ADVENTURERS IN HONG KONG
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tic, sly campaign that gradually revealed Mayréna's shady past. Bain at first simply published extracts about Mayréna from the Courrier d'Haiphong and other sources. On 24 December the Mail reported that there was a rumour in town that M. de Mayrénna (sic) King of the Sedangs, has placed his country under a German protectorate We can scarcely believe the report, although the king does not seem to be consumed with a desire to speedily revisit his new found subjects, and might not regret if he were pensioned and the very heavy responsibilities of Kingship taken off his shoulders'. On 26 December two columns were again published on Mayréna and this time the Mail quoted from an article by Father Guerlach in the Courrier, which made clear that the Mission had been swindled by Mayréna and that he was appallingly dishonest.
The attacks upon Mayréna's integrity by Bain did not go unchallenged. The King was defended with magnificent pomposity by Fraser-Smith, editor of the Telegraph. The rival editors excoriated each other's opinions with a ludicrous solemnity, reminiscent of the pen-and-ink duels fought daily by Mr. Pott and Mr. Slurk at the time of the Eatanswill election in Pickwick Papers. Father Guerlach's disclosures, for example, were dismissed by Fraser-Smith in these words: 'like most missionary utterances, this one breathes hatred and uncharitableness throughout, and on that account loses any influence on the impartial reader',35
On 14 January Bain further disclosed that there were 'warrants out for the arrest of the "King of the Sedangs" should he touch French territory. He is accused of having declared himself King of a country under French protection; and for one or two other reasons our local monarch would find Saigon an extremely hot place if he returned there'. The next day Bain reported that another letter from Father Guerlach had been published in the Courrier and ‘the charge therein made against the "King of the Sedangs" is of so serious a character that we hesitate to translate it, not being in a position to verify the statement. We may say, however, that the letter contains a warning against placing reliance on a letter of credit for 200,000 frs, purporting to be signed by Monseigneur Van Camelbecke, Bishop of Quinhon, no such letter having been written or signed by the Bishop.'
On 7 January 1889 the Mail published a long editorial entitled "The King of the Sedangs-Some Interesting Revelations', in which
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