CO129-612-2 Police Department- petition from European memebers of Inspectorate 29-1-1948 - 22-7-1949 — Page 200

(75)

Secretariat 6177/45c

No: 31.

STAFF

Confidential. maid (25)

54144/33/46.

Sir,

کی

54247//

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONG KONG

29th April, 1948.

1996.

I have the honour to invite reference to your savingram No. 2 of 2nd January, 1947, and to forward a memorandum which you are requested to accept as a petition from Inspector Shepherd on behalf of the pre-war non-gazetted officers of the Police Force.

2. During Lord Listowel's recent visit to the Colony he granted an interview to Inspector Shepherd whose main grievance appeared to be that this petition submitted by him had not been dealt with properly in that it had not been forwarded to you.

3. It will be seen that this memorandum was originally addressed to the Commissioner of Police on the 29th January, 1947, who forwarded to the Colonial Secretary on 1st February, 1947.

In neither the original nor the covering memorandum from the Commissioner was there a request for it to be forwarded to you. Inspector Shep- herd later asked the Commissioner to treat the merorandum as a petition to be forwarded to the Secretary of State. This request was passed to the Colonial Secretariat by telephone and, not being confirmed in writing, led to a regrettable misunderstanding whereby the Secretariat were left in the belief that the request referred to two previous petitions which had been submitted to you during the previous year and Police Headquarters were left with the impression that Inspector Shepherd's memorandum under reference had in fact been forwarded to you.

In ignorance of Inspector Shepherd's wish that the memorandum should be treated as a petition to you, it was in due course laid before the Salaries Commission. The Salaries Commission granted Inspector Shepherd an interview and were thus in full possession of the facts before they made their recommendations which have already received your approval.

5. The points raised in this petition are therefore con- siderably out of date, having already been exhaustively dealt with, but in response to Inspector Shepherd's express request, I am in duty bound to forward his petition to you for consideration. I suggest that your reply should be that you are satisfied that all matters raised in their petition have been satisfactorily dealt with in accordance with policy approved by you, and that you consider that no useful purpose can be served by pursuing the matter further.

7 - MAY 1948

C. J. HEGY.

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient, humble servant,

Mehantan

GOVERNOR

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

A. CREECH JONES, M.P.

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