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136
Enclo. No.3.
Enclo.No. 4.
adequately.
The Committee of the General Chamber
of Commerce has not yet replied but has reported progress in an interim letter of which a copy is enclosed. It seems fairly clear from this letter that so far as labour is concerned the
awards of the Commissioners will not find favour with the European business community of this Colony and the opposition may extend to the recommendations for Chinese Staff generally or even to the whole Report. But I may say at once that I cannot do otherwise than accept the view embodied in paragraphs 21 23 of the Report that the wages now paid by Government to its lowest regular servants are inadequate and that amelioration must begin from this level and spread upwards.
6. With regard to cost a comparative table of the amounts payable under the existing regulations and under the recommendations of the Report, at exchange rates of $l≈ 1/10d, 1/9d and
The Estimates
1/6d, respectively is enclosed.
for 1930 were framed on the basis of an exchange of $1 = 1/10d and sterling salaries were calculated under existing regulations at the privileged rate of $12 to the £1.plus a high- cost-of-living allowance of 8% or 16% for unmarried and married officers respectively.
The total so payable would have been $8,931,096
and