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།།། ། །

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

6

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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134

5. I have given strict orders that everybody appointed to a post carrying a sterling salary shall be distinctly warned that payments will be made in dollars on the principle laid down by you, but if the value of silver continues to fall there is little doubt that in their case also dissatisfaction would be avoided by the adoption of the course recommended in the previous paragraph. I am told that no special trouble would be caused thereby, and there would be no loss to Government, as the intention is to pay to every officer the sterling rates or their exact equivalent in dollars.

6. Had the rate of exchange remained at about the same figure, or had the price of silver slightly increased, there would, of course, have been no complaint, but as it is the rule has caused considerable dissatisfaction, and It appears to me that it will, in the long run, be as much to the advantage of the Government as of its officers to pay salaries at the monthly rate of exchange.

18659

No. 63.

I have, &c.,

F. A. SWETTENHAM.

STRAITS: FEDERATED MALAY STATES.

MR. CHAMBERLAIN to GOVERNOR SIR F. A. SWETTENHAM.

(No. 141.)

[Answered by No. 83.]

Downing Street, May 30, 1902.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 136, of the 15th ultimo,* forwarding a memorial from Mr. A. M. Burn-Murdoch, who asks that his salary of £750 a year may be paid to him at the current rate of exchange.

2. I agree with the view which is stated in paragraphs 3 and 4 of your despatch under acknowledgment to the effect that Mr. Burn-Murdoch, and every other officer who has been appointed on a sterling salary without the condition as to the conversion of his salary into dollars at an annual rate of exchange, should be paid at a monthly rate of exchange on the same system as has hitherto been followed in regard to ex- change compensation. I informed you accordingly in my telegram of the 24th instant.t You proceed to suggest that it will in the long run be as much to the advantage of Government as to that of its officers to pay sterling salaries at a monthly rate of exchange, but I shall be glad if you will further consider the matter, before a final decision is taken.

4. The present method of paying the exchange compensation allowance at a rate based on the average exchange rate of the preceding month is open to the objection that it is not possible to forecast accurately the expenditure under this head, when the annual estimates are prepared, and while I do not wish to alter this system, which will gradually disappear as the number of officers receiving exchange compensation is lessened, I am inclined to deprecate its extension to the new sterling salaries.

5. It should also be borne in mind that the adoption of an annual rate of exchange, when applied to a series of years and not merely to a particular year, can involve no ultimate loss, either to Government or to its officers.

6727

SIR,

No. 64.

I have, &c.,

J. CHAMBERLAIN.

STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.

MR. CHAMBERLAIN to GOVERNOR SIR F. A. SWETTENHAM, (No. 175.)

Downing Street, June 6, 1902.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 29, or the 22nd January last, on the subject of the grant of increased exchange compensation

‡ No. 50,

• No. 02.

† 18659: not printed.

135

to existing members of the Government Service in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States.

2. The question raised in paragraph 3 of your despatch, in regard to the rights of officers who elect to remain on dollar salaries has been answered in my despatch, No. 73, of the 10th March last.*

3. As regards paragraph 5, I have to point out that, as appears from paragraph 1 of the letter from the Resident-General, enclosed in your Federated Malay States despatch, No. 147, of the 23rd April last,† you have already decided, in accordance with the suggestion made in my despatch, No. 385, of the 28th December, 1900,† that officers serving on agreements but not " on purely temporary agreements--that is for the execution of a specific work, such as railway construction," although not en- titled under their agreements to exchange" compensation on half their salary, shall nevertheless be given this privilege.

4. If it is found possible, in considering the question of the grant of exchange compensation on half the salary of an officer, to discriminate between those officers who are likely to be retained permanently on the expiry of their agreements, and those whose engagement is purely temporary, it does not seem clear why trouble should be caused by attempting to discriminate in the same way, in the matter of the grant of exchange compensation on the whole salary.

5. I am therefore disposed to adhere to the suggestion put forward in para- graph 10 of my despatch, No. 341, of the 1st November last, viz., that exchange compensation should be given on the whole salary in cases where it is intended to retain the officer's services permanently, on the expiry of his agreement, whether the agree- ment is silent in regard to the grant of exchange compensation, or distinctly provides for exchange compensation on half the salary.

6. This ruling will, of course, cover the case of Mr. F. Chapman, whose memorial was forwarded in your Federated Malay States despatch, No. 135, of the 17th April last. I may add that in Mr. Chapman's case I am advised that the wording of Clause 5 of his agreement, "The person engaged will be paid exchange compensation. in accordance with regulations in force in the Service" is quite general, and the words "for the time being," are necessarily implied as qualifying the words "in force." In order to justify the contention of the Legal Adviser, it would have been necessary for the clause to be drafted in specific terms, i.e., the wording must have been "in accordance with the regulations now in force," &c.

7. I am aware that the grant of double exchange compensation to this class of officers is a liberal concession; but it may prove more economical in the long run to be generous in this matter.

23166

SIR,

No. 65,

I have, &c.,

J. CHAMBERLAIN.

FEDERATED MALAY STATES.

MR. C. WILSON to COLONIAL OFFICE.

(Received June 10, 1902.)

[Answered June 20, 1902, by 23166: not printed.]

3, Linden Grove, Dewsbury Road, Leeds, June 9, 1902. I HAVE the honour to forward enclosed my petition on the subject of Exchange Compensation Allowance through you to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and shall be very pleased if you will give it your most favourable consideration.

I have, &c.,

C. WILSON, Locomotive Foreman, Selangor.

• No. 55.

↑ Not printed.

↑ No. 37.