CO129-307 - Governor Sir Blake - 1901 [10-12] — Page 671

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upon which I should be glad of a little further elucidation.

I would only point out, before leaving this part of the subject, that if no one is to receive a Sterling salary except those who enter the service in 1901 or later, it is hardly worth while to formulate at present any elaborate scheme of the salaries to be attached to the higher Offices.

Several years must elapse before a Cadet who enters the service in 1901 can become qualified for any of the higher posts in the Colony, and I am not clear as to the practical utility of attaching to an official post a Sterling salary which possibly cannot be drawn for fifteen years to come.

With the view of complying with your instructions in the Despatch under reference, I appointed a small Committee composed of the Acting Treasurer and the Acting Puisne Judge, to submit a draft scheme. My remarks on the scheme are based not only on the views of the Committee but also on my own observation of the conditions prevailing in Hongkong which render expedient a reconsideration of official salaries and a reversion to the original system of Sterling payments.

The general principles which have guided the Committee in the preparation of the Scheme may be summarised as follows. The scheme is designed to include all Offices which would in the ordinary course be held by members of the Europeans appointed from home.

It includes members of the Police Force, Hospital Nurses, Warders, Sanitary Inspectors and Overseers, but does not include the clerical staff usually recruited from local sources. Many of the salaries of such posts