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retain capable interpreters in the Government Service re-
gular increments must be made to their salaries. The profi-
ciency of an interpreter is enormously increased by practice,
and his services therefore become more valuable simply by
#lapse of time, and must be remunerated accordingly unless
they are to be lost to the Government. We suggest the
adoption of regulations on the following lines:-
Rules relating to the appointment of Chinese Interpreters.
Student-interpreters may be appointed
from timeto time on the recommendation of the Registrar-
General, They shall be selected from boys between the ages
of 16 and 19 who have passed the Grant-in-Aid Examination
in the V Standard in Schools in Class III or Fourth Class in
the Annual Examination at Queen's College.
On appointment they will receive a salary
of $120 a year, and will be required to attend the ordinary
classes at Queen's College for two years without payment
of fees.
They will be exempted from attending any but
the ordinary English lessons and in the afternoon will
attend at the Registrar-General's Office for special
instruction in Chinese and in translation and interpretation
Note:-