A
}
C
rate of exchange; that a reduction of the
cost of imported articles was presumably
373
only a matter of time, if exchange continued
to rule high; and that the salaries of
Government Officers in Hong Kong compared
favourably with those obtaining in most
other parts of the Empire.
14.
Further experience, however, ap-
peared to shew that the prices even of im-
ported articles showed no tendency to fall;
that the prices of articles produced locally
were not affected by the higher sterling
value of the dollar; and that, apart from any
question of exchange, the cost of living was
still on the increase.
1g. In these circumstances, the Secre-
tary of State on the recommendation of the
Governor and with the approval of the Legis-
lative Council of the Colony consented to an
arrangement to take effect from January 1st
1907, under which when the dollar rage above
2/- salaries were to be paid as if it had
remained