344
Inclusive of my despatch No. 201 of the 4th September to which your telegram of the 16th instant has been a reply, I dealt with the question of Exchange compensation as recommended by the Committee appointed to inquire into the Expenditure of the Colony, pointing out to Your Lordship that in my opinion the state of our finances justified the extra expenditure which would be incurred by carrying out the recommendation of the Committee and which was estimated at $125,000.
That Estimate was however based upon the 3/4 rate, refund to which it was then understood Your Lordship had offered to the Civil Service of the Straits' Settlements, and not on the terms which this Colony finally accepted, viz., a non-pensionable allowance of the rate of 3d to the dollar on half the salary of an officer whilst on Active service, the 4/- rate for leave pay being unaltered. The amount sufficient to cover the extra expenditure which would be incurred by the extension is now estimated at about $80,000 i.e. $45,000 less than the previous Estimate.
3. Your Lordship's telegram of the 10th instant, whilst conveying the decision which forms the subject of the memorial enclosed in this despatch, led me to understand that upon fuller information of a satisfactory nature being furnished regarding the finances of the Colony, you would not be unwilling to re-consider the matter, and I therefore respectfully venture to submit to your attention the following facts regarding the financial position of the Colony.
4. In the first place, as Your Lordship is already aware, this government has to its credit a balance of some $600,000. Secondly with regard to the revenue and expenditure of the current year, it is estimated that there will be a deficit of some $50,000 at the end of the year. This is due to the heavy and unforeseen expenditure on account of the Plague and to the serious fall of the dollar below 2/6, the rate taken...
Page 345