Code
INWARD TELEGRAM
TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES
COPY FO..
236
181
STION
FROM HONG KONG (Sir A. Grantham)
0. 19th March, 1948,
R. 19th **
+1
13.10 hra,
No. 317
Confidential.
Your telegram No 350 (233)
Salaries Commission.
Your suggestion that paragraph 196 of report now renumbered 194. should to amended was put to the members of
KRA preferred to leave thiɛ paragraph as ufigleelly disfied. They considered that diy cases of officeva a vero, for one reason or another, absent from the Colony on 1st January 1947, and who have subsequently returned. were likely to be few in number, and could beat be dealt with administratively on their merita.I agree with the Commission"s view inat zatrzepective benefits should not be extended to those officers who have not had to face the changed conditiona in the Colony which the Comicsion'a general recommendations ware designed to meet and † wa Herefore opposed to allowing retrospective Benefits to all officers who were in the service on ist January 1947, whether on duty in the Colony or on leave prior to retirement. officers who retired, or were invalided after interment, had varying amounts or leave to their credit. Those who had been fortunate enough to be granted leave during the war period had small leave balance to their credit after internment. Other officers were unable to take leave prior to hostilities here and had considerable leave balance. Since the amount of an officer's leave balance wa, to a certain extent, fortuitous, the granting of pensions at the revised rates to those whose leave expired after 1st January 1947, would have resulted in claims for similar treatment from officers whore leave expired in the latter part of 1946. The result would be that retrospective benefits would in equity, have to be given to all officers who retired after the recccupation. I do not feel that such treatment would be justified in view of the fact that all officers whose health was seriously affected by internment have received impairment additions to their pensione. I am therefore acting on the Commission's recommendation as it standa in paragraph 194 of report sud am treating on their merits any cases which may arise and which are not covered by that recommendation, such as the case of H.R. Butter or other officers who have been seconded.
Copy sent to
Treasury
Mr. D.R. Serpell, 0,B,E.
tl.no.
350
with commis qm
Comis
(Being dealt with
minute separately from file
from file.) Reply & my minute to on King required.
M. King Mn. Butte
M. Nicholl
23/3