Mr. Bourdillon
18
(a) I am very glad that Eastern Department agree that the time has come when, on matters of this kind, Hong Kong and Malaya need no longer keep in line. I know that there has been considerable feeling in Hong Kong in the past about our insis- tence that she must adopt precisely the same sort of line as Malaya in these matters, and that, on this ground, decisions affecting officers in the Hong Kong Service were held up far too long because decisions had not been reached in the case of Malaya.
It is
(b) I feel that it is very important to get approval to Hong Kong of these proposals at an early date, and well before the 29th January so as to enable the increased allowances to be paid by then if possible for the reasons explained in paragraph 16 of the despatch opposite. The Governor must clearly be the judge of what is or what is not practicable, I see no reason to disagree with the Governor's recommendations. indeed a heavy additional bill, but from all I can gather, owing to the state of affairs in China and the influx of wealthy refugees into Hong Kong, added to the presence there of a large body of other refugees already, the cost of living has recently begun to mount steadily again. It was certainly extremely high when I was in Hong Kong last spring. We can only hope that the Governor may be able to effect some badly needed reductions in staff with the help of the Efficiency Expert, as he trusts at the end of paragraph 15 of the despatch,
hoffset the additional cost tome en
(c) I am very much opposed to anything which would involve us in a lengthy argument with the Treasury over com- parable rates paid by Service or other authorities employing staff in Hong Kong and Malaya. We should, of course, let the Treasury know what has been decided.
(a) If, however, you think it essential to consult the Treasury first, then I hope it will be possible for this matter to be dealt with in direct negotiation as a matter of great urgency, making it perfectly clear that we must have a decision in time to let the Governor have approval well in advance well before the 29th January.
and
15.1.1949.