PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
PILTIC.O. 882
6
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
36466
SIR,
184
No. 99.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN to GOVERNOR SIR F. A. SWETTENHAM.
(No. 297.)
Downing Street, October 8, 1902.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 323, of the 1st August, on the subject of the scheme of sterling salaries for the Straits Settle- ments Government Service.
my
de- 2. I note your anticipation that the option which, in accordance with cision, may be exercised by officers transferred hereafter from the Colony to the Feder- ated Malay States or Hong Kong may be taken advantage of in an unfair manner; but I do not regard the risk as very serious.
3. As regards paragraph 6 of your despatch, I have to refer you to paragraph 7 of my des- of my despatch, No. 341, of the 1st November last,t and to paragraph patch, No. 73, of the 10th of March last, and to point out that the decision laid down in those paragraphs was not limited to new posts created in the interval before the coming into force of the Sterling Scheme. Appointments which may be created after the scheme comes into force must be open to every qualified officer as at present, and no distinction should be made between officers on sterling and officers on dollar salaries. in selecting an officer for appointment to such a post. What was said in paragraph 7 of my despatch, of 1st November last,† in regard to the retention of exchange privi- leges by officers on dollar salaries who may be appointed to newly-created posts will apply to all such cases. It appears to me that such an arrangement, although at first sight it may seem to be inconsistent with the policy of Sterling Salaries, is the only one that will not conflict with the decision to leave officers a perfectly free choice between accepting and rejecting the new system of salaries.
4. In view of the arguments put forward in paragraph 7 of your despatch, I am prepared to agree to the increase of the salary of the Colonial Secretary to £1,700 a year, and of that of the Resident Councillor at Penang to £1,500 a year; but I cannot agree to these officers being exempted from the payment of house-rent.
5. I have dealt with the question of the salary of the Director of Gardens in connection with your despatch submitting a scheme of sterling salaries for the Forest Department in the Federated Malay States.
6. I have addressed you in another despatch§ in regard to the terms on which the two vacancies for schoolmasters should be offered to candidates.
34425
SIR,
No. 100.
I have, &c.,
J. CHAMBERLAIN.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN to GOVERNOR SIR F. A. SWETTENHAM. (No. 301.)
Downing Street, October 8, 1902. REFERRING to paragraph 6 of my despatch, No. 183, of the 13th June last, || and to the first paragraph of the enclosure to your despatch 317, of 23rd July, I have the honour to point out that it has now been decided to convert sterling salaries into dollars, for the purposes of payment in the Colony, at the monthly rate now adopted for exchange compensation, viz., the average market rate at Singapore for the month preceding the 15th day of the current month.
2. It will clearly not be convenient to telegraph that rate every month to the Crown Agents, and I am, therefore, of opinion that in order to meet the case of sub- ordinate officers hereafter appointed in the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States, who may, in future, come to this country on leave of absence, and who will be
↑ No. 37.
‡ No. 55.
| No. 69. í Not printed.
• No. 84.
No. 81.
185.
entitled to draw their salaries only at the current rate of exchange, it will be best to lay down that for this purpose the expression "current rate of exchange" shall mean the rate of exchange current in London on the day when the salary becomes due.
3. This can be carried out by simply stating on the leave certificates of the officers concerned that they are entitled to draw their salaries in England at the current rate of exchange.
I have, &c.,
42332
SIR,
No. 101.
FEDERATED MALAY STATES.
J. CHAMBERLAIN.
HIGH COMMISSIONER SIR F. A. SWETTENHAM to MR. CHAMBERLAIN. (Received October 13, 1902.) [Answered by No. 109.]
(No. 341.)
Government House, Singapore, September 16, 1902.
In continuation of my despatch, No. 329, of the 4th instant, on the subject of the revised Scheme of sterling salaries for the Federated Malay States, I have the honour to enclose copy of a letter from the Resident-General, Federated Malay States, which will explain how it happened that certain Police Appointments were accidentally omitted from the Sterling Scheme originally forwarded to you in January last.t
2. The appointments in question have now been included in the finally revised lists forwarded with my despatch above quoted.
SIR,
Enclosure in No. 101.
I have, &c.,
F. A. SWETTENHAM.
RESIDENT-GENERAL to HIGH COMMISSIONER.
(No. R.G. 5592/1902.)
Resident-General's Office, Selangor, September 2, 1902.
I HAVE the honour to report that yesterday I despatched the following telegram to Your Excellency (as decyphered):—
"
Parry, Assistant Commissioner Police, Taiping, $2,100, £350-£400; Conlay, Assistant Commissioner Police, Selangor, $2,400, £420-£480; New Ap- pointment, Assistant Commissioner Police, Negri Sembilan, $2,400, £420 £480, approved in your Memorandum, November 23rd, see my confi- dential letter, 102, 5th December, accidentally omitted from Professional Scheme. May I add them?"
2. These appointments were originally included in the proposed Sterling Scheme for the Cadet Service, which was forwarded under cover of my confidential letter, No. 102, of the 10th October, 1901. Subsequently, in accordance with the instructions contained in Your Excellency's Memorandum of the 23rd November, the appointments were deleted from the Cadet Scheme, the intention being to insert them in the list of Professional Appointments.
3. In this connection I would invite Your Excellency's attention to paragraph 1 of a Memorandum by Mr. Pountney enclosed in my confidential letter, No. 102, of the 5th December, showing the arrangement of the Police Appointments. It reads as follows:-
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#
Police Appointments. Of the eight Police Appointments included in the original list-one-the Commissioner of Police, Federated Malay States, has been excised from the present list and does not appear in the Pro- fessional List; four-the Deputy Commissioners of Perak and Selangor and Negri Sembilan combined, and the Assistant Commissioners in Perak
• No. 92.
† No. 48.
A