CO129-504-9 Pensions of government officers- improvement of terms 11-3-1927 - 21-11-1927 — Page 3

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sufficient remedy.

The thing to do would appear

to be to extend the principle of the second

proposal by estimating the value of the

other advantages (free passages on leave,

exchange compensation, etc.) which have been

granted to Hong Kong officers in lieu of

increasing their salaries, and add this figure

to the retiring salary for the purpose of

calculating pension.

No.2.

hoted in Precedent Book (c)

The Hong Kong Go vernment has completely

misunderstood the intention as regards the

death gratuity. The same mistake has been

made in the Straits Settlements who, in Clause

20 of their Bill in 28020/27 Straits, have

endeavoured to secure that the death gratuity

shall not form part of the deceased officers

estate and shall not be subject to his debts.

The intention was that the gratuity should be

available to pay the debts of the deceased

officer and it was to form part of the officer's

ordinary estate. It has been clearly laid down in the Khowry Case (CF.10068/26 Palestine) that

the gratuity was to form part of the estate and

that the officer should have the same power to

deal with it by Will as he has in the case of

other items of his estate.

The principle of this proposed pension

minute cannot therefore be accepted, and since

the gratuity is to be part of the estate the

harder.

Government will clearly not wish to proceed with

anything on the lines of paragraph 2 of the draft

minute.

J. Pasmin 27/5