CO885-(11-12) — Page 556

476

FOBLIC PECORD OFFICE

la la la la la l

32

duties and the organization of the Public Works Department can only be decided in connexion with the question of devolution in the Federated Malay States; that mean- while Mr. Sturrock should act in an executive, not merely, advisory capacity in the Federated Malay States; and that the proposed new title of the appointment should not be used for the present in any public announcement.

2. Your telegram was received too late to stop the announcement which appeared on the 31st December in the Government Gazettes both of the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States in the following form:-

"His Excellency the Governor and High Commissioner, subject to the approval of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, has been pleased to appoint Mr. G. Sturrock to be Director of Public Works, Straits Settle- ments, and Adviser, Public Works, Malay States, with effect from the 1st January, 1932, inclusive.”

3. In the same issue of both Gazettes there appeared also the following notifi- cations:-

(a) No. 2574. His Excellency the Governor and High Commissioner, subject to the approval of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, has been pleased to appoint Dr. C. J. Wilson, M.C., to be Director of Medical and Health Services, Straits Settlements, and Adviser, Medical and Health Services, Malay States, with effect from the 1st January, 1932, inclusive.

(b) No. 2576. His Excellency the Governor and High Commissioner, subject to the approval of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, has been pleased to appoint Mr. F. G. Finch to be Director of Drainage and Irrigation, Straits Settlements, and Adviser on Drainage and Irrigation, Malay States, with effect from the 1st January, 1932, inclusive. (c) No. 2573. His Excellency the Governor and High Commissioner, subject to the approval of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, has been pleased to appoint Captain C. L. Hancock, O.B.E., to be Inspector of Prisons, Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States, with effect from the 1st January, 1932, inclusive.

I informed you accordingly in my telegram, dated 1st instant.* In connexion with these four notifications, I invite attention to the following despatches respectively, addressed by me to your predecessors in office, namely, my Confidential Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States despateh (2) of 29th October, 1931, my Confidential Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States despatch of 29th October, 1931, and my Straits Settlements despatch No. 555 of 27th October, 1931.§

4. The arrangements so notified have, in each case, been approved unanimously by the members of the Legislative and the Federal Councils, and they are embodied in next year's estimates, which were adopted unanimously by both Councils. So far as the Medical Department, the Public Works Department, and the Irrigation Department are concerned, the policy was explained by me to the Rulers of the Federated Malay States at the Sri Menanti Durbar on the 18th August, 1931, and was warmly approved by all of them. It was also explained verbally by me to the Rulers of the Unfederated Malay States during the visits which I paid each of them last year; and it is set out in a letter, dated 29th December, 1931, of which I attach a copy, and which has been sent by my direction to each Ruler in the Unfederated Malay States.

5. At the Conference held in the Colonial Office on the 16th March, 1931, at which I was present, Public Works were not included among the services reserved for federal control, nor was any such reservation made at the Conference in the Colonial Office over which Lord Passfield presided on the 15th May, and at which I was again present. I do not know by what arguments I could induce Rulers in the Federated Malay States to agree that the public works in their States require executive control by a Federal Director. They would at once point to the situation which has existed for many years in the Unfederated Malay States, and ask why the State Engineers of (say) Perak and Selangor should be less competent to build houses, roads, bridges, waterworks, &c., than are the State Engineers (say) in Johore and Kedah, and why their State Engineers should need executive control by a Director of Public Works, when Engineers in the Unfederated Malay States do not. Thus at the very outset they would begin to think that our decentralization was after all a sham, while Rulers in the Unfederated Malay States would certainly become very suspicious of our bona fides. Under such conditions the success of the policy which aims at true pan-Malayan federation would be jeopardized and further progress would become exceedingly difficult.

6. As stated in my Confidential Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States despatch (2), dated 20th October, 1931,† and as set out in Mr. Pretty's letter of the

* C. 92300/32 [No. 2]: not printed.

† No. 69.

§ No. 55.

+ No. 57.

33

29th December, which is enclosed in this despatch, the duties of Mr. Sturrock in his capacity of Director-Adviser will be as follows:-

(i) He will be responsible for the control of the Malayan Civil Engineering Service, and effect transfers of Engineers throughout the Colony and the Malay States after due consultation with the Administrations concerned.

(ii) He will pay periodic visits to each State and inspect the work of the State Public Works Department. The results of every such inspection will be submitted by him in the form of a report to the State Government. He will have no power to issue orders but only to give advice.

(iii) He will give advice on any matter referred to him by the State Engineer of any State or by any State Government, and will keep each State Government informed of any important engineering developments in any other State or Settlement.

(iv) He will be responsible for the compilation and issue of instructions on purely professional (as distinct from administrative) matters to all officers of the Malayan Civil Engineering Service so that engineering practice may be uniform throughout Malaya.

(v) He will be responsible to His Excellency the High Commissioner and through him to all the owner-Governments, for the proper running of joint institutions such as the Federated Malay States Government factory.

You will observe that these powers are in reality very great, the more so as Mr. Sturrock would always be able to bring pressure to bear on a State Engineer through the British Adviser of the State concerned, while in the last resort in matters of importance he could obtain the support of the High Commissioner, whose advice a Ruler, whether in the Federated Malay States or the Unfederated Malay States, is by treaty obliged to accept. I do not, therefore, fear any appreciable loss of efficiency, while the means for securing uniformity, in so far as necessary, are in my opinion adequate. There are no federal enactments affecting the post of Director of Public Works which need amendment because of the new policy.

7.

Your telegram under reply does not mention the Medical and Health Depart- ment, the Irrigation Department, or the Inspectorate of Prisons; but I feel that for the sake of completeness I should explain briefly the present position concerning these departments also.

8. As stated in my telegram to you, dated the 1st instant, Dr. Wilson remains gazetted as Principal Medical Officer, Federated Malay States. This is necessary because federal enactments in several clauses make mention of that post and assign duties to it Legislation is now in draft devolving those duties on other authorities; but, until this legislation has been passed by the Federal Council, the duties in question must be dis- charged by Dr. Wilson. As soon as all requisite legislation in this connexion has been passed, I propose that the notice gazetting Mr. Wilson as Principal Medical Officer, Federated Malay States, should be cancelled; and he will then have advisory duties only in the Federated Malay States as well as in the Unfederated Malay States. The nature of those duties is set out in my Confidential Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States despatch, dated 29th October, 1931, and in Mr. Pretty's letter of the 29th December, enclosed in this despatch. They are as follows:-

(i) He will be responsible for the control of the Malayan Medical Service, and effect transfers of doctors and surgeons throughout the Colony and the Malay States after due consultation with the Administrations concerned.

(ii) He will pay periodic visits to each State and inspect the hospitals and other medical insti- tutions. The result of overy auch inspection will be submitted by him in the form of a report to the State Government. He will have no power to issue orders, but only to give advice. (iii) He will give advice on any matter referred to him by the Senior Medical Officer of any State or by a State Government, and will keep State Governments informed of any interest- ing medical or health developments in any other State or in the Colony.

(iv) He will be responsible for the compilation and issue of instructions on purely professional or technical (as distinct from administrative) mattera to all officers of the Malayan Medical Service, so that medical methods may be uniform in all territories.

(v) He will be responsible to the High Commissioner and through the High Commissioner to all Governmenta concerned for the proper administration of joint institutions such as the Central Mental Hospital at Tanjong Rambutan and the Leper Settlement at Sungei Buloh. (vi) He will be responsible in case of epidemics which affect neighbouring States for the co

ordination of the necessary preventive measures in such States.

Here again I consider that these powers are sufficient to insure the necessary amount of uniformity in all the Malayan administrations and that no appreciable loss of efficiency will result.

9. The newly constituted Drainage and Irrigation Department fills a long-felt need in this Peninsula, and the help of Mr. Finch as Director-Adviser is already required by the State of Kelantan in connexion with the schemes for which assistance has been promised to that State from the Colonial Development Fund. It was, therefore, very desirable to lose no time in gazetting his appointment.

Reference -

C.O.882/12

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE. LONDON

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

}