Copy to wo 2.
-5 N
53714/56
7
NOX SECRET.
Copy to the General Officer Commanding
The British Troops in China.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONG KONG.
26th October, 1938.
Sir,
I have the honour to inform you that I have
had under consideration the question of the rates of
pay which should be provided under Section 12 of the
Volunteer Ordinance No. 10 of 1933 for volunteers on
mobilization.
2.
The view of the War Office as communicated
to this Government by the local military authorities
has hitherto been that there should be a differentiation
in the scales of pay accorded to European and
non-European volunteers on mobilization, and that such
scales should be based on and similar to those in force
for similar ranks in the regular army.
3.
The Commandant of the Volunteer Defence Corps
has recently gone carefully into the whole question with
a committee of his officers, and strongly recommends that
there be no differentiation made in the rates of pay to
any section of volunteers on the basis of race but that
a uniform rate applicable to the whole corps be fixed.
4.
The reasons put forward by the Commandant and
his committee are as follow :-
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
(i) Dissatisfaction in the Corps is inevitable
MALCOLM MACDONALD, M.P.,
&C.,
&C., &c.