36
THE HONGKONG. WEEKLY PRESS AND
CIVIL SERVANTS SALARIES.
bimself and, therefore, he yielded to represout this man Li Fuk-cheong to be his brother, and they paid him $2,000. He remained at large though a warrant was out for his arrest vary
The correspondence on the subject of the shortly after the occurrence, until May 3 st.
geliries of European civil servants was laid before the Legislative Conucil yesterday. Daring most of that time he was in Hongkong living the life of a hunted criminal.
Sis Matthew Nathan, in his despatch of He has been in jail since May 31st, and may I suggest argument against payment of sterling or ex- 13th July, 19 6, pointed out that the strongest to your Lordship that this is not a case where
change compensation salaries at any rate other an exemplary punishment is needed to protect than the current one is that by the agreements society from a designing criminal, but that you
which officers have expressly or impliedly have to undertake the difficult task of up-entered into they have no gal claim to any portioning the punishment this man ought to other rate, Against this however must be set suffer-punishment sufficient to act as a deter-
the fact that it is impossible to expect a satisfied rent, and to help him in future to lead a respect- Civil Service in which the spending power of able life. I would ask your Lordship to be as
officers salaries is constantly being reduced merciful as you can.
through no fault of their own and that with a dissatisfied Civil Service the work of the Colony is not likely to be efficiently performed, while new recruits of the desired stamp will be doterred from joining by the complaints of those
His Lordship I have considered this case and
know all the facts of it. The offence is one which under ordinary circumstances would b visited with a very severe penalty, indeed, five
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(July 22, 1907. signed by practically all the European Officers of the Medical, Sanitary and Public Works Departments. Slightly different petitions, of which copies are annexed, have been submitted by the Masters of Queen's College, by the European members of the Harbour and Prison Departments, and by the European contingent of the Police Force.
Two letters, one dated the 24th December and the request of Sir Francis Figgott form the last the other the 26th February, both forwarded at
enclosures to this despatch.
2. It will be seen that except in the Post Office and in the Education Department, whose
members have recently received increases in salary, the complaint of the insufficiency of emoluments in the existing circumstances of exchange is universal throughout the European officers of the Hongkong Government,
or seven years' penal servitude. In the circum who are constantly realizing with greater has not shown that the dollar has risea
stances of this case I cannot possibly let the prisoner off. He must pay some penalty for the partly stupid and partly criminal act in which be has taken part, and. I think, twelve months' imprisonment without bard labour will meet the exigencies of the case.
DISOBEYING AN ORDER OF BANISHMENT.
Wong Kam, alias Lo Chan, was indicted on the charge of disobeying a banishment order. Prisoner pleaded not guilty, and the following jurors were called: L. A. Rose, A. Bain, L. A. Musto, R. Laurenz, P. M. N. da Silva and E. Gamblen.
Detective George Walt gave evidence ax to identifying the defendant as a man who had returned from banishment by the taking of his finger prints. He also produced his photo graph taken on the day before his banishment,
and defailed the various marks which were ou the prmer's person.
The jury, after examination, found the pri soner guilty, and his Lordship sentenced him to twelve months' imprisonment with hard labcur.
IN SUMMARY JURISDICTION.
BEFORE MR. A. G. WISE (PUISNE JunGr).
A PROMISSORY NOTE CLAIM.
Mok Yan-to of the Mok Yau firm suod Tang In to recover 82 due on a premissory note. Defendant deni-d liability.
His Lordship- Did you sign that paper (note produced)-Yes, there's no mistake about it, but Yan-to is responsible.
His Lordship Why shouldn't you be respon sible for a document you signed?--Because d- was the manager at the time.
His Lordship-You'd better pay then : Judgment and costs for plaintiff.
SUIT FOR RENT.
Sit Leung kit r. the Yam Lee firm was A claim for 40 due for rent,
Plaintiff said he was the landlord of the ground floor of 21, Battery treet, Yanmati, of which floor the defendant was tenant at a rent of $8 per month. He was claiming five months'reat, and always gare rent receipts when he was paid, His Lordship (to defendant)-l'roduce your
rent receipts.
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resentme.t the unfavourable conditions und-r which they are now serving. The fact that the Clony raises its rosenne and frames its estimate of expenditure in dollars and so apparently saves at the expense of its servants when the dollar goes above the rate of exchange at which the annual estimates are made, adds to the dissatisfaction arising from the present condition of affairs.
His Excellency submitted several schemes the most important of which and the one which he favoured most was the third. It was follows:
88
the
"A third scheme would be to fix upon some rate, and if the dollar goes above it, to pay dollar equivalent at that rate, and if it goes below it. to pay at the average rate of the preceding month. If, for instance, a rate is fixed upon then when the dollar is above 2 -, officers drawing sterling salaries would receive 10 dollars to the £, and if below 2 - some greater
previous mouth. uumber according to the exchange of the 25 would be an arbitrary, but convenient, rate to fix. It is considerably higher than the rate current at the time of the sterling salaries by Mr. Chamberlain's despatch of the 13th June, 1906, but since that date offers hare on the whole ga ned by the low exchange, and they would again profit if the gold value of silver fell, while they would not lose if it rose. The practical effect of this scheme, if carried cut, would be to couvert sterling salaries into dollar salaries for local payments, it the dollar value rose abova 2
Then comes the important letter of March xth, 1907, in which Sir Matthew writes: "
My Lord-In accordance with paragraph
1
No. 922 of the Rules and Regulations of H. M.'s Colonial Service, I have the honour to transmit copies of two memorials on the subject of the sdaries of ollieers of this Government in relation to the exchange value of the gold or gold equivalent in which they are paid. The first memorial, addressed to me for transmission to Your Lordship is signed by Sir F. T. Pig gott. Chief Justice, by Sir H. S. Berkeley who has since resigned from the Colonial service, and by Mr. S. T. Daun, Superintend. eat of the Botanical and Forestry Department. It purports also to present the views of Mr. H. Defendant produced rent rec-ipts for R. Phelips, the Local Auditor and of the late Elgin Road, He said he was never a tenant Harbour Master. The second memorial also of plaintiff's.
addressed to m⚫ for similar transmission in the event of my being satisfied of the general correctness of the figures it contains, signed by the remaining heads of departments with the exception of the Colonial Secretary and of the Director of the Observatory, who is about to retire from the Service; it is also signed by the assistant hands in some of the pricipal offices. In forwarding it Mr. H. H. J. Gompertz, seting Attorney General, stated that no names of officers in posts below the 2nd class bad been appeuded to it because it was thought undesirable to multiply signatures but that the signatories claimed to speak for all rauks of the
His Lordship asked plaintiff if he had any witnesses, and plaintiff called a small boy
named Tam Poon-chi.
Tam was placed in the box and said he was 18 years of age,
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His Lordship-How old were you when you were before me the other day I was before your Lordship last year, and was then 17.
His Lordship-What do you do, that you are brought forward as a witness?-I am rent collector.
a
His Lordship-Take Lim out of the box. It is not likely that anyone would pay rent to a boy like that.
Plaintiff He is not exactly my rent col. leo or, but he goes and tells my tenautk to pay up.
His Lordship- He said he was the rer t ollector. The case is adjoined till next Friday. (To the interpreter. Tell the paiutiff it is so ure bringing that little boy le e as a wihers. I won't have him. He will be 25 next wook; seems to age ten years a week.
Government Service.
*1 also forward in duplicate a lafter on the same sui jˇct a dies ed to Your Lordship by M. A G. Wi-e, Pui-ne Judg..., who gives his reasons fur not siguing either of the memo‹ials ref rred to above.
I further transmit a copy of a petition addros ed to me through the lousal 8 or try wich with minor alterations to make it applicable to different departments, has been
3. The first of the memorials referred to abova embodies some inaccuracies. Experience more than 6d in 18 months" nor that "the utmost concession a few tradesmen have made is a reduction of 5 per cent. in their prices". The sterling equivalent of the dollar has not been balow since the 11th October, 1904, and has never risen to 24. Several important firms have reduced their prices between 10 and 20 per cent. since that date. The statement that “ sO far as European tradesmen are concerned the price of goods has for long been at the rate of one dollar to one shilling charged in England is not applicable to all goods nor is it correct to lay down that customs duties in other Coloni -8 at most add 10 per cent, to the price." Though $20 a month may be the mean rent of the signatories of the first memorial (of whom a house on the Peak of officials in the position of
quarters) it is certainly not the average rent of one however is provided with Government houses occupied by Government offioirs. statement that "landlords do not find house
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The
property a profitable investment" put forward to show that "it is hardly possible to anticipate
reduction of rent any
is incredible; I am in- formed also that there has during the last year bees a tendency of rents of houses in the Peak and Upper Levels of Victoris to fall slightly. The statement that servants' wages aro roughly no less than 810 a month, including 4 chair coolias does certainly not apply, as it
11 all classes of officers.' Sub- is sad to do, to ordinate officers do not keep 4 chair coolies and conveyance allowance of $15 to $40 is given to officers whose duties require them to make uss of rickshas or chairs.
In spite of these inaccuracies, which it has beu my duty to point out, there is much in the memorial worthy of Your Lordship's consider ation and I would draw special attention to its 11th paragraph.
intended to show that a
somewhat
4. The second memorial puls the case of officers on the whole moderately and correctly, except that in my opinion Table A which is head of a junior department requires to live reasonably $9,924 or, sy at 89 to the £, £1,100 per annum, and a junior officer $4,293, or say £475 per anoum does, as seems to have been anticipated by the memorialists in para. 8 of the document, prove too much. But I am satisfied as to the general accuracy of the statements and figures in Tables B and C, and that it is not over- stating the case to say that the cost in dollars of those items of living which are paid for on a since 1000 when the Sterling Salary Scheme was silver basis has gone up at least 20 per cent. introduced and during which year the average gold value of the dollar was 1/8. A facton which bas undoubtedly contributed to this rise is the increasing wealth of the commusity, as evidenc Colony, from $1,901,074 in 1992 to an amount revenue of the ed by the growth in the
estimated at $6,448, 25 for 1907, a fresh taxation having been imposed to account for this increase of about 30 per cent.
3. The remaining petitions call for little comment. That submitted by the Medical Department does not gain fore› by being signed by the entire staff or pursing sisters to whom much that is contained in it does not apply. Though the Police are undoubtedly prejud šially ›ffected by receiving a smaller number of
lars Bow tha they did formerly, it must be borne in mind that they get considerable extra a lver «llowances «nd free quarters, fuel, light, uniform and passages home and out again
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