11.
Pugo 2
A five-year contract in itself so obviously entailed a return on its completion to a surfeited labour market at an unemployable age, and Whilst it is conceivable that a few men might, by reason of domestic or other cause, have relinquished their home pension and other rights for their present insecure appointments, obviously the whole of the original 800 applicants would not.
12.
190
Though it has since been denied that it was over the intention to re-engage few if any of the original Hong Kong officers, we would refer you to the circular which was issued to those men in which there is at least the implied threat of dismissal. It WAS said, and was a main factor in determin- ing men to take up their present appointments, and the fact that it was the original policy of the Government is shown by the large numbers of the men so recruited, and by the fact that the present policy is to reduce the strength of the European Inspectorate as quickly as possible, and to a much lower strength than pre-war.
13.
Had the original intention been merely to augment the existing Hong Kong Police Force up to its authorised strength, then it would have been so much easier, cheaper end in many ways more convenient to have recruited locally from the ranks of the Services then in the Colony; in fact from manbers of the Armed Forces who were actually policing the Colony on our arrival here. Moreover, this method of recruit ent would have provided a much younger and more evenly balanced Force than the present middle-aged one.
144c
Some were informed by the interviewing Officers in London that the Hong Kong Police Force was to be entirely reconstructed and it was there- forc obvious that those of us with the more service and the more experience, and especially those of us with rank would, indeed MUST gain rapid, if not immediate promotion here, as even this Force could not consist of 158 men with the lowest European rank of Sub-Inspector with no intermediate or higher
ranks.
15.
For our part, we were to be the original members of a new Police Force and quite obviously those of us with the previous rank, the greater experience and the more qualifications must have been given immediate promotion on a substantial scale in order to maintain seniority here. Further, that our previous service must count for all purposes as if it had been served here.
16.
We considered that we were merely transferring from one Police Force to another as is covered by Police Regulations, and this is borne out by the subsequent amendment to the contract of those officers who transferred from the Letropolitan Police Force.
17.
The contention of the Government that our previous service does not count is obviously wrong, and can be ridiculous, for it is anologous to a man transferring from one station to another within tho sme Force or other- wise, with 29 years service, and at that stage pensionable, and yet losing all his previous service and rank at the new station, where he would be expected to serve a full fresh tom of 30 years in order to secure the pension for which he had already served 29 years.
18.
Several of us were informed that owing to the special nature of the engagement, the question of longer contract terms then the standard of five years was under consideration, and that our new contracts embodying this longer term would be awaiting us on our arrival here,
19.
Home Office lotter 676,652/68 of 24.1.46 to an official at New Scotland Yard roads,
"We have spoken to the Colonial Office about Suction 5(a) of these conditions of service, which provides for a five year non-pensionable contract in the first place. They say it is not appropriate in the case of Metropolitan Police Officers, and that the Officer concerned will be made a revised offor, though it may not be possible to do this before he sails. Under the revised offer he will go straight on to the pensionable establishment of the Hong Kong Police
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