CO129-577-9 Badan Singh- petitions that he should be considered for promotion 2-11-1939 - 9-1-1940 — Page 37

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she had even contemplated leaving India.

I was then faced with the fact that I would myself have

to proceed to India to attend, on my wife's behalf, to the business

which she had left undone, It was decided that I should take with

me my eldest daughter and the two children age 10 and 8, whom my

daughter could look after on the voyage and in India, while my wife

would remain here with the youngest daughter age 6 and the two boys

age 13 and 11. These boys are attending school at St. Joseph's

College and we wished to avoid a break in their studies by not tak-

ing them to India. In any case I could not have afforded to pay

their passages and my wife's second return passage.

I decided not to leave for India until my wife gave birth.

A child was born on the 8th September. Then I decided to ask for

leave in October, but Mr. Tang Shing Cheung, senior clerk of the

Account Office, also wished to go on four weeks leave from the

1st November, and as I would be absent for a long period and he

could not get leave while I was away, he asked me to postpone my

leave until his return. I agreed and I was in charge of my own

office and Mr. Tang's while he was on leave in November.

a few days of Mr. Tangs return Mr. Yung Yuk Tong, senior clerk in the Store, went seriously sick and Mr. Tang was sent to the Store

to take his place. My leave had therefore to be further delayed.

Early in December I received a letter from my brother requesting me to go to India on an urgent matter in connection with my own family. This was quite a different matter from my wife's

family affairs.

Within

As Mr. Tang was still in the Store at this time, and I realised that it was almost essential that I shouldnot be absent from

the office when the final accounts for the year were being passed

and closed in December, I decided not to leave until 22nd January, and on the 17th December I forwarded my application for leave from that date. It has been pointed out to me that in this letter of application I stated that my "dependants" had recently returned

from India. Of course my wife only had returned. The sentence