فوریه
671
Confidential Despatch already referred to will, I believe, serve to show that Hongkong is in a position to spend quite as much money on its administrative machinery as either of the Dependencies I have mentioned; and for the reasons I adduced in that Despatch I consider it undesirable that the Public Service of Hongkong should be made less attractive from a pecuniary point of view than Singapore or the Native States. It must be remembered that even an equalisation of salaries does not by any means equalise the conditions in which the Civil Servants of Hongkong and Singapore respectively are living, as the cost of house rent and food is greater in Hongkong and the additional distance from England makes the Journey more expensive in the event of being obliged to take leave. The Commission which was appointed last year by Sir William Gascoigne to enquire into the reasons for the high price of food was not able to accomplish any amelioration a state of affairs which after all was and is chiefly due to the working of perfectly natural economic forces.
17.
Perhaps in continuation of the comparison between the conditions prevailing at Hongkong and Singapore so far as they concern Government servants, I may mention the fact that in the Straits Settlements (as in the Indian Empire) Civil Servants have a right to free Medical attendance. This right is not possessed by the Civil Servants of Hongkong in general, and the difference which this makes can readily be understood to weigh very seriously with those who contemplate the prospects of a lifetime spent in a tropical climate.
18.
In view of these facts I venture to express
$ha 4681.
فوریه
671
Confidential Despatch/already referred to will, I believe,
serve to show that Hongkong is in a position to spend quite
as much money on its administrative machinery as either of
the Dependencies I have mentioned; and for the reasons I
adduced in that Despatch I consider it undesirable that the
Public Service of Hongkong should be made less attractive
frem a pecuniary point of view than Singapore or the Native
States. It must be remembered that even an equalisation of
salaries does not by any means equalise the conditions in which the Civil Servants of Hongkong and Singapore respectively
are living, as the cost of house rent and food is greater in Hongkong and the additional distance from England makes the Journey more expensive in the event of being obliged to take leave. The Commission which was appointed last year by Sir William Gascoigne to enquire into the reasons for the high price of food was not able to accomplish any amelioration a state of affairs which after all was and is chiefly due
the working of perfectly natural economic forces.
17.
Perhaps in continuation of the comparison
between the conditions prevailing at Hongkong and Singapore so far as they concern Goverment servants, I may mention the fact that in the Straits Settlements (as in the Indian Empire) Civil Servants have a right to free Medical attendance. This right is not possessed by the Civil Servants of Hongkong in general, and the difference which this makes can readily be understoed to weigh very seriously with those who contemplate the prospects of a lifetime spent in a trepical climate.
18.
In view of these facts I venture te express
$ha 4681.
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