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Mr. E.R. Edmgrids.
We discussed. The posts of Registrar-General and Registrar, Supreme Court, Hong Kong, carry pensionable emoluments of £1830 per annum and £1705 per annum respectively. The salaries for corresponding posts in Africa are in the neighbourhood of £1450 and £1320 (maximum) respectively. The Hong Kong posts are therefore prize appointments likely, in normal circumstances, to attract any member of the Colonial Legal Service who is qualified to fill them. It is for consideration whether we should assemble a field of outside candidates for comparison with the local ones, Messrs. Jones & D'Almada e Castro.
For the following reasons it is suggested that we should depart from normal practice and approve the Governor's recommendations without regard to outside candidates.
(a) Messrs. Jones & D'Almada e Castro are already in receipt of salaries exceeding those drawn by any potential outside candidate. Mr. Jones draws £1675 per annum exclusive of COLA. Mr. D'Almada e Castro's pensionable emoluments are not precisely known but are probably in the region of £1350. They may therefore be regarded as senior from the point of view of salary, if not necessarily in length of service, to their opposite numbers outside Hong Kong. It would seem that they may reasonably look for local promotion in the absence of
favourable opportunities elsewhere.
(b) The local candidates have the great advantage of local experience, which must be particularly valuable in present
conditions.
(c) Owing to the extreme shortage of experienced Solicitor candidates it is doubtful whether outside Colonies could spare key men for these posts without early replacements, which would be hard to find. We already have several unfilled vacancies for Registrars and Assistant Registrars of various
kinds.
(a) It is not every officer who would wish to exchange the comparative security of Africa for the disturbed and uncertain conditions now prevailing in Hong Kong.
None of these reasons is conclusive in itself. It may be thought that collectively they establish a strong case for approving the Governor's recommendations.
? As in draft herewith.
Chun.
30 May, 1949.
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