154 SOUTH AFRICAN BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



of the students taking up "Tobacco and Cotton", 

 although the latter has much better opportunity of being 

 ultimately bought out of the Seryice by some priyate 

 company. 



This Society therefore expresses its opinion that one 

 liberal grading sliould be made to coyer all subjects, and 

 that where. urgency of sudden demand for a particular 

 subject arises, a temporary shortage of men should be 

 met by importations a few notches up a standard scale, 

 but not appointment on a higher scale. The feeling of 

 bitterness appears to arise from a difference in the 

 maximum of the scale offered, and the difference in the 

 prospects of rank and file in different sciences, rather 

 than from minor differences in initial salary. Officers in 

 the same grade would at least feel that they had equal 

 status, irrespectiye of the " notch '^ on which they enter. 



OyERSEA Scholarship System. 



This Society includes a number of South Africans sent 

 oversea to train on Goyernment Scholarships, and these 

 members express certain grievances peculiar to them- 

 selves. 



Although the scholarship system is regarded as an 

 excellent scheme for obtaining carefully selected recruits 

 S. Africans by birth and bilingual by education, grave 

 dissatisfaction is expressed with the '^ contract clause '• . 

 Most scholars aver that this is being consciously used 

 by the Government to get cheap "indentured labour", 

 and to screw down to emoluments attached to scientific 

 and technical posts. Thus certain appointments were 

 formerly graded at £3o0-£150, and £450-£600, but on the 

 return of the first batch of Goyernment Scholars these 

 Avere reduced to £285-£400 and £380-£540 respectively. 

 To some extent this change is wrapped up in the 

 mysterious changes brought about at the time of Union, 

 but scholars aver that they have not been treated in terms 



