Sessional_Paper_1911 — Page 59

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HONGKONG.

No.

1911

PRECIS OF CORRESPONDENCE ON THE SUBJECT OF THE STERLING SALARIES ATTACHED TO APPOINTMENTS TO WHICH CADETS HAVE A PREFERENTIAL CLAIM.

Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor, July 6th, 1911,

On 29th April, 1910, a representation was made by the Governor to the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the following effect

(a.) That the sterling salaries substituted in 1902 for dollar salaries effected a considerable reduction in the value of posts in Hongkong whereas in the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States they resulted in an increase which was evidenced not only by figures but also by the fact that although officers on dollar salaries in the sister Colony were in most cases glad to accept the Sterling Scheme, no officer in this Colony would do so. (6.) That this reduction was due to an accident, in that the conversion was based on single exchange compensation (and was in fact even below that scale) whereas the Secretary of State had already agreed to the grant of double ex- change compensation to Hongkong Cadets, and the correspondence of the time showed conclusively that the objects in view were to increase and not to decrease the scale of salary.

(c.) That the existing state of things resulted in an increasing dissatisfaction, and was prejudicial to the public interests of this Colony, in that the Service had become unpopular, and was only accepted by those who were at the bottom of the competitive list.

Lord Crewe in his reply on 16th June, 1910, informed the Officer Administering the Government that as a result of memorials received from members of the Cadet Service in the Malay Peninsula he had instructed Mr. R. E. Stubbs of the Colonial Office to proceed to Singapore and to inquire into and report upon the salaries and classification of officers in the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States and that, as it was desirable to deal with the Hongkong Cadet Service on similar lines, he had, after obtaining the concurrence of Sir F. Lugard, instructed Mr. Stubbs to visit Hongkong with a view to holding a similar inquiry there.

The Governor after discussion of the question with Mr. Stubbs addressed the Secretary of State on 5th January, 1911, recommending the scales embodied in column 4 of the Com parative Statement attached. In explanation of the introduction of duty pay His Ex- cellency wrote:-

"Mr. Stubbs informed me that in the similar scheme agreed upon with Sir John An- derson for the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States, increases of salary took the form of duty pay to be drawn in the Colony by the officers actually performing the duties of the posts concerned. The principle is in my opinion sound. It entails no increase in pensionable salary and by increasing the emoluments of an officer while at work in the Colony will deter officers from taking leave of very long duration. I have accordingly adopted it in the recommendations I have to make.”