CIRCULAR. 
[Confidential and Urgent.] 
Colonial Secretary’s Office, 
S i no a pore, 25 th Feb rna ry , 1921. 
His Excellency the Governor desires to draw the attention of 
all Heads of Departments to the problem of dealing with the cases 
of Europeans who have lost their employment in consequence of the 
present trade depression and who are likely, if assistance is not given 
to them, to become destitute. 
2. The view taken by the Government is that it is better that 
public money should be expended on engaging unemployed 
Europeans temporarily on work of a more or less unremunerative 
nature than that these men should be repatriated or should become 
the objects of Government charity either directly, or in the indirect 
form of loans. 
3. With this end in view Heads of the Departments are re¬ 
quested, at the earliest possible date, and within seven days of the 
receipt of this Circular, to put forward to the Colonial Secretary 
their suggestions as to how far monthly employment, at a low 
rate of pay, could be found in their Departments for unemployed 
Europeans with no technical knowledge. In view of the present 
crisis, and the object to be achieved, these suggestions may include 
forms of employment which, under other circumstances, could not 
be justified as a charge upon public funds. 
4. The suggestions received in reference to this Circular will 
be passed to the Controller of Labour, Straits Settlements and 
Federated Malay States, to whom applicants for employment will 
be advised to apply. 
By His Excellency’s Command, 
E. C. H. WOLFF, 
Acting Colonial Secretary , 
Straits Settlements. 
