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and Deputy Accountant-General,

Supreme Court, l'enang,

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he will be drawing pay out of all proportion to his real deserts, as measured against those of his contemporaries who still remain in the clerical service, and it is this point, rather than the fact stated in the first part of paragraph 4 ante, which inclines me to the belief that the course recommended in paragraph 3 is probably the best to follow in the case of both these officers, but certainly in that of Mr. Cooper.

I have, &c.,

F. A. SWETTENHAM.

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8. Having stated these facts, it only remains for me to leave this appeal to the Lands of Your Excellency, at the same time placing implicit reliance on your strong sense of justice to give this matter such reconsideration as Your Excellency may think my case merits.

I have, &c.,

R. B. LEICESTER,

Assistant Treasurer, Collector of Stamp Duties,

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

EPIC.O. 882

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

SIR,

Enclosure 1 in No. 39.

Mr. LEICESTER to Sir FRANK SWETTENHAM.

Treasury, Penang, September 28, 1901. I MOST respectfully beg to address Your Excellency on the subject of the recent decision given in correspondence, Treasury, 8418/1901, which has the effect of de- barring me from the benefit, suggested in paragraph 10 of the Secretary of State's despatch on salaries, that officers in the higher ranks of the Service who do not draw exchange compensation allowance, should be granted a non-pensionable addition of 25 per cent. to their salaries.

2. The sole reason given for depriving me of this benefit was because I at one time belonged to the regular clerical grade. "In fairness to myself I would submissively invite Your Excellency's kind attention once more to paragraph 10 of the despatch referred to, in which it will be seen that there is not a shadow of a distinction drawn as to which head of a Department should draw the 25 per cent. and which should not. 3. That I have striven to raise myself from the position of a clerk to that of the head of one of the most responsible Departments in the Government Service should, 1 venture to think, operate rather more in my favour than against me; and I extremely regret to note that this fact, instead of being considered a credit to nie, is held up as a bar against any benefits that may accrue to me during my long career in the Government Service.

4. The suggestion of the Honourable Treasurer that I should draw the difference between my old rate of pay and that proposed in the new scheme is, I submit, no new proposal at all, as it was an increase recommended by the Select Committee, which was approved by the Secretary of State, and which I shall be entitled to draw in any case. Such a proposal camot, therefore, be looked upou as any sort of "Quid pro quo" for depriving me of the 25 per cent,, which paragraph 10 of the despatch seeks to confer on me.

5. Moreover, this proposal of the IIonourable Treasurer, which has received the sanction of the Government, seems to me to use the words of the Secretary of State, paragraph 9-to be "driving a hard bargain with a man who has earned liberal treatment." I claim to have earned liberal treatment, as I have devoted the best part of my life to the Government Service, having faithfully served the Govern- ment for 34 years without taking any leave whatever. I have held my present appointment as Assistant Treasurer for the last 11 years, during the whole of which period I have received no increase to my salary, except the general 10 per cent. given in 1897.

6. When I came to be head of the Treasury Department in Penang, my name was expunged from the clerks' list, and now appears in the Civil Service List, and it is hard, to say the least of it, that I should now be relegated back to the clerical grade, merely for the purpose of debarring me from a benefit which, I feel sure, was expressly designed by the Secretary of State to cover cases such as mine.

7. The duties of the Assistant Treasurer are admittedly of grave responsibility and trust, and this is amply proved by the fact that the holder of the appointment has to furnish security to the amount of $10,000, an amount which is the highest of any required to be given by officers in the whole Colony, with the single exception of the Honourable Treasurer, Straits Settlements, who furnishes the same amount. It seems to me, therefore, that it is at the least unmerited that my case should be treated as distinct from those of Messrs. Sproule, Sarwar, Keun, Jones and others, who hold appointments of much less responsibility and trust, and whom it is proposed to benefit by Clause 10 of the despatch.

SIR,

Enclosure 2 in No. 39.

Mr. COOPER to SIR FRANK SWETTENHAM.

Penang, October 1, 1901. I BEG to submit, for Your Excellency's consideration, certain facts connected with the suggestion of the Honourable the Treasurer, that separate consideration should be given to my case with reference to the Secretary of State's despatch, No. 243, of 2nd August, anent the increment of salaries, &c., and the subsequent decision of Your Excellency in Treasury, 8418/1901.

Paragraph 10 of the despatch, I submit, provides for such cases as mine, and there is no part of the despatch indicating intention of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State to debar worthy members of the Clerical Service, who, by dint of perseverance and hard work, have qualified to fill the higher appointment they at present hold, but on the contrary there is evidence of an inclination to treat such officers in a more liberal manner, as paragraph 8 of the same despatch says, “These remedies, therefore, especially exchange compensation, have attached rather to persons than to appointments, but in the future it will be simpler either to draw a line between whole branches of the Government Services, as, eg., between the Cadet Service and the Clerical Service, or to take a limit of salary as proposed in the paragraph quoted above, and to have a sterling basis above the limit, a dollar basis below. In either case the limit should be drawn so as to demarcate as nearly as possible appointments which are usually held by Europeans from those which are as a rule filled locally, but all who are above it, whether Europeans or not, should be paid in sterling, whereas below the limit an exception must, as pointed out in my previous despatch, be made in the case of nurses, policemen, prison warders, and others who are engaged in this country, and who should be paid in sterling, not in dollars," which should be considered in connection with paragraph 10.

The Honourable the Treasurer gives as reasons for excluding me from the privileges which I submit have been specially provided in cases such as mine, the fact that I rose from the rank of the Clerical Service to my present position. Surely, Sir, this should be advanced more as a reason for receiving the relief proposed by the Right Honourable the Secretary of State than otherwise. Had there been any intention of debarring me, I feel certain such intention would have been clearly stated, as the despatch has particularised many cases that were open to be dealt with differently, as in the case of European constables, nurses, &c.

The Honourable the Treasurer submits to Government that I should draw the difference between the old rate and the present scale as a bonus from 1st January last. I would point out that the difference is simply a matter of $7 per mensem, whereas under paragraph 10, the officer holding a similar appointment to me in Singapore is in the receipt of the equivalent of 25 per cent., in that he draws the extra compensation allowance.

I would, therefore, respectfully request Your Excellency to recognise my past faithful service, and grant me the addition of 25 per cent. to my salary, which may be sanctioned under paragraph 10 of said despatch.

I have, &c.,

J. E. COOPER, Financial Assistant, l'olice.

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