3.
18
I think fully justified. In this connection it should be
noted that rules conceming Sick Leave apply generally to
the whole service and are not limited to officers ordinar-
ily recruited in England.
V.
The rules concerning casual leave have
taken a new shape. The existing regulation covering ten
days per annum did not permit of any journey from Hong
Kong beyond the limits of South China and the geographical
situation of Hong Kong is such that there is no healthy
place to which an officer can go for a change if he has
to retum within ten days. The new rule will permit of
one absence not exceeding a month in any two years and
time will thus be allowed for a short holiday in the
health resorts of Japan, Java or the Philippines, without
drawing on the possibilities of an officer's home leave.
Such a break in an officer' s tour of service I consider
of great value.
vi. The rules for passages of families are little
altered from those now in force though it has been
necessary to adapt them to the new periods representing
tours of service. The definition of a family is based
on Colonial Regulation 111, and constitutes a desirable
limitation on the existing rule which places no restrict- ion on the number of family passages to be granted, provid-
ed the age limits are observed.
5. The cost of the new regulations cannot be
estimated with any accuracy but it is probable that the
shorter tours of service in the later years will mean
some increase of expenditure. This however I consider
the Colony should face in view of the increased efficiency
that should result.
6.