CO129-452 - Others & Individuals - 1918 — Page 93

No.553/17, I am directed by the Postmaster General to

inform you in confirmation of the telegran from this

Office of the 8th instant, that a gratuity of 8 375.,

may be paid to the widow and children of the late

Mr. Tong Ching Shing of the Shanghai Post Office.

The Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury

in authorizing this payment state that they will be

unable to make a similar concession in future and that

arrangements should therefore be made for compulsory

contributions to the Fund in the case of all officers

who are eligible to contribute and have not yet done so.

In this connexion I am to refer to the letter from this

Office of the 30th of July last.

I am,

sir,

Your obedient Servant,

The Postmaster General (Sgd) F.H.Williamson.

HONG KONG.

Register No.G.P.0.

1758/18

sir,

GENERAL POST OFFICE,

HONGKONG,

18th March 1918.

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your

letters No. 125221 of the 30th July and No. 125321/17 of

the 13th September, but awaited replying thereto until I

had received an answer to my predecessor's letter No. 55/1917

of the 13th January 1917 in which he made certain proposals

with

with regard to the staff.

C.O

91

25517

REC REG 27 MAY 18

No reply has been received to this communication

so I now beg to state that subordinate officers in

the Agencies fall into three categories. There are clerks for example in the Chefoo Agency who are the

employees of the Agent, who is paid a lump sum for his

services. These clerks are in no way under my

authority and I do not in fact know their names.

They

can be dismissed at pleasure by Mr. Clarke and have no

claim whatever on postal funds.

There are clerks who have joined the Agencies since

the transfer of the Agencies to the General Post Office

London, and these clerks have been appointed on the

understanding that they occupy unestablished positions.

There are clerks who joined the ency Staffs before

the transfer of the Agencies and of these clerks four

only (one of whom has since retired) elected to continue

to subscribe to the Widows and Orphans Fund. All clerks

however who were in the Agencies before the transfer

are entitled to pension.

It is impossible to make arrangements as suggested

by the Lords Commissioners of H..Treasury for

compulsory contributions to the Hong Kong Widows and

Orphans Fund in the case of officers who have joined

the Agencies since the transfer from Hong Kong.

Under the Hong Kong V. and ". Ordinance an "officer"

means a person permanently employed in the serice of the

Hong Kong Government. Clerks appointed to the Agencies

since

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