control, and if such loss is inevitable then the public should bear it and not the individual soldier.
Although this grievance is not peculiar to the garrison of Hong Kong only, for all civil servants, including his Excellency the Governor, suffer con- siderable reductions, it does not appear to me sufficient reason why this troublesome and expensive question should not be tackled. It has frequently been put forward and strongly recommended locally, but hitherto has invariably been refused. Married soldiers are very hard hit, and find it difficult to make both ends meet. As regards the Native regiments, service out of India affects them in more ways than one.
I deliberately say that this is a scandal that ought no longer to be allowed. I attach a comparative list showing the total loss incurred by each rank since 1st January, 1906. A perusal of this list, and a reference to the voluminous correspondence on this subject now at the War Office, will, I think, convince the most sceptical that a great injustice is being done, and I am sure that the most radical financier will not consent to its continuance. I was given to understand that the reason Indian troops were brought to Hong Kong was that, owing to faulty administration, the Hong Kong Regiment became so expensive that it was disbanded, and that, owing to the South African war, it was thought to be more economical and convenient to replace them by Indian Regular troops. But surely it was not contemplated that these troops should be put to the personal pecuniary disadvantages that they now undoubtedly suffer. It is a well-known fact that young officers go into the Indian Service for the reason that they can live on their pay. This they can just do in India, but in Hong Kong, owing to the loss in exchange, the small purchasing power of the dollar, and for other reasons, both Commanding Officers assured me that their young officers are drifting hopelessly into debt.
There are facts in connection with the Indian Army and its followers which do not seem to be known or appreciated at home, as, for instance, matrimonial contracts, land litigation, &c., which seem inseparable from Indian life. This is felt keenly at Hong Kong, as the term of service has been, I understand, extended from 2 to 3 years, and it is very difficult, indeed impossible, for the soldiers to get or afford furlough to India to settle such matters. Again, the necessary commodities of life, such, for example, as milk and suitable meat, are so dear in Hong Kong that the Sepoy cannot afford them. Here the man again suffers.
It is true that the rank and file of Native regiments at Hong Kong have certain concessions made to them,
such as "free rations' and a small "Colonial allowance," but these do not adequately compensate them for their losses in rate of exchange and the small purchasing power of the dollar compared with the rupee, and the exorbitant prices demanded.
As regards officers, in addition to what I have already said, in India the Government grant a monthly allowance in aid of messes of 100 rupees, which covers approximately the hire in India of mess premises. At Hong Kong the Government grant is 75 dollars, but it is impossible for the two regiments to hire mess quarters under 315 dollars and 403 dollars respectively. The War Department does not supply mess premises to Indian regiments, consequently they have to hire, and are at the mercy of the house owners.
The cost of house hire at Hong Kong and Kowloon is abnormally high; the cost of forage and keep of a horse is prohibitive, but, as the officers of the
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