PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :--
ELEC.O. 882
9
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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164
No. 89.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN to GOVERNOR SIR F. A. SWETTENHAM.
(No. 286.) SIR,
[Answered by No. 121.]
Downing Street, September 24, 1902.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 295, of the 12th ultimo,* submitting a scheme of sterling salaries for the Federated Malay States Forest Department.
2. Before approving this scheme, I should be glad of further explanations on the following points.
3. I do not understand whether you propose that the Conservator of Forests shall always be an officer of the Indian Woods and Forests Department, seconded for three years. If so, there appears to be some objection to entrusting an important administrative department to the control of a series of officers whose main interests would naturally be in India rather than in the Federated Malay States, and whom it would be impossible to regard as responsible for the administration to the same extent as a permanent chief.
4. It is improbable, too, that the Indian Government would consent to such an arrangement; especially as they have lately declared themselves unable to lend any officer to Ceylon for a similar post.
5. If, on the other hand, you intend to adopt other arrangements when the period of Mr. Burn-Murdoch's appointment has expired, I should be glad to know what course is contemplated.
6. In your Straits Settlements despatch, No. 323, of the 1st ultimo,t you explain the proposed reduction of the salary of the Director of Gardens, Singapore, by the fact that "the Colony has, in conjunction with the Federated Malay States, just appointed a trained Forest Officer on £750 a year, and as this appointment must relieve the Director of Gardens of all Forest work, it appeared only natural that the opportunity should be taken to reduce the salary on the occurrence of the next vacancy." I cannot well assent to the suggested reduction until I know what permanent arrangements are contemplated in regard to the Conservatorship; for Mr. Burn-Murdoch's temporary appointment can clearly not be taken into account in fixing a sterling salary for the Directorship in view of a future vacancy.
7. I assume that you do not propose to increase Mr. Burn-Murdoch's salary from £750 to £800 a year.
8. In a note to the scheme you say that application has been made to India for an officer to fill the post of Deputy Conservator of Forests (First Grade), Pahang, on a salary of £500 a year. I assume that the appointment was regarded as a matter of urgency, which did not allow of my approval being obtained in the ordinary course; but it would have been better to have reported at the time that the applica. tion had been made.
9. A further note states that the office of Deputy Conservator of Forests (Second Grade), Negri Sembilan, is held by Mr. Hudson, transferred from Malacca on a salary of £360. I do not understand from this whether or not it is intended to raise Mr. Hudson's salary to the scale of £420 to £480 provided in the scheme.
10. The Superintendents of the Experimental Plantations and of the Govern- ment Gardens, Perak, are not entered in the scheme. I suppose that they will be placed under the Conservator of Forests.
new.
11. Certain of the appointments provided for in the scheme are stated to be I gather that the appointment of Deputy Conservator of Forests, Pahang,
is also a new post.
165
12. I note that you expect promotion in the Forest Department to be slow. In that case it might be well to provide a third increment in the lower grades. This has been done in the case of the Hong Kong Civil Service, promotion in which cannot be expected to be very rapid.
I have, &c.,
38390
J. CHAMBERLAIN.
No. 90.
HONG-KONG.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN to GOVERNOR SIR H. A. BLAKE.
(No. 307.)
SIR,
Downing Street, September 24, 1902. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Sir W. J. Gascoigne's despatch, No. 361, of the 15th ultimo,* in which it is proposed that the Director of the Observatory should, if he elects to come under the provisions of the sterling scheme of salaries for Hong-Kong, be allowed to retain the privilege of counting the value of his free quarters for pension.
2. The loss of the privilege of counting the value of free quarters for pension is, in my view, an integral part of the sterling scheme, and I regret that I am accordingly unable to see my way to sanction the exception proposed in the case of Dr. Doberck.
3. Future officers will be debarred from counting the value of free quarters for pension by Section 2 of Rule No. 13 of the Pension Minute forwarded in Sir W. J. Gascoigne's despatch, No. 326, of the 24th of July last.†
4. I should be glad if you would issue in due course a notification in regard to the loss of this privilege by existing officers on promotion, as suggested in paragraph of my despatch to the Governor of the Straits Settlements, No. 178, of the 6th of June last,t a copy of which was sent to the Officer Administering the Government in my despatch, No. 165, of the same date,† and transmit copies to this Department for purposes of record.
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No. 91.
I have, &c.,
J. CHAMBERLAIN.
>
FEDERATED MALAY STATES.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN to HIGH COMMISSIONER SIR F. A. SWETTENHAM.
(No. 289.)
Downing Street, September 26, 1902.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 282, of the 19th of July last, I discussing, in connection with a memorial from Mr. C. E. Wilson, the question of granting double exchange compensation to officers serving on agree-
ments.
2. I regret that paragraph 5 of my despatch, No. 175, of the 6th of June last,§ appears to have been open to misconstruction. I did not intend to suggest that the question of granting double exchange compensation to an officer serving under a
§ No. 64.
• No. 88.
↑ Not printed.
‡ No. 80.
* No. 86.
† No. 84.