No. 757.
33
53510/3831
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONG KONG.
11th October, 1938.
32.
Sir,
I have the honour to inform you that I have under
consideration the question of reorganizing the cadre of
Watchmen employed by the Kowloon-Canton Railway in order to
provide for the more effective protection of railway
property.
2. The area of railway property at present under
guard is about fifty six acres but it is expected that when
certain projected extensions have been carried out this
area will be doubled. Furthermore in accordance with the
provisions of the Tripartite Agreement for Transit Traffic
with the Chinese National Railways, copies of which were
forwarded to you under cover of Mr. N. L. Smith's despatch
No.275 of 4th April, 1938, goods traffic is now carried
under Railway Risk Liability which renders this Government
directly responsible for all thefts and losses from wagons
under load.
3. The existing staff of watchmen consists of one
Head Watchman ($360 - $540 by $20 annually) and seventeen
watchmen ($190 - $240 by $12 triennially).
These men have
neither the training nor the physique for efficient police
work and I am of the opinion that the time has come when
they should be replaced by a uniformed force of specially
selected men, on rather higher scales of salary.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
MALCOLI MACDONALD, M.P.,
&C.,
&c.,
&c.
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