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The letter of the Surgeon General of ... to the Government of Hong Kong, in the ... Kausta, received my particular attention to which ... turned ... summarise, ... Also mention that I was seconded in 1900 to special service in Grenada, during the influenza Epidemic, and that I submitted a report on that Epidemic, for which and also for my services I received the thanks of that Government. Since my transfer here I have had charge of the Diseases Hospital (to which also plague cases are sent for treatment), of Victoria Hospital, and of the Tung Wah Hospital. With nearly fifteen years of Government service, and the varied experience I have gained in the different posts I have filled from time to time, my position in this service is entirely a junior one.
In the medical department, as apart from the Sanitary Department and the Port Medical Officer, the next senior officer to the Principal Medical Officer has only eight years of service under Government, the second about seven years, and the third a little more than two years. And I am the junior, although both by qualification and length of Government service I should take precedence next to the P.M.O.
3. I ... to count, and ... G ... cui cum ofan ce ... Iuspect ... fully ask that the Right Honorable the Secretary of State will be pleased to allow my length of service ... to grant that I be allowed the increments of pay in this service accordingly.
In support of this request I venture to state that the Assistant Director of Public Works, who was transferred from Trinidad at a salary of £600 per annum, and who, some time after joining, was allowed his maximum salary. I would point out that this officer was sent out with the knowledge both on the part of the authorities and of himself that he was to draw a certain salary, yet on his representation, after arrival, his salary was immediately raised to the maximum, making a concession to his position as well as to his previous experience.
I did not have the advantage of a personal interview with the authorities before accepting this appointment and was ultimately guided by the telegram alone. It was understood that the post offered would be on a certain term of service. This has not been the case, and my position is the more deplorable as there is more work than it was in Trinidad. In view of these circumstances, I beg respectfully that I be granted the increment of pay.
4. I would also ask that the Secretary of State will be pleased to allow that Government service be allowed to count in this Colony. I recognise that nothing probably can be done at present, but in the event of a vacancy occurring, I beg to apply that it be considered in my favour for a permanent or acting appointment. (This was allowed in the case of a medical officer who was transferred from the Colony of Tobago to Trinidad before it became a part of Trinidad).
5. I also beg to apply that the Secretary of State will be pleased to grant my application for promotion, which I have already made, and which I hope will be based upon the varied professional and administrative experience I have acquired during my fifteen years of service under Government, and my four years' service in public institutions in England.
The Under Secretary of State for the Colonies
I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
Will Koch