4. I believe you may also have misunderstood the relationship between Governors and their Ministers, as regards conditions of service. There is in fact no contract as such between a Governor and the territory which he administers. He has only his commission from The Queen, and a letter from us setting out the terms and conditions of service. This letter defines what we do or do not do for him, but it is a matter for him to agree with his local Ministers what they will do in addition. Colonial Regulations, which I referred to in my earlier letter, are (to quote from the Regulations themselves) "directions to Governors for general guidance given by the Crown through the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs". They cannot be held to be binding on the governments of Dependent Territories. The Regulations reflect the conventions that have grown up over the years as regards what local governments will normally do for their Governors. But when, in the changing circumstances des- cribed in my previous letter, governments seem no longer so ready to follow the old conventions, it becomes very difficult to put pressure on them to do so. Given all the other problems that most of them have in dealing with their local Ministers, most Governors find it impossible to even try.
5. I hope therefore that you will reconsider your decision, and allow us to take on this very minor new commitment. If it is any help to you in reaching your decision, I can I think say that most, if not all, of the extra money can be found from savings that we expect to make elsewhere on the Governors' expenses subhead (DCS Vote 1 C3 (4)(d)).
W E Quantrill
Hong Kong and General Department
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