CO129-280 - Public Offices & Others - 1897 — Page 492

QUEEN'S COLLEGE

HONGKONG

$

The Right Honourable

Mr Joseph Chamberlain, M.P.

20 April 1897

19 28 MAY 17

Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State

for the Colonies

Sir,

I have the honour to address you on certain points in connexion with my position in the Hongkong Civil Service, suggested by the occasion of the appointment, just gazetted, of Mr A.W. Brewin, as Acting Inspector of Schools until further notice.

In November 1881, I was offered by Earl Kimberley on the recommendation of Professor Legge, the appointment of Head Master of the Government Central School. The Agreement, which I signed, distinctly stated that if I remained in Hongkong after the expiration of three years, I should be entitled to all the privileges of the civil service, including Leave Pay, Pension, etc.

Appreciation of seniority of Service is amongst Heads of Department, who communicate direct with the Colonial Secretary, a recognised privilege of the Civil Service.

I therefore submit that in accordance with this practice, as the Head Master after 15 years of service is senior to the newly appointed Inspector of Schools, Queen's College should for the future appear in the Estimates and Blue Books before the Inspectorate of Schools, as was the case in 1879 when Dr Eitel appeared subsequently to Dr Stewart; and that on all public occasions the Head Master should take precedence of the Inspector of Schools, by virtue of Seniority of appointment.

By the severance of Queen's College from the Inspector of Schools in 1894, prior to which date he used to examine the work, no opportunity is left for complaint by the adoption of this suggestion.

It is further worthy of notice, that in Mauritius, Barbados, and other Crown Colonies, the office of Inspector of Schools is recognised as inferior in position and salary to that of the Head Master of the Royal or Queen's College.

Salary.

In 1887, the Commission, Dr Stewart, Dr Eitel, and myself (C.O.847) appointed by Sir William Marsh, as Administrator, to consider the expenses of Queen's College, recommended that the salary of the Head Master should be raised from $3600 ($3120 + 480 Personal Allowance) to $4320 on the transfer from the smaller school, Central School with 400 boys and 10 masters to the new Institution, Queen's College with 900 boys and 20 masters.

Unfortunately, the consideration of this increase of salary occurred at the time of the general increase of the Hongkong Civil Service salaries by 35%, and the $4320 then granted to me was the old Central School salary $3120 + 1092, the 35% increase, to which was added $108 to make it an even sum.

The idea recognised by the above Commission that the Head of Queen's College should have a larger salary than the Head of the Central School has been entirely overlooked; though it is without parallel that a Head Master should be transferred from one school to the charge of another, where the Accommodation and Staff are double.

I can point to only Mr Ayres, Mr Wellesley, and Mr Ford, as officers who were Heads of Department on my arrival in 1882, and their salaries have all been raised irrespectively of the general increase of salary made six years ago.

I submit