TNAG-0007-FCO40-43-Governorship-of-Hong-Kong-1968 — Page 24

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terms, without allowing some weightage for differences in the cost of living, which in the nature of the case must vary widely from one territory to another. It is not like comparing salaries of people who are all serving in or based on the same country.

4.

Thirdly, even if the statistical basis were adjusted as suggested in my two preceding paragraphs, I still venture to question how far it is possible to measure the relative responsi- bility of one Governor against another in terms of cash. Among my own Governors, for example, no one could possibly dispute that the responsibility of the Governor of Gibraltar is greater, and quite a bit greater, than that of the Governor of St. Helena. But I am not clear of the basis for assessing it as being two and a half times greater (as the table in paragraph 11 of your draft proposes) rather than any other reasonable ratio that might be stated. Nor, with respect, does it seem to me prima facie likely that the relative responsibilities should be proportionate to the difference between the gross national product. A lot of other things besides economics enter a Governor's responsibilities and often the poorer the territory the greater the problems. The Governorship of St. Helena, for example, would be much more of a sinecure if the Colony were not on grant aid. And the primary current responsibilities of the Governors of Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands arise from the disputes with Spain and Argentina respectively, to which the gross national product of Gibraltar or the Falkland Islands is completely irrelevant.

5.

Finally, even if a precise arithmetical table of relativities could be arrived at by means of these or other criteria, the effect of the proposed league table seems to be to increase the differential between the highest paid and the lowest paid Governor. I question if this is equitable or wise. The differential already seems to be a good deal greater than (speaking from memory) it used to be in the decade after the War when we had many more Governors, including some with much larger territories and wider responsibilitie than any surviving now for example, Nigeria and Kenya.

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6. I cannot help wondering whether the whole exercise is not an attempt to do the impossible, and whether what really matters is the internal relativities in each Colony between the emoluments of the Governor and those of the senior officers immediately under him, rather than relativities between Governors scattered in the four corners of the globe. For example, one by-product of the league table would apparently be a great increase in the gap between the Governor of Gibraltar and the Permanent Secretary (shortly to be re-titled Deputy Governor). This could not be remedied unless the Gibraltar Legislature were prepared to pay the Deputy Governor a lot more in consequence of the arbitrary decision which would have been taken by H.M.G. about the salary of the Governor. I fear that the whole exercise may end in creating more bad feeling and hard cases than it eliminates.

مسور

c.c. Sir A. Galsworthy

Mr. Morgan

Mr. Fairclough

Mr. Jerrom

Mr. Carter Mr. Sewell

(J.S.Bennett)

13 August, 1968

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