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2.2
(2) (1)on 53564/57
but if it is not too late I should be glad of
reconsideration of the "superscale" appointments, so far
as this Service is affected, set out in the second
enclosure to Sir Andrew Caldecott's despatch No.138 of
9th Februrary, 1937. Since that date there has been one
promotion on the old scale (see Sir A. Caldecott's confidential despatch of 1st April, 1937) and, as was
pointed out in that despatch, the next predictable vacancy
will not be until 1939.
4.
With the abolition of the open competitive
examination the three Asiatic Colonies have no doubt lost
their old position of corps d'élite but it seems to me
that the very best raw material should still be sought;
and that the contentment of a million Chinese, on which
the prosperity of this Colony must depend and which has
always been the main concern of the Cadet Service, is at
least as important and delicate as the administration
of vast tracts of Malaya.
5.
There is the further point that, while
unification is clearly desirable in the case of such
transferable Government servants as doctors or legal
officers, Cadet Officers are in the nature of things
practically immovable for life. This may perhaps not be
the case in Africa but is undoubtedly the case in Asia.
6.
I would make the further suggestion that with
a small service such as this some desirable elasticity
may be lost if there are so many "super-scale" posts as
suggested. The Colonial Secretary, Financial Secretary
and Secretary for Chinese Affairs should of course be
personal appointments, but in place of the other seven
senior Administrative posts I should greatly prefer to
see simply the continuation of the existing system of a
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