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career to officers specially recruited for those services it must be recognized that the scales of salaries have been fixed after full consideration in relation to the duties and responsibilities attached to specified grades. Subject always to the possibility of tem- porary reduction by salary levy such as is now in force, such scales should not be altered capriciously, and if at all only when the Secretary of State has been satisfied after full examination of all relevant circumstances that alteration will not prejudice the full efficiency of the public service. Officers joining these.services do so in reliance on the fact that the structure and remuneration of the service of which they form part will be governed by these considerations. But where an officer is offered promotion to a higher post, even in the saine Department, it is difficult to lay down that the salary shall in all circumstances be maintained at the rate enjoyed by the previous holder. In no case should an officer be compelled to undertake a position of greater responsibility without a reasonable increase of salary, but subject to the maintenance of this principle, when a vacancy occurs in a higher appointment an officer can only be given the option of accepting promotion on a revised scale of salary, or remaining in his substantive appointment under unaltered conditions. The acceptance of the principle that an officer is entitled on promotion to the salary enjoyed by the previous holder would prevent any revision of the higher salaries for an indefinite period. At the same time, it has to be remembered that an officer is not promoted primarily in his own interests but in the interests of the public service. Therefore it is not to the public advantage that officers should be placed in a position where they may feel impelled to refuse promotion on account of disadvantageous conditions attached thereto.

8. In conclusion I wish to make it clear that I cannot agree at present to any reduction in the emoluments of the Governor and the Officers of State, which are fixed by the Order in Council.

9. While I have felt compelled in the exercise of the responsibilities imposed upon me by the Order in Council to decline to approve of any further drastic reduction in the salaries or conditions of service of existing officers, I have no doubt that the Board of Ministers and the State Council will recognize that there are means of reducing expenditure on establishments other than the immediate reduction of salaries. Anart from such measures as the reduction of staff, the suppression of posts which fall vacant, and the reduction of salary in the case of new appointments, which have no doubt already engaged the serious attention of the Board of Ministers, it is necessarv to examine the possibility of further economies in all branches of the Public Service. where in times like the present programmes of expenditure call for constant and careful consideration.

No. 19.

I have, &c.,

P. CUNLIFFE-LISTER.

C. 93049/32 [No. 10].

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR.

(Confidential.)

SIR,

Downing Street, 14th November, 1932.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Confidential despatch No. 2 of the 3rd of August,* submitting the Interim Report of the Salaries and Cadres Commission, with your observations thereon.

2. I have thought it desirable to express my views on the general principles enunciated in this Report in an open despatch, which you can at your discretion com municate to the Board of Ministers and the State Council.

* No. 17.

I have, &c..

P. CUNLIFFE-LISTER

14276/33 [No. 5].

SIR,

(No. 237.)

31

No. 20.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Received 1st May, 1933.)

[Answered by No. 21 ]

Ceylon, 8th April, 1933. In continuation of my despatch No. 138 of the 28th February, 1933,* forwarding with my comments thereon a letter addressed to me by the Board of Ministers in which they discuss certain matters arising from the Reports of the Salaries and Cadres Commis- sion and from your despatch No. 620 of the 14th November, 1932,† I have the honour to inform you that on the 1st March, 1933, the following resolutions put forward by the Board of Ministers were adopted by the State Council :-

**This Council resolves :-

"

**

Resolution 1.

(1) That no new appointment (either a fresh appointment or a transfer from His Majesty's Service abroad) of non-Ceylonese other than the appointment of the Governor or of Judges of the Supreme Court or of Officers of State shall be made to the Public Services hereafter except on terms and conditions to be determined in each case by resolution of this Council on the report of the Board of Ministers after consideration of the recommendations of the Executive Com- mittce or the Officer of State in whose charge the Department in which the appointment is made functions;

(2) That in the case of promotion of an existing officer of the Public Service to a higher post other than normal promotion including promotion from class to class, the salary payable to such officer on promotion should be as fixed by the Board of Ministers on the recommendation of the Executive Committee or of the Officer of State concerned;

"E

(3) That future entrants to the Public Services shall not be entitled to commute any part of their pension, and that the maximum pension which any such officer can draw shall be Rs.16,000 per annum;

+

(4) That the leave regulations applicable to future entrants to the Public Services be amended in accordance with the recommendations of the Salaries and Cadres Commission-paragraphs 19 and 20 of Sessional Paper XVI of 1932; (5) That the concession of free holiday warrants for travel by railway within Ceylon be restricted in the case of future Ceylonese entrants to the Public

•Services to one double or two single journeys in accordance with the recom- mendations of the Salaries and Cadres Commission-paragraph 19 of Sessional Paper XII of 1932.”

This Council resolves :-

CC

Resolution 2.

(1) That a Select Committee of this Council be appointed to consider and report on the recommendations of the Salaries and Cadres Commission (Sessional Papers XII and XVI of 1932) with special reference to the salaries and allowances of future Ceylonese entrants to the Public Services; and

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(2) That, until a decision is reached on the report of the Select Committee,

new appointments of Ceylonese to the Public Services should be made upon the salaries recommended by the Salaries and Cadres Commission, but with the allowances and conditions of service at present attached to the appointments, except as previously modified by resolution of this Council.”

I annex a copy of the minutes of the State Council dated the 1st March, 1933,‡ con- taining the resolutions and decisions thereon (see items 3 and 4).

2. In order to explain the genesis of these resolutions I night perhaps recount briefly the deliberations of the Board of Ministers on the Reports of the Commission subsequent to the publication of the final Report. The unexpected inclusion in the Interim Report of proposals materially affecting the conditions of service of existing officers which made it necessary that I should receive an expression of your views was no doubt as embarrassing to the Board of Ministers as it was to me, in attempting to deal with the subject until the final Report had been received. That Report was issued in the first week in November and a classified summary of the recommendations

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* 14276/33 [No. 1]: noi printed.

+ No. 18.

Not printed here.

Peference --

C.O.882/19

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