| PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TELEC.O. 882
6
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
110
3. As you are aware, the Government Service in the Federated Malay States, until recently, was supplied locally; and, until the Cadet Scheme was extended to Malaya, no qualifying or competitive examination was passed and no bond was required on joining. On the other hand the nature of the duties required was some- what special; the States are only Protected, not British territory, the language spoken everywhere is Malay, the privileges of rulers and chiefs had to be considered, as well as the customs and peculiarities of the people. Again, the area of the Federated Malay States is large (almost exactly equal to that of Ceylon), while the country was at first almost entirely jungle-without roads, railways, telegraphs, or any other sign of civilised government. All this is changed now, and, with the change, the official ranks are recruited on terms identical with those which obtain in the Straits, in Ceylon and Hongkong. Lastly, while the conditions of life for Europeans have been vastly improved, the fact that these States are essentially mining countries, and off the beaten track of steam communication with England and the rest of the world, renders the cost of living very high, and, as is so often the case in newly deve- loped tropical places, the climate is exceptionally trying to Europeans, especially to those the nature of whose work compels them to expose themselves to the weather at all hours of the day.
4. For these reasons, and after very careful consideration, I have decided to ask you to make the Sterling rates of salary in the Federated Malay States the same as those in the Straits Settlements, without regard to the fact that all Native States officers are granted free quarters. I set the extra cost of living in Malaya against the free quarters, and I consider that, if granted, there will be a slight pecuniary advantage on the side of those who serve in the Federated Malay States.
If you agree to this proposal, I recommend that neither the Resident-General, the Residents, nor any other officers, should be allowed to count the value of quarters for pension purposes; while, as already decided, a small annual charge should be made for the use of furniture in fully furnished houses.
5. In submitting my proposals for the Federated Malay States I am obliged to say that I do not recommend them with quite the same confidence as those I have made for the Colony; but any hesitation I feel does not apply to the scheme itself, I strongly recom- but to its possible application to those who are now in the Service. mend the scheme, and you will decide how far those who were in the Service prior to 1st August last may be allowed to benefit by it. I am so convinced that our existing methods of payment are wrong, they are the constant cause of so many difficulties and misconceptions, while sterling payments promise so large a measure of finality and so many obvious advantages, that I am anxious, even at some sacrifice, to secure its adoption now, if not in its entirety, at least largely, instead of adhering strictly to the rule that it cannot be applied to anyone who was already in the Service on August 1st, 1901. To observe that rule would, of course, mean that there would still be officers on dollar salaries 25 or 30 years hence.
6. In paragraph 9 of my despatch* forwarding the Straits Settlements Scheme, I have said that, with but few exceptions, the officers now in the Service might be permitted to join the scheme. But there, for reasons which I fully explained to you, realise that possibly not half the Service would avail themselves of that offer, if it were made. In the Federated Malay States, on the other hand, I think that the majority would desire to take the sterling terms if permitted to do so, but it might be advisable to refuse a considerable number of applicants. The reasons are these- In accordance with your instructions, and my own strong feeling, I have aimed at a sterling scheme for the Federated Malay States as nearly identical with that of the Colony as I could make it. Such a scheme is very much more favourable to the Federated Malay States, because the officers in that Service have hitherto been paid at lower rates. The consequence is that, from Class I. downwards, as you will see by comparing columns 3 and 4 of the scheme, the sterling rates will give such an imme- diate advantage that it more than counterbalances the loss of such privileges as leave pay at 4s, and pension at 3s. 8d. But while the higher officers in the Colonial Service are men with nearly thirty years' service, who entered as Cadets and have a claim
• No. 48.
111
to every consideration, those who hold similar appointments in the Federated Malay States are (with the exception of Mr. Hare and Mr. Watson, Straits Cadets) men with 11 (Mr. Berrington) to 22 (Mr. Hewett) years' service, who are not covenanted servants, and have passed none of the examinations obligatory on Cadets. Going down the list through Classes II., III., IV. and V., the comparative advantages of the Sterling Scheme are more marked, while some of the officers who hold the posts included in these classes cannot claim the educational qualifications of Cadets. Indeed, there are posts in Class V. which are now held by officers who, while they do their present work satisfactorily, would probably not be recommended for promotion to a higher class. On the other hand, the Federated Malay States have been brought to their present state of prosperity mainly by the exertions of the officers who were in the Service prior to 1st August, 1901; though the credit belongs rather to those who have served a long than a short time. I recognise that, in introducing such a scheme as this, it is impossible to provide with perfect satisfaction for every case, and, if some who do not deserve the full advantages of the proposals were to gain, I should still be prepared to recommend that all be allowed to come on to the scheme, if all would elect to do so. The difficulty is that, while only those [? some] will give up dollar salaries and their present privileges for a manifest sterling gain, it is perhaps not strictly right that the pay and prospects of unsatisfactory servants should be improved by letting them claím terms intended to remunerate officers of the Cadet class. However this point may be decided as regards the others, I consider that all Cadets, whatever the date of their appointment, should be allowed to come on to the Sterling Scheme.
7. It is, I think, clear that whether you confine the Sterling Scheme to those who joined after the 1st August last, whether you give all now in the service the option of taking it, or whether, as I have suggested, the Government exercises its discretion in the matter, the result must be that, both in the Colony and the Federated Malay States, there will be a number of officers on dollar rates and a number on sterling rates. I conclude, therefore, that those who elect, or are compelled, to remain on dollar salaries, will have a claim to (or at any rate a reasonable expectation of receiving) promotion to a higher appointment also on a dollar basis, with all its exchange com- pensation, leave pay, pension and other privileges. If it could be done without in- justice, I should prefer a rule to the effect that promotion, at any rate to a higher class, must, if the Government so directs, be on the sterling salary allotted to the post.
8. As stated in my despatch* on the Straits Sterling Scheme, it is not possible to provide the number of appointments in Class I., which those who have joined as Cadets would like to see there. Excluding Staff appointments there are 42 posts in the Straits Scheme, divided into five classes; whereas, in the Federated Malay States Scheme, there are 97 posts divided into six classes. In the Federated Malay States the comparison is favourable in all except the first two classes, and, if the Residents be added to Class I., there will be ten appointments against four in the Colony. No doubt, for a considerable time, the Residents will be chosen from officers in this Service, but I have put these appointments on the staff in accordance with the decision already arrived at, and because I think your discretion in filling these vacan- cies should not be hampered by a definite undertaking to limit your choice to Federated Malay States Cadets.
9. As the scheme was being prepared I have consulted the Resident-General, his Secretary (Mr. Marks), and more recently four Cadets, Messrs. Mason (Pahang), Walter (Perak), Dyson (Negri Sembilan), and Pountney (Selangor). I have met the views of these last as far as I was able, but I could not comply with their recommenda- tions to put ten appointments in Class I., or to raise the salaries in Class IV. to £600 to £660, and in Class V. to £480 to £540. I may remark that in the scheme for professional appointments there are (as in the Colony) good posts which will be open, but not confined, to Cadets who are qualified to hold them; while the apparent dispro- portion in the numbers of posts in the lower classes-inevitable as it seems to me- might be reduced by taking out a number of posts (such as the District Treasurers in Class V., the Inspector and Assistant Inspector of Schools and Deputy Registrar of Courts, Taiping, in Class VI.), which hitherto have been filled by officers who had not joined either as Cadets, or as those who preceded them with the title of Junior Officer.
• No. 48.