be fermare Stould de
heft.
24
and the
Otherwise as
Mr Martin
May
before the
revived scheme
was brought into operation.
This has been referred to the Personnel
Division on the question of the proposed alteration. in the exchange rates for sterling salaries. As the Governor and the Department are satisfied as to the desirability on purely financial grounds of effecting a saving by ruling that while the exchange is below ls/6d. salaries should be converted into dollars as to one half at the governing exchange rate, and as to the other half at ls/6d. to the
dollar, this may presumably be taken for granted. It is, however, by no means equally clear that the
proposal does not involve a breach of faith with
officers.
I do not know in what terms the revision
of salaries was published to officers, and I think
we ought to know exactly how far the Government is
committed to conversion at the current rate of
exchange before we sanction any alteration in that
arrangement. I notice from the report of the debate in the Legislative Council enclosed in lo.20 on 72797/30 that the rate of exchange then was stated to be ls/3d., and that it was on this ground that the high cost of living allowance was abandoned It
seems to me to be extremely doubtful whether in those circumstances we can justifiably impose a further cut merely on the ground that the dollar is now at ls/4d.
Certainly