Sessional_Paper_1901 — Page 628

No. 1380.

[ 22 ]

(Acting Colonial Secretary to Chairman, Salaries Committee.)

COLONIAL SECRETARY'S OFFICE, HONGKONG, 30th July, 1900.

SIR, I am directed by His Excellency the Governor to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of the valuable Report which you. in conjunction with the other Members of the Committee appointed by His Excellency to enquire into the subject of the salaries of subordinate officers, have drawn up and submitted for the consideration of the Government.

In offering you and the rest of the Committee the thanks of His Excellency for the trouble and care which you have spent in making the investigations which enabled you to draw up so complete a report, I am to inform you that your recoin- mendations will receive the close attention of the Government and will be for- warded in due course to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your obedient Servant,

The Honourable R. M. GRAY.

F. H. MAY,

Acting Colonial Secretary.

Enclosure No. 2.

NOTES ON RECOMMENDATIONS OF SALARIES COMMITTEE.

YOUR EXCELLENCY.-I think this opportunity should be taken to classify the Salaries of the "Portuguese Clerks" at any rate.

Chinese clerks' salaries have been dealt with this year and Interpreters' will come under the Interpretation Scheme. I submit a classification based on that in C.O.D. 270/1895 which has been prepared by the Treasurer and myself.

Colonial Secretary's Office.

The third clerk's salary is already on an incremental scale rising to $1,800. The fourth clerk, besides assisting in the Despatch Branch, is in charge of the Subsidiary Register of documents connected with the New Territory. His work is heavy and I think his salary should be on an incremental scale. I see no rea- son why there should be such a wide difference between the salaries of the 3rd and 4th clerks and I would suggest that the salary be placed on the next vacancy on an incremental scale rising to $1,080 by $60 biennially.

The salaries of the 5th and 6th clerks have been fixed at $480 rising to $600 by $60 biennially. The experience of the past few months shows me that both these clerks are worth more. Mr. F. Rozario especially is a very smart clerk and a first class typewriter. I think the maxima of their salaries should be fixed at $840 instead of $600. The increases might be $60 biennially. They might begin at $600 from 1st January next. The Committee seems to have left Mr. F. Rozario out by an oversight. The two other clerkships in this Department were vacant at the time of the Committee's enquiry, and at present a temporary typewriter is employed instead of the two clerks.

Treasury.

The post of Cashier in the Treasury is the most responsible clerkship in the Service and I am strongly of opinion that the salary should rise to $3,000 at least.

The salary of the 7th clerk is already $480 to $780.

The 6th and 7th clerks' salaries might be fixed at $660 to $840 by $60 biennially.

Registrar General's Department.

Mr. Wodehouse's increments date from the 22nd of July in each year.

He

is therefore now drawing $130 a month. He might draw $170 from the 1st of January, 1901.