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The pay I have been authorized to offer is from Rs. 20 to 30 per month, but I pur- pose to enlist all privates at a uniform salary of rupees 10 previous, and rupees 20 subsequent, to the date of embarkation from Calcutta; and on arrival at Hong-Kong to form them into three grades, at Rs. 20, 25, and 30, respectively.
The object of the Hong-Kong Government giving these salaries (which are sufficiently high to admit of men saving in a few months enough to pay their expenses to Calcutta), is apparently to exonerate itself from the necessity of making stipulations with the men for their return passages, which, however much they might be attached to the service, would be a strong inducement to them to leave in a body immediately the period of service expired.
As the Hong-Kong Government urgently require the men's services, I trust you will obtain His Honor the Lieutenant Governor's sanction to my recruiting as soon as possible; and I would further beg that, on such permission being granted, you would give the necessary instructions to your officers to enable me to take without delay any members of this force who may volunteer for service in China.
From the Honorable T. W. Mercer, Colonial Secretary, Hong-Kong, to C. V. Creagh, Esquire, Sub-District Superintendent of Police Mooltan, No. 652, dated 30th November 1866.
I am directed by His Excellency Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell to inform you, that on the 13th instant His Excellency laid before his Executive Council your letter of the 7th October, in which you state the circumstances and conditions under which you think you can procure for this Government the services of 100 Sikh Police, of whom you are to retain command, and whom you are to be entrusted with the duty of enlisting and conveying to Hong-Kong.
His Excellency is writing by this post to the Governor General of India, to inform him of his wish to obtain your services at Hong-Kong, without prejudice, if possible, to your future promotion under the Indian Government, and requesting that service here may count in your favor for promotion in the Punjab police hereafter.
It is however very probable that this request may be one impossible to comply with, will then have to consider whether the prospect of £400 per annum, here, with quarters, offers a sufficient inducement for abandoning your career in India.
and
you
Presuming that you will decide on coming here, I have to inform you that Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell has also requested the Governor General, to cause authority to be given you to enlist men from the Sikh force without insisting on the latter giving the usual two months' notice.
In
any case, and whether either of the requests made by His Excellency to the Governor General be complied with, it is desirable that you should with as little delay as possible enlist one hundred or one hundred and ten men, including as far as possible only trained men, well up in Police duties, and should have them conveyed to Calcutta with all speed. His Excellency hopes to make an agreement on favorable terms for transport- ing yourselves and the men direct from Calcutta to Hong-Kong in a steamer belonging to one of the firms established here.
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To defray the expenses of transport and other contingencies, His Excellency will remit to the local Government payable to your order the sum of £800, on receipt from you of a telegram to be sent at the cost of this Government by the most expeditious route.
In that telegram you need simply state that you think you can carry out the proposed plan.
4
you are prepared to act" in case
I am now further directed to express His Excellency's hope that you will be able to secure the services of an efficient Native Sergeant Major, and four Sergeants. It is advisable that the men should wear the dress they are accustomed to, and you might make arrangements at Calcutta for sending supplies, hereafter, of clothing if you have reason to suppose such a measure economical.
It is not desirable in His Excellency's opinion to make any stipulation for return passages of the men enlisted. It would be preferable to increase their pay and leave them to save their passage money when needed. They should however agree to serve for five years certain.
In reference, however, to increase of pay, or stipulations for return passages, His Excellency must leave you to act at your own discretion, and wishes you not to lose the services of any really good men through any slight point of difference on the subject. There is no time for transmission of further instructions from here; and if you act at all you must act in the best manner you can on the instructions now given.
His Excellency hopes you may be able to complete all arrangements in a satisfactory manner, and will consider your doing so a valuable service rendered to this Government.
From Major G. Hutchinson, Inspector General of Police Punjab, to Major S. Black, Secretary to Government Punjab, Military Department, No. 157, dated 14th January 1867.
In compliance with the instructions conveyed in your letter No. 40, dated 3rd instant, I now submit for the orders of the Government of India, the accompanying correspondence, (vide margin), on the subject of recruiting residents of the Punjab, for service in China.
A letter dated 12th in- stant, from Mr. Creagh with enclosure,
2. Mr. Creagh, Assistant District Superintendent of Police at Mooltan, has, as you are aware, by my former demi-official memorandum been offered an appointment in China, pro- vided he can bring with him 100 Sikhs. He seems to think that the authorities in China would be equally glad to obtain some Pathans and some Sikhs, so that if permission is given to Mr. Creagh to enlist men for service in China, it must be understood that he is not limited to Sikhs only.
3. He proposes to enlist the men for five years, to take security from each man, and to offer certain rates of pay. If a man is discharged before the expiration of the five years from any cause other than that of bad conduct, Mr. Creagh proposes to give him three months pay as compensation.
4. The Hong-Kong authorities desire, according to Mr. Creagh's view of the case, to give such high rates of pay that they shall be relieved from the necessity of making any pro- vision for the expense of a man returning to India. It is supposed the men would save sufficiently out of their pay to meet this expense,
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