CO129-419 - Individuals - 1914 — Page 439

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20/11/14.

MEHO. re PROMOTION.

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1. I have had over 23 years' service, and, apart from acting appointments, I have spent the whole period in the P.W.D.

2. I have been in receipt of the maximum pay of the post for about 15 years.

3. Although when I joined the Service such positions as the Colonial Secretaryship, Treasurership, Post Office, etc., were open to non-cadets, that opportunity is now rare, and in my own case the difficulty has already been pointed out by Governor Sir Matthew Nathan.

4. I have been frequently recommended for promotion, but with- out success so far. The following extract from a despatch written by Sir Matthew Nathan and sent to the Secretary of State in 1905 illustrates how my career has been handicapped through continuous service in the P.W.D. He wrote: "This maximum pay is £600 per "annum

There is thus no prospect of Mr Wood receiving a "better position in the Public Works Department of Hongkong, nor "can I, in justice to the Cadet Civil Service, propose his appoint- "ment to one of the higher, non-technical, administrative posts in "the Colony. It is therefore for an appointment in some other "Colony, where his great experience in, and capacity for dealing "with, accounts, correspondence and stores could be utilised to *full advantage that I recommend his application to your favour- "able consideration."

5. Sir Frederick Lugard, who succeeded 8ir Matthew Nathan as Governor, also recognised the hardship of my case, and decided to recommend a maximum personal pensionable allowance of £120 per annum during the period of the continued absence of promotion. Through a misunderstanding, a difficulty has arisen over the pay- ment of the second instalment of that allowance, a matter which I will explain later.

6. If I could be promoted out of the P.V.D., it would be an economic advantage to the Government, for the following reasons:-

(a) In 1891, when I took charge of the Accounts Branch, there was no proper and up-to-date system of bock-keeping and accounting.

(b) As regards stores, there was no organised branch or system of management and accounting, and no book-keeping.

(o) In the Correspondence Branch, matters were in a state of chaos, a system of registration hardly existed, and the filing of documents, etc., was of the crudest nature.

7. It has devolved on me to initiate new systems of management, book-keeping and accounting, and to train the staff of each branch in the work. This has been accomplished, and the commercial side of the P.W.D. work is now on a sound business basis,

8. Buch being the cage I am of opinion that the duties of the post of "Superintendent of Accounts, Correspondence and Stores", which I occupy, could be undertaken by an officer of less experi- ence than myself. My exceptionally long connection with the De- partment naturally enables me, from local knowledge, to be speci- ally helpful to the D.P... Executive Engineers, and others, both in the P.W.D. and in other Departments, in matters of procedure and business reference, generally, an advantage which a successor would lack, but ́ *Buch

pesbeing apart from the actual duties

Such

of the post do not fall to be considered when a new appointment is being made. My successor would have no organising work to un- dertake, and no systems of accounting and book-keeping to initiate. He will find everything well established, with the staff of the

hree Branches well trained and familiar with their work. being the case, I Ciflessay that the services of a lower-grade officer would now suffice to supervise and carry on the general duties of the post, a change whion, as I have already mentioned, should be of considerable economic advertage to the Government.

mored, and

UTFO

WALL+8–33. 20,000. 8:11. ARAHAN

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PUR. Hong Kong.