PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O.885
19 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
218
APPENDIX X.-continued.
and they decide themselves all matters of policy or of special importance, but it would be very different matter to conduct satisfactorily the details of a large branch office. It appears to the Orown Agents that the point for consideration is whether there is any advantage in efficiency or economy to be gained by such a change, and the Crown Agents have never been able to satisfy themselves that there would be. The principal function of the shipping agents is to secure the lowest possible rates. This matter has not been much gone into in the evidence, but the Crown Agents feel confident that the shipping agents do their work in a very satisfactory manner. A Government Depart ment would be at considerable disadvantage in such business. There is no-doubt that in some case special terms are given by brokers to agents in their line of business and to no others. The custom may be partly due to the fact that the agents are known to possess full information, and partly to the fact that agents are a convenience in many lines of busi- ness, and it pays the trade to keep them going. This consideration might not be very weighty when the shipping is of a fairly ordinary character and confined to a few ports or to consignments of a generally similar character. But the shipping business of the Crown Agents is probably the most complicated and varied in the world, and it is clearly of the first importance that it should be conducted by men who are recognised universally as being in the trade, and who are, so to speak, steeped in rates and shipping practice.
The Sub Committee inquired at some length from Mr. J. Foster as to the manner in which the shipping business of the Army and Navy Stores is conducted. Their business is, however, so different from that of the Crown Agents that no useful comparison can be made. Thus it is stated by Mr. Foster that they ship some 4,000 consignments a year. These are mostly to individuals and quite small, while the largest he can remember was 500 or 600 tons, probably to one of their Indian depôts. The business of the Crown Agents entailed 10.580 bills of lading and parcel receipts in seven months, or about 18,000 in à year. Many of these include several consignments, some of which are very large indeed. Thus last June 4,351 packages were shipped on a single bill of lading. The Army and Navy Stores' shipments are almost all in cases and bales of ordinary size, the bulk of which are probably packed on their own premises and shipped from London. Those of the Crown Agents include such difficult things as locomotives, rolling stock, vessels in sections or carried whole on deck. bridge work, havy boilers, machinery, and an infinite variety of complicated special articles, including dangerous articles and live-stock, for the freight on which special bargains must be made in each case. More- over, they deal with orders of great size, up to 10,000 or 20,000 tons and more, while in some cases steamers have to be chartered to carry whole cargoes. These considerations will show that the arrangements of the Army and Navy Stores are no guide to those suitable for the work of the Crown Agents.
When it is considered that the rates for the freight engaged amount to a very large sum, it will be seen that the question of the charge paid to Messrs. Free- lands is quite a secondary one, and a reference to the evidence shows that their working expenses amount to from 65 to 70 per cent. of their receipta.
If the Crown Agents took over the work they might perhaps be able to secure competent officials for the management of the branch at lower salaries than the sums usually received by the firm; but it is certain that in all other directions, notably in the payment of agents at ports other than London, expenses would be considerably greater. A much heavier ront would have to be paid with attendant expenses all round, and the staff would agitate for and no doubt obtain increases of salary.
Mr. Foster explained that the Army and Navy Stores formerly employed shipping agents, but now does the work itself. No attempt was made to compare the rates obtained under the new system with those under the old. Mr. Foster briefly observed, "we cannot see the use of a middleman at all: so we do not study the point." The Crown Agents would have thought that the question was one of fact, and that a comparison should have been made. But in any case the analogy would hardly have been conclusive, as the agents were, we believe, not shipping agents in the sense in which the term is here used, but a general firm of commission agents (Messrs. Grindlay). The main point is that the shipping of such houses as the Army and, Navy Stores is practically in handy packages, whereas the most important part of the Crown Agents' shipments is of heavy material, and frequently of sizes difficult to deal with, for which rates have to be specially negotiated and the character and dimensions of the ship's space studied. The Committee will appreciate the consideration that the work to be done is mainly that of bargaining, and that there is no evidence and no reason to doubt that this is thoroughly well done. The Colonial Governments, which are well acquainted with the rates paid by private traders, rarely raise questions as to the terms obtained, and the Crown agents have found on mapy occasions that the ship- ping agents have shipped at much lower rates than those which manufacturing firms in this country have been able to obtain.
The Committee will also realise that the Crown Agents could not exercise control of these matters or management of the business to the same extent as they can in their own office. The branch must be in the City, and the persons employed must have more responsibility and less supervision. This is not a desirable position in the case of a staff in the Govern. ment service, and it would be imprudent to anticipate as good work as that done by a firm which depends upon the character of the results for a continuance of the business.
The Crown Agents submit that the evidence shows no sufficient case for a change of so lubious a character.
Some of the questions of members of the Sub-Com- mittee were evidently asked under the supposition that there is considerable overlap between the func tions of the Crown Agents and of their shipping agents. This is not the case, and there is no more overlap than in any business which, owing to its size, is necessarily divided into departments,
The Sub-Committee also appear to suggest that un- necessary steps are taken by the shipping agents after goods have left the works of the manufacturers in looking after their consignment to the Colonies. This, however is not the case. A large proportion of the requirements of the Colonial Governments are repre sented as being of an urgent character, and any delay in the despatch of goods or their receipt in ■ damaged condition would far outweigh the slight extra labour which is now involved in looking after the goods while they are in course of shipment
The Crown Agents have not overlooked the possibility of establishing an arrangement somewhat on the lines of that adopted by the India Office. There most of the routine work done by the Crown Agents' shipping agents is done in the office of the Director of Stores, and the duty of the shipping agents is chiefly advising on rates. Here again comparison is of little value. Although the character of the goods dealt in by the India Office is nearer than in any other establishment to that of the Crown Agents, the work is done in widely different conditions. The India Office ship- ments, both in total amount and individually, are much larger. Moreover, they are all made to a few ports and by relatively few lines of steamers. Thus the India Office are in a commanding position with regard to these lines, and can take a position which is not open to the Crown Agents, whose smaller busi- ness is spread over a great number of lines. Moreover, the smaller lines of Indian goods are in many in- stances collected and packed in the Indian Govern- ment warehouse, and thus can be despatched in fairly large consignments instead of each little order being separately shipped as is necessary with the Crown Agenta. These and other considerations completely differentiate the India Office business from that of the Crown Agents. The Crown Agents consider the to adapt the India Office system to their own business would conduce neither to efficiency nor economy.
Finally, the Crown Agents would point out that one special branch of their shipping business should be borne in mind, viz., the necessity for expert advice when important freight negotiations have to be under- taken. At the present time the Colonial Office are requiring the advice of the Crown Agents and of their shipping agents on points arising in connection with the East African freight question, and at the present moment negotiations are in progress with Sir A. Jones as to the terms on which the materials for the Baro- Kano Railway should be conveyed up the Niger next
seanon.
It is quite certain that on this point and in respect of the steps which will have to be taken in the future to break the freight monopoly which at present, exists
See dence 2
APPENDIX X.-continued,
on the West Coast of Africa the Crown Agents would be much handicapped in dealing with Sir A. Jones if they were deprived of the assistance and expert knowledge of their shipping agents.
PACKING AND INSPECTION,
The Crown Agents do not gather that any question arises on Mr. Hayter's evidence except that a com- parison should be made between the cost of this system and that of carrying out the inspection and packing at the contractor's works. This matter has often been considered, and in an exceptional case now and then it has been decided not to bring the goods to London; but, generally speaking, it is clear that the cost of sending the inspector to the works plus the value of the time occupied in travelling is greater than the extra expense entailed by bringing the goods to London. The packing for bringing to London is much less than for export. The Committee will understand that this course is not taken with heavy
219
goods, the inspection of which is carried out at the works, but only in the case of textiles and the like. In the latter cases the railway transport is a small item, but the inspection has to be minute and detailed and pressing and packing done skilfully, and often in ways specially directed. The system has the further advantage that it ensures that no goods are despatched which have not been passed by the inspector, and substitution through carelessness or fraud is rendered impossible; even putting aside such cases thortages due to carelessness would be a constant cause of irritation, and complaints of faulty packing would certainly be numerous, as the require- ments are very varied and strict. Summing up this matter, the question of cost is always considered, and whenever practicable the inspection is carried out at the works: the goods went to London represent the business in which this cannot be economically done.
Crown Agents' Office,
APPENDIX XI.
23rd November, 1906.
MEMORANDUM BY THE CROWN AGENTS ON THE SALARIES OF THEIR STAFF. (See No. 4097.)
The salaries paid in recent years have been governed
to a great extent by the scale of salaries specified in the insurance scheme of the office, dated 22nd August, 1895, which lays down that:-
1. Members with salaries above £450 may insure
for £3,000.
2. Members with salaries between £300 and £450
may insure for £2,000.
3. Members with salaries up to £300 may insure
for £1,500.
Prior to that date there had been no classification in the salaries of the office, and the insurance scheme brought about the division of the staff into three classes, viz. :-
Class 1-Heads of Department - £450 upwards. Class 11-Deputy Heads of Department £300 to £150. Class III-Bank and File
- £00 to £300.
Subsequently-viz., in January, 1901-& further class (IV.) was created, corresponding to the Lower Division of the Civil Service, with salaries ranging from £50/70 to £250. The copying clerks paid by the hour being classified us Class V.
In the past there has been no fixed system with regard to the amount of increment payable, but the increments have been such as appeared to the Crown Agents to be proper and reasonable with reference to the merits of each particular member of the staff. recent years, however, the tendency has been, in the absence of any exceptional circumstances, to give in- crements at the rate of :-
£25 to Class I.
£20 to Class II.
£15 to section heads in Class III.
£10 to the remaining members of Class III.
In
and in the case of Class IV. increments generally corresponding with, but rather better than those granted in the case of the Lower Division of the Civil Bervice.
The re-organisation of the staff which has been going on since the establishment of the IVth Class (Lower Division) in January, 1901, resulted in a con- siderable number of the IIIrd Class being practically redundant as they were not required as section heads and the work they were doing was such as could be carried on by IVth Class clerks. At one time there were 14 men redundant. to Class III. This number has been gradually reduced by retirement on pension or gratuities and by appointment to posts in the Colonies, and very shortly there will only remain two men redundant to the class. These men will, how- ever, have to remain redundant until they are retired on pension, as neither of them will be fit to be made into section heads. Both are getting on in years.
The office as at present organised consists of:-
3 Crown Agents.
1 Secretary.
⚫ 21
8 Heads of Department (Class I.).
11 Deputy Heads of Department (Class II.).
23 Section Heads (Class III.).
64 Clerks (Class IV.).
55 Copyists (Class V.).
20 Lady Clerks.
The number of section heads, IVth Class clerks, copyists and lady clerks must always vary with the work of the office.
As stated at the beginning of this memorandum, the salaries have been considered to be:-
Class 1.- £450 upwards. Class II.-£300 to £450.
Class III. £90 to £300.
Class IV.-£50/70 to £250.
Class V. Copyists payable by the hour accord- ing to Civil Service scale.
Lady clerks-£70 to £150 with four superior appointments, two rising to £200 and two rising
to £250.
There have, however, been certain anomalies in the salaries drawn by particular members of the staff due to the necessity of recognising individual claims.
With the view of improving the position of the staff and in recognition of the growing importance of the office, the Crown Agents have for some time had in contemplation the desirability of placing the re- organisation of the office on a more definite footing, but they have been hampered by the fact that the work of the Transvaal and of the Orange River Colony, for which they had had to increase the staff largely, was of a precarious nature, and that they had a considerable number of men of Class III redundant to the new organisation. This latter con- sideration has now practically ceased to exist, and the work of the Transvaal and Orange River Colony is also almost at an end. Fortunately its place has, to a great extent, been taken by the growing require- ments of Nigeria, Ceylon and the Malay States.
In these circumstances the Crown Agents are now in a position to put before the Secretary of State their views as to the salaries which they desire to give in future to their staff. The classification of the stai and the salaries which they consider suitable are as follows:-
CLABS IV. CLERKS-RANK AND FILE. £70/100 to £250, by incrementa in general accord- ance with the Lower Division of the Civil Service. See Crown Agents' minute of January, 1901.
CLASS III-SECTION HEADS.
A. Clerical Staff.
£100, by increments of £15, to £300 in the case of the sub-section heads, and to £350 in the case of the senior section heads.
EE 2