503
68
5. I have carefully considered with my principal Advisers whether Commission referred to above should also be entrusted with duty of advising as to reorganization and retrenchment, and have decided in the negative. I doubt if Commission could effect much more than we can do ourselves, and fear that inquiries of this nature now would dislocate work of department to extent that would make smooth introduction of new Constitution difficult.
9. I should be grateful if I could receive your views on paragraphs 6 and 7 by Monday morning at the latest, so as to enable me to discuss with Executive Council on Tuesday morning before meeting of Legislative Council.
C. 73230/9/30 [No. 39].
No. 26.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR. (Sent 6 p.m., 12th September, 1930.)
TELEGRAM.
No. 117. CONFIDENTIAL. Your telegram of the 10th September, No. 140," I approve your proposals. In event of supplementary provision in respect of existing passage privileges, holiday warrants, and house-rents being refused when required I shall be prepared to approve resort to certification. You may at your discretion inform the Legislative Council in the sense of my telegram of 2nd September, 1929,† adding that the sum involved could have no material effect on the financial position and the impairment of the existing conditions of service of Government officers can have no justification on this ground. I approve your proposals as regards new works and salaries of officers not in Civil List. I agree to announcement proposed in para- graphs 7 and 8 of your telegram.-PASSFIELD.
No. 27.
I.
69
As regards the report of the Salaries Committee on Civil List Salaries I propose to take no action. I do not consider that it would be desirable, either from the financial point of view or from that of expediency, to put forward any proposals involving an increase in the pay of any class of public officers during the present financial crisis. I shall leave it for the State Council to initiate action on that report should they so desire.
6. The question of reorganization with a view to the reduction of unnecessary establishments continues to engage my attention. I have taken action to postpone the filling of the majority of the new apppointments, provision for which was made in the estimates, and have issued orders that no vacancies occurring during the year shall be filled without the sanction of the Government. This will give me an opportunity of considering, on the occurrence of any vacancy, whether the vacant post can be sup- pressed altogether, or the filling of it postponed until the financial situation improves. A considerable number of temporary appointments, particularly in the Public Works Department and Medical Department, are being suppressed. The reorganization of pensionable establishments, however, is a problem of considerable complexity, and I am doubtful whether, the offer of an independent Commission from England having been rejected, any good purpose would be served by the appointment of a local Com- mission. I propose to discuss this question shortly with my Executive Council, and will not fail to inform Your Lordship of the result.
I have, &c.,
C. 73230/9/30 [No. 43].
No. 28.
H. J. STANLEY,
Governor.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR.
(Confidential.)
SIR.
Downing Street, 14th January, 1931.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Confidential despatch
of the 26th of November* on the subject of the appointment of a Salaries Commis-
sion, and to inform you that I accept the views expressed therein.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
། །
Reference:-
mmmmmm.C.O.882/11
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
C. 73230/9/30 [No. 41].
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 15th December, 1930.)
(Confidential.)
MY LORD,
[Answered by No. 28.]
Queen's Cottage, Nuwara Eliya, 26th November, 1930.
I HAVE the honour to invite a reference to the correspondence ending with Mr. Bourdillon's telegram of 27th August, on the subject of the appointment of a Salaries Commission, and also to the 7th paragraph of my telegram No. 140 of 10th September, 1930.*
2. During the course of the debate on the third reading of the Budget, the Colonial Secretary announced that the Government were ready, if the Legislative Council so desired, to ask Your Lordship to appoint an impartial Commission to formulate a scheme of salaries on a Ceylonese basis, with overseas allowances, and to refer to this Commission the question of passage allowances and other privileges, and also the question of the cadre of the superior services. He added that the recom- mendations of this Commission would not be carried into effect without the approval of the Legislative Council or the State Council as the case might be.
3. Informal discussion with Unofficial Members immediately after the announce- ment made it clear that they were not much in favour of the idea of a Commission. After giving them further time for consideration the Colonial Secretary repeated the proposal in Finance Committee on 31st October, and it was rejected almost unanimously.
4. In these circumstances I propose to allow the question of a scheme of Cey- lonese pay and overseas allowances to stand over for the present. I see no hope of arriving at any reasonable scheme through the medium of a locally appointed Committee, but hope that the State Council, when it comes into being, may be disposed to tackle the question in a more reasonable spirit than the present Council.
* N... 23.
+ C. 63393/29 [No. 2]: mat. printed.
No. 24.
C. 73230/9/30 [No. 45].
No. 29.
I have, &c.,
PASSFIELD.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 16th February, 1931.)
(Confidential.)
MY LORD,
Queen's Cottage, Nuwara Eliya, 23rd January, 1931. WITH reference to the concluding sentence in paragraph 6 of my Confidential despatch of the 26th November, 1930, I have the honour to inform Your Lordship that the question of the appointment of a local Commission to consider the cadres of the various departments was considered in Executive Council, and it was decided that no action should be taken in the matter.
I have, &c.,
* No. 27.
H. J. STANLEY,
Governor.