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Sterling salaries of permanent appointments were to be arranged on an equally liberal basis and, with some reluctance on my part at least, we took the Hongkong in preference to the Horse Service. Our interview at the Colonial Office took place about the end of September, 1901. Some three months later, after we had received our appointments, all Cadet Salaries were raised by the grant of double exchange compensation. We were in Canton during 1902 and 1903 and not being supplied with official publications we knew nothing about the salaries attached to permanent posts, and until we came to Hongkong to take up acting appointments we remained under the impression that the Sterling Salaries were considerably higher than the dollar salaries. We then, however, found that double exchange compensation and the Sterling Scheme had come into operation in 1902 and that while all the dollar salaries had been very substantially increased the sterling salaries were only equal to and in the case of more than half the posts actually lower than the obsolete single compensation dollar salaries.
The statement of the Secretary of State that the Sterling Cadets are aggrieved because they are not so fortunate as other officers is not correct. They do not regard the other Officers as fortunate in the sense that they get more than their due nor do the other Officers so regard themselves.