CO129-435 - Governor Sir May & Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1916 [9-11] — Page 179

"A"

Copy

Public Works Department,

Hongkong,

July 12th, 1916.

176

To the Hon. Celonial secretary,

Bir,

I beg to draw your attention to a chanzo which, I have heard, has

been or is about to be made in the staff of the Public Works Department

I refer to the promotion of Mr. J. Duneen over the heads of Loveral

Assistant Engineers who are senior to him in Service. Such promotion

appears to be unjust as it ignores the seniority of those affected by

it and deprives them of that promotion which every officer in the ser-

vice looks forward to and has been led to expect as his right, provid-

ed his duties have been satisfactorily discharged, und wigout the hope

of which he would not have entered the cervios of the Government.

This promotion offects me very considerably on secount of my senior-

ity in the staff of Assistant Engineers and I therefore beg to bring to

your notice the matter as it presente itself to me, and respectfully

nak that you will lay this appeal before Hie Excellency the Governor

with a view tê his kind consideration and with a request that he will

be pleased to reconsider his decision which I think must have been

made without a full explanation of the harm that will be dine to me ant

to the other officers concerned.

I cannot imaging why I have been passed over in this mâner but I

think it possible that one or more of the following may hata beon

ndymoed as reasons for such action, and I have here ondertoured to

show reasone why, in my opinion, I should not lose any seniority and *}

thus be debarred from promotion when it should in the ordinary course

of events come to mu.

1. That as I was appointed locally (I was already in the Colony

when I joined the Colonial Service) I am to be treated in à different

manner to other Assistant Engineers.