643288-1895-Pension-Rules — Page 3

THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 2ND NOVEMBER, 1895.

No. 5.

right.

1121

No Judge or other officer shall have an absolute right to compensation for past Pensions not of services, or to any pension or other allowance under this Minute, nor shall anything herein contained limit the right of the Crown to dismiss any Judge or other officer without compensation.

No. 6.

No pension, compensation, or other retiring allowance shall be granted without the Secretary of State's previous sanction of the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

No. 7.

sanction required.

conduct, &c.

No pension or allowance shall be granted to any Public Officer who has not attained Certificates the age of fifty-five years (other than a Governor) without a certificate from the Head of required as to his Department and from two qualified medical practitioners that he is incapable by reason of some infirmity of mind or body of discharging the duties of his office, and that such infirmity is likely to be permanent, nor in any case without a certificate from the Head of his Department that he has discharged the duties of his office with such diligence and fidelity as to justify the grant to him of a pension or allowance. When the officer applying for a pension or allowance is himself the Head of a Department, or is a Judge, the certificates required by this clause from the Head of a Department must be given by the Governor.

No. 8.

It shall be lawful for the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in cases of peculiar or Cases of extraor extraordinary merit, in which special services have been rendered altogether in excess dinary merit. and beyond the usual scope of those which the officer is paid to perform, to sanction the grant by the Governor in Council of pensions or retiring allowances at higher rates and on more favourable conditions than those which may for the time being be authorised by this Minute; but, in ordinary cases, the maximum pension or retiring allowance grantable to an officer under this Minute, or to an officer entitled to pension or retiring allowance also in respect of service not under this Government from all sources combined shall not exceed two-thirds of the highest salary drawn by such officer at any time in the course of his service.

No. 9.

1. Pensions, gratuities, and allowances computed at the rates before-mentioned will Good conduct only be granted in cases of decidedly faithful and meritorious service.

2. Where the fidelity and diligence of the officer fall short of the first degree of

merit, the computation may be made at lower rates.

3. Where the officer has been guilty of gross negligence, irregularity, or misconduct,

no grant will be made.

No. 10.

required.

entitles for

1. The service in respect of which pensions, retiring allowances or gratuities will be What service granted must be unbroken, except in cases where the service has been interrupted by pensions. abolition of office, or other temporary suspension of employment not arising from mis- conduct or voluntary resignation. Also service prior to a break of service may be allowed to count for pension together with service subsequent to such break if the whole inter- vening period has with the previons sanction of the Governor in Council been spent in some other employment under the Crown.

2. No service other than service on the Fixed Establishment on full or half pay will be taken into account in computing pensions or retiring allowances, except that, where the service on the Fixed Establishment has been immediately preceded by an unbroken period of service on the temporary establishment, or of service paid for out of an open vote or of both such services, such period will be taken into account. Provided always that of the period of service paid for out of an open vote not more than two-thirds shall be counted for the purpose of this clause. Leave of absence on half salary will only be counted at the rate of one month for every two months of such leave, provided that vacation leave, in cases where full salary is not available, shall be counted as though it were leave with full salary. But leave taken before the end of 1886, inclusive of vacation leave taken (after June, 1876,) in conjunction with half pay leave will, to the extent of one-sixth of an officer's resident service, be counted as full service for pension.

3. Service will be deemed to commence for pension purposes, in the case of Cadets as well as of other officers, at the date on which they commence to draw salary, provided that if a Cadet fails to pass the final examination in the native language within the prescribed period, the period by which the date of his passing his final examination is overdue will be deducted from his term of service when his claims to pension are considered.