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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
has shown that it is necessary to detail an officer specially to look after the accounting and financial work of the Supreme Court; one Class III. post for the Marine Surveyor's Office; this is in connection with the increase in staff of that office, and is referred to in the sessional paper on that subject; and one more Probationer. Officers with special scales of salary different from those fixed for the various classes of the Senior Clerical Service have been grouped in the 1928 Estimates in a different way from the grouping shown in the 1927 Estimates. This involves no increase other than the stipulated incre- ments.
Head 4-Junior Clerical Service.
The whole of the postal staff of the Junior Clerical Service has been transferred from this head to Head 11-Post Office. The reason for this is that postal clerks unlike clerks in other departments are not ordinarily transferable, and depend for promotion on vacancies in the Post Office only, and not in the service as a whole.
The number of posts in the Higher Class and Classes I. to III. has been slightly increased, and the numbers in Classes IV. and V. correspondingly reduced. It was found that promotion to the higher classes was unduly slow, and that efficiency was liable to be affected in consequence, and it is proposed to work up gradually each year until a fixed ratio between the numbers in each class has been reached. The clerical staff in the Post Office will also be worked to the same proportions.
Additional posts are one Class IV. Clerk for the Malarial Research Officer, to whom I will refer when dealing with the Medical Depart- ment and four Class VI. Clerks for the Colonial Secretary's Office, Education and Prisons Departments.
Head 7-Treasury.
The post of Assistant Crown Solicitor for this office is for the present in abeyance. An Assistant Crown Solicitor has been at the Treasury since November of last year and has done very good work in getting the system into working order, and it is hoped that next year it will be possible for an Assistant Crown Solicitor from the Crown Solicitor's Office spending half his time at the Treasury to cope with the work. It may be necessary in more flourishing times to consider the restoration of this post
Head 11-Post Office.
The increase is due almost entirely to the transfer of provision for the clerical staff from Head 4-Junior Clerical Service.
Head 12-Imports and Exports Department.
Under personal emoluments provision is made for one more European Revenue Officer. The inadequacy of the present staff, which
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