Sessional_Paper_1897 — Page 512

506

No. 223.

SIR,

(4)

Enclosure.

(Director of Public Works to Governor.)

PUBLIC WORKS OFFICE, HONGKONG, 25th May, 1895.

In reply to your circular No. 37, I have the honour to forward you herewith the usual statement for the preparation of the Establishment Estimates for 1896.

As will be observed, it is practically the same as that of 1895, with one or two alterations, the authorities for which are given in the column headed “Remarks.”

2. I have, however, received applications for increase of salaries from some of the officers, viz., Messrs. CHATHAM, KING, TSE TSAN TAI, CHAN KAM To, and CHEONG YAU; these are attached.

3. In submitting these applications, I request to be allowed to bring the follow- ing facts to the notice of His Excellency the Governor and respectfully urge that the question of increasing the salaries of the engineering staff receive the favourable consideration of His Excellency the Governor.

4. On reference to Colonial Office Despatch No. 43, it will be seen that His Excellency Sir WILLIAM DES Vaux, in his despatches 234 of the 27th July, 1889, and 318 of 5th October, 1889, at the time of the reorganisation of this department, recommended salaries even at the then rate of exchange considerably in excess of those now attached to the offices.

5. When the rates paid to engineers and architects in private practice in this Colony, of which the Government have had a striking illustration in connection with the recent Taipingshan Arbitration, arc considered, and that the Municipal Engineers of Singapore and Shanghai receive salaries much in advance of that paid to the Director of Public Works in this Colony, I feel sure that His Excellency the Governor will not consider that the salaries proposed by Sir WILLIAM DES VEUX were excessive.

6. I would further point out that the remuneration received by the Senior Engineering Staff of this department does not seem, when compared with the nature of the work performed and the expenditure on Public Works including Colonial and Municipal, equal to that paid to officers in similar positions in other Colonies.

7. On reference to my annual reports, it will be seen that the average expen- diture on public works is about $500,000 per annum, to this must be added the expenditure on the Praya Reclaination, as the Director of Public Works is the responsible engineer for this work (though more or less of a private nature), amounting to about $250,000 per annum, making a total of $750,000 annually.

8. In addition to the whole of the Public Works, as there exists no municipality in this Colony, the whole of the routine work usually performed by Municipal Engineers and Surveyors falls to this department.

9. Further, it must be borne in mind that the growth of this Colony frequently leads to this department being called upon to make reports and conduct survey work, the actual expenditure on which forms no criterion of the work involved, and more particularly as these reports are of such a iniscellaneous nature as often to cause special consideration and a much more general knowledge of engineering than is possessed by most engineers at the present day when almost every branch is becoming a speciality.