CO129-419 - Individuals - 1914 — Page 404

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ized as a "strong case", H.E. adding, "Mr Wood's case is a "special one meriting special attention." In Mr Secretary Harcourt's despatch No.91 of 6th April 1911, he approved of the Governor's proposal "having regard to the special circumstances of his case" after consideration of his "position and prospects". The despatch practically repeats the substance of H.E.'s despatch to which it is a reply, and I have always read its meaning in the same light as I have explained in regard to the Governor's despatch. I have pointed out that the Governor's recommendation was based on "personal" grounds existing in 1911, and it would seem that if sufficient grounds then existed for granting me the maximum allowance of £120 in the event of no-promotion in the interim, they must still exist. I hope in that connection that the lapse of time, together with the performance of my duties, may have in the meantime strengthened my "personal" claims, and in support of that statement I may be allowed to state instances in which I hope that I may have succeeded in doing so.

From September 1912 to September 1913 I was acting as Assessor of Rates in addition to my own duties, and whilst doing so it happened to be a period during which several matters of an unusual nature required attention. The collection of material for the preparation of a report on the fluctuations of rent values in Hong Kong and Kowloon for a period of ten years, and the reasons for such fluctuations, involved such time in enquiry and calculations, and was largely done outside of official hours.

There were numerous minor reports on the same subject leading up to the chief one, for which H.E. Sir Henry May was pleased to personally thank me. In connection with the Tramway Boycott and the ordinance introduced in Council in ...