CO129-494 - Governor Sir Clementi - 1926 [9-10] — Page 541

3747/26

)

址

}

518

of one-half instead of one-third of salary is shown in the enclosure No.1

-

C. It will be seen that allowances rising

to 21.4 per cent if the dollar falls to ls. 9. are involved. I should prefer to give the proposals put forward in my telegram a trial, before recommending the more liberal scales advocated by the three Unofficials mentioned.

4.

I propose for the present to limit the

concession to the terms of the memorandum, but should be glad to receive your authority to extend it to persons having serious liabilities in sterling countries, such as the maintenance of parents, if after full condition of any individual cases I felt it proper to do so.

5.

Before putting these proposals before the

Finance Committee I had already given careful consideration

to a proposal that the present acale for exchange rates for

payment of salaries should be extended to cover rates below

2s. 6d. The objections to this alternative are that it

would cost the Government a much larger sum; that the

relief which it would give in individual cases would be so

small as to be of little practical benefit to those officers who are compelled to remit a large portion of their salaries in sterling and who are most affected by the low rate of the

dollar, whereas in the case of bachelors without dependent a to support there is at present no special hardship and no justification for imposing an additional burden on the

community.

6.

If, however, exchange rates should remain for some time below 2/-, the purchasing power of the dollar may be expected to decrease in so far as articles of clothing, tinned food etc., which are imported from sterling countries are concerned; and it may be necessary later on

to