Tel. No.: Whitehall 1234.
NATIONAL
FOR
DISABLED
Your Reference 53723/48
Treasury Reference
TREASURY CHAMBERS,
GREAT GEORGE STREET,
LONDON, S.W.1.
173
25th March, 1948
Copies sent to Accts. D.22.
o
Dear Mayle,
Thank you for your letter of 23rd March.
In view of
(236) (237) paragraph 4 of the Governor's telegram of 22nd March about the
1
cost of living allowances payable in Hong Kong, I though, as you will appreciate with some reluctance) agree that salaries above £750 per annum shall receive the cost of living allowance at the rate you propose. This agreement is, of course, on the under- standing suggested in paragraph 3 of the Governor's telegram.
I should, perhaps, make it clear that our present agreement does not accept the arguments to which you refer in paragraph 2(a) and (b) of your letter, following the Governor's telegram. In particular, I would refer to the statement by the Governor that the Hong Kong scale of allowances could "never be the same" as the Malayan scale, even if cost of living in both territories were identical. The fact that Hong Kong charges more for Government quarters than Malaya should not be reflected, surely, in the cost of living allowance which is intended to cover temporary costs only.
Similarly, I am sure, on further consideration, you will appreciate that comparison between Local Overseas Allowances for U.K. military personnel and cost of living allowances for Hong Kong civil servants, in so far as it affects the proposed "tapering off", could not be taken very far.
N.L. Mayle, Esq.,
Colonial Office.
Yours sincerely,
DRLetblado