CO129-601-2 Salaries Commission- currency basis of emolument 27-1-1949 - 23-7-1949 — Page 9

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the best of both worlds. In so far as the first two sentences or paragraph 5 of your letter refer to cirowastances such as these, I am afraid I must adait that I do not quite follow your argument.

3. As regards the latter contingency mentioned in paragraph of this letter, paragraph 2 of the Secretary of State's telegram No. 640 was inserted in crder that there should be no misunderstanding on the polat. If the rate of exchange varied to such an extent that a revision of the dollar nalaries became necessary, which are the circumstances envisaged in paragraph 4 of your letter, then the rate of 18.30. would have to be reconsidered for assessment of sterling pensions not already in issue and I do not imagine that you would feel that this is unreasonable. In the case you quote, however, it seems to me to be screwhat unrealistic to imagine that there could be sy opestion of giving a serving officer the option of remaining on his old salary and accepting the old conditions, or opting for the new salary with the consequential new rate of exchange to be applied to his pension. A drop of one half in the value of the dollar would be so serious that it would be impossible to face the officer with such an option and I imagine that an unconditional increase in salary would have to be considered. It was to cover circumstances in which the rate of exchange might seriously depart from the present conventional rate œf 18.3d. that paragraph 2 of the Secretary of State's telegram No. 160 was inserted. It has been suggested here that that condition may have given rise to a fear that in such circumstances the sterling pensions of officers already on pension would also have to be revised.

There was no intention to

suggest