CO129-612-4 Administrative Service- proposal to increase establishment 18-5-1947 - 22-12-1947 — Page 15

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except for entirely new Services until the position

has been examined in detail by the Efficiency Expert".

In the second place, to put forward such a proposal now

might even prejudice favourable consideration of the

Commission's recommendations in that the Treasury might

take it as showing a lack of realism on our part in failing

to appreciate that so long as Hong Kong is unable to stand

entirely on her own financial feet without any kind of assistance from H. M. G., she must cut her coat according

to her cloth.

3. We fully appreciate your staffing difficulties and

in particular the serious shortage you will be up against

next year when an abnormal proportion of officers will be

on leave at the same time. But this abnormal proportion

of officers on leave will be largely the result of the

abnormal events of the war years and is to that extent not

an argument for an increase in permanent establishment.

4 The two main arguments for an increase in permanent

establishment which we should have to put to the Treasury

are, as we see it, in ascending order of importance,

inadequacy of the present leave reserve because of changed

service conditions (an argument which the despatch

advances) and an increase in the work to be done by

Administrative officers. For this latter argument a

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comparative statement of posts manned, permanently or in leave vacancies, by Administrative Øfiicers pre-war

and now would be desirable, with an explanatory note

against each post not appearing on the pre-war list.

(It is for instance by no means clear why the leave

replacements for all of the posts in Schedule to enclosure

Ho.2 to the despatch have to be found from the Administrative

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