CO129-350 - Public Offices - 1908 — Page 367

1

anslation.

1.

G.V.

2915

MEMORANDUM

RECE

AN

7190870

(communicated on January 27

!!

2515

JAN 23 1908,

365

The German Government have been furnished' with

the following statements respecting the measures which

the British Government have been obliged to adopt in

connection with the high rate of exchange of the dollar

in Eastern Asia and the salaries of their officials at

Hongkong:

2

*Until the year 1902 all salaries of Government

officials at Hongkong were fixed in dollars.

From

that time onwards they have been paid in sterling.

2

All salaries fixed in sterling were paid on the

15th of each month according to the average rate of

exchange for the preceding month. In order to make

good to those officials whose salaries were fixed pre-

vious to 1902 the loss entailed through the deprecia-

tion of the dollar and the increase in the cost of liv-

ing, these salaries were raised to the nominal rate of

37- per $ by the insertion of an exchange compensation,

which appears in Hongkong from the year 1903 onwards.

The resulting amounts (in shillings) were then con-

verted into pounds and paid over to the officials in

dollars