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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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C.O.885

19 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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CROWN AGENTS' ENQUIRY COMMITTER:

THIRTEENTH DAY,

Tuesday, 21st July, 1908

At the Colonial Office, Downing Street.

PRESENT:

COLONEL J. E. B. SEELY, D.S.O., M.P. (Chairman).

The Rt. Hon. Sir E. MOWATT, G.C.B., I.S.0.

H. J GIBBON, Esq., C.B.

R. BAILEY. Esq., M.V.O., 1.8.0.

S. M. Levines, Esq. C. A. HARRIS, Esq., C.B., C.M.G.

A. J. HARDING (Secretary).

Miss M. E. Boppy, called and examined.

3040. (Chairman.) Do you represent the ladies in the Crown Agents' Office?—I do."

3041. Are you all of one mind in what you are going to say I think so, quite.

3042. I understand that the number of ladies is 20 altogether?--Yes.

3043. You are divided into two departments, eight in the Stock and Coupon Department, and they are concerned with the preparation and transmission of dividends and the payment of coupons?—Yes.

3044. Is that your department?-That is my depart- ment: I am the head of that department.

8045. And the next is the Correspondence Depart- ment in which there are 12?—Yes.

3046. That department is concerned with all the correspondence of the office, the decoding and coding of telegrams?--Yes.

3047. What other work?-It is really the entire cor- respondence of the office; all the correspondence comes to them and they give it out to the different depart ments, and they have the entire sending off of all the Correspondence,

3048, (Sir Francis Mowatt.) You say that the corre- spondence goes through your department: does that mean that the letters coming into the department are distributed by you?-Yes. It is not my department, but the letters all come to the Correspondence Depart ment, and they are sent to the different rooms, and then they are all sent back to that room. The lady who is the head of that room sends off all the letters.

3040. She despatches them, soos that they are addressed ant posted, and so on ?--Yes.

3050. (Mr. Gibson.) Is the registration of them done in that department when they come in?-Yes.

3051. (Mr. Bailey.) Is there any drafting of letters dope there at all? -Letters are raftel in the Corre- spondence Department on queries arising în connection with the despatch and receipt of letters, telegrams, parcels, etc.

3052. (Mr. Gibson.) The letters from the various branches all come to you for copying and typing?— All letters for typing, etc., come to the Correspondence Department-not to my department--and when type and the enclosures copied are sent off by that department.

3053. (Mr. Trathes.) Do you know whether they are registered or not? All letters from Colonies. Profecto- rates, Colonial Office, and Foreign Office are registered, but letters from individuals are not so treated. These are late-stamped only before being distributed to the various departments,

3054. All letters are registered ?--They have to regis. ter all letters that need to be registered.

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3055. But a great number of them are not regis. tered?-Do you mean that a great number of them aro franked and some are stamped?

3056. No, I mean registered in the office as received or despatched, a note being made of the receipt or despatch 7-Yes, there are large indices with the sub- ject of each letter set against the letter received.

3057. (Sir Francis Mowutt.) Is that done in the correspondence room?—Yes.

3059. (Mr. Hurris.) By the ladies?—Yes.

3059. (Mr. Gibson.) I take it that a good deal of registering is also done in the various divisions of the office Is the central registration of all correspon- dence that comes into the office done in the Corre. spondence Department? Is that the central registry, so to speak, for all correspondence received in whole of the department ?---Yes.

the

3030. (Chairman.) Each department is presided over by a lady principal, assisted by a deputy; are you a lady principal ?—Yes.

3061. And there is a lady principal in the Corre- spolence Department, too?—Yes..

362. And a deputy ?-- Yes.

3043. In case one of you is away – Yes, we are not supposed to be away all together.

3061. Will you tell us what your work is--W have to do with the entire preparation, calculation. and sending off of all dividends.

3065. (Sir Francis Mowatt.) The calculation, do you mean Yes, the entire thing. In our room we work the preparation and calculation of dividends utterly and cutirely.

30. (Mr. Gibson Are they checked by any other section by the Pay Section, for instance?-- No. Our registrar's name is on each warrant, but I am really wholly responsible under him for the work. I check every one of the warrants, and he puts his name on them all. but I am really responsible for their

accuracy.

3887. (Chairman.) You despatch the dividend war- rants Entirely.

3068. Could you give us an idea of the scope of that work how many do you send off in a day -We send them off either at the beginning of the month or the middle of the month. We have about a month to prepare our dividends as a rule. I think we pay the interest on about £32,000,000, and that means about 32,000 warrants, roughly speaking, that we sen·l

ff in the year.

3069, (Mr. Bailey. Do you keep the registers " Yes, and we have a good deal of Probate work that comes in and that Faker nga quod deal of time All Probates are registered with us if the people have any holdings with us.

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MINUTES OF EVIDENCE.

Mins M. E. BOUDY.

3070. I meant the stock registers? Yes, the stock registers, certainly,

301. You calculate the dividends?—Yes.

3072. Then you calculate and prepare the warrants?

Yes.

30737-You despatch the dividend warrants? -Yes. 3071. Quarterly --Half-yearly.

3075. Do you deduct income tax, tou?—Yes. 3076. Do you enlculate that?—Yes.

3077. (Mr. Leufkes.) Are the transfers all done by you--The transfer work is done in the City.

2078. Is that done by a staff in any way in conner- - with you, or is it quite separate?It is under registrar, and the balances are sent up from the Cay. We always have to agree with our City office. We have duplicate books at the City and with us, but they have to agree,

3079, (Mr. Gibson.) They are done in the City branch? Yes.

3084), (Sir Francis Moratt.) I think you did tell us. but I want to make it quite clear. that in all the duties of your own department which you have de scribed you are practically the final authority, that is ta say, whatever is doue you examine and check, and you are responsible for it?—Yes.

3. To what practical extent is that work of yours examined by anybody else? May we take it, as I understood you to say, that you are responsible for the whole work, and that very rarely is there any fur- iler inspection unless possibly sonë aecident were to eng up, or a, mistake, when there would be an en- pury, but subject to that you are not superintended in any way --No. Our registrar is over us and we have in go to him in connection with any matter.

32. But the calculation of accounts and the send- ing out is entirely done by you ?—Yes.

3083, And that is not checked by anybody except that the name of the registrar-is pat on?—Yes, he puts his name on them.

30×1. As a rule, he accepts it from you without fur- ther examination himself ?---Without further examina-

111).

3085, (Mr. Giloton.) It is only when some difficult pint arises that you submit the point either to Mr. Poster or to Mr. Urquhart for instructions ?--Yes, if there was any technical thing we did not understand.

3086, (Mr. Harris.) Do you think it possible that Mr. Urquhart has a system of test check, taking one Sarrant in 40, say, and seeing if they are all right? You do not know that -No, I think not, because he knows our system of working. He understands exactly how we prepare our dividends, and if it is really done reetly by our way of doing it, and checked, there might not to be any mistake,

307, It is self-acting? Yes, he fools that it would to carelessness on my part, because if the system is treetly followed there ought to h no fear of a ke, Of course, every kind of work wants

uracy.

30-8. You mean that the total of the interest on a ban on a certain date checked against the details is a - feting check? - The City take the balances from ar books on H loan, say, of £3,000,000, Then work out the interest on £3,000,000, and if ic total of all our numerous dividends comes to ephon a fraction of the right amount we know pretty that the dividergls must be correct; the income * makes up the gross amount, and unless there are calde mistakes in it it could not be wrong.

389, (Mr. Trathes.) Have you any accumulation of unclaimed dividends in your books? Yes, a few,

30990, (('hairman.) Will you tell Us about how Puch? I do not know That I can speak without the Teok, but it is not a very large amount. It is a very -mail sum really, comparatively.

3001. (Mr. Gibson,) Is it not the fact that if they Las been unclaimed for a certain time practically

pay them to the Colonial Governments? After Ten years, that is being done now.

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3092. Therefore there could not be a large accumu- lation, because periodically they are paid back to the Colonial Governments -That is so.

3003. (Chairman.) Could you tell us how you were appointed yourself -I was one of the pioneers; Miss Woodd and 1 both get our appointment by seeing an advertisement in the "Times." When I came here I think Sir Montagu Ommanuey, who was then Captain Omnianney, knew someone I knew, and it was by advertisement and by influence both.

3091. (Sir Francis Mowatt.) There was no examina. tion?-No examination.

3095. (Mr. Leathes.) No medical examination?—No. 3006. Is there a medical examination now for ladies, do you know?--Only since 1902.

3097. Perhaps they put in a certificate or something of that sort ?That is done now.

40, (Mr. Bailey.) Do you find a large amount of sick leave taken by ladies-May I say my experi once I have been there over 30 years, and I think I may say that during that time I have not had more than two or three months' sick leave. I should say I wonld be well within the mark if I said three months. A week now and again for a chill or something of that sort does mount up, but I fancy if I said three months I should be accurate.

3069. But as to your staff generally, what do you Bud?There have been one or two instances where we have had a very great deal of sick leave.

3100. Have you more sick leave amongst your staff than there would be among the same number of men? Are you able to compare them in that way —We have had some exceptionally good record instances like my own, and we have had four or five bad ones, so that it is a little bit difficult to compare,

3101. (Chairman.) I have the information with re- gand to the employment of lady typists in the Colonial Onice. Are they all called lady typists now? Do you call your people in the Crown Agents' Office lady typists? No. Typewriting and shorthand is done in addition to indexing outgoing and registering incom- ing correspondence, "franking, date stamping, making up and despatch of mail bags, keeping postal accounts, eading and decoding of telegrams, etc.

3102. I am trying to ascertain how they compare with these ladies. We know how you were first appointed: how are most of the ladies appointed now? -By selection.

3103.Writing, spelling, copying manuscript, and arithmetic (the first four rules), including English weights and measures and reduction. English rumpo. sition, typewriting with a minimum speel of 1,000 Are all word per hour auf shorthand at discretion.” the ladies in your department expected to know all these things? They are not all shorthand writers,

3104. Are they all typewriters?-They are all type writers in the Correspondence Office, but there is no need for anyone to be in our room. I daresay some of them can do it, but there is no nees, or has not laen any need.

3105, (Mr. Leathes) Do they learn typewriting be- fore they come in ' Not in all cases,

310. You insist upon that in forehand? In almost every instance; I believe that when the typewriting was first instituted one or two Indies did learn at the office.

3107. (Chairman.) What is the usual amount of salary at the first appointment? It is now £70 a year. 3104. Does that work out to abou 26%, a work !— Yes.

3109. And it rises how? Lubes who joined before 1903 receive nanually £16 increments up to £150, and those who joined since 1983 revive £10'increments up to £100 and £5 increments up to £150.

3110. I will come to your pr›cis, in which you say - Lafies desire to obtain more definite information as to the maximum of salaries and increment." Have you any knowledge-is it a settled affair -as to what

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