C8&
381
Attorney General. Why so certain?
(153)
Mr Mongan. One circumstance occurs to me which confirms my memory. They were taken to be burnt from the place where they had been lying;—and another circumstance strikes me in connection with the Caldwell Commission—I thought the books would be asked for, and they were not in existence—They could not have been on the 27th of May when the Commission first sat.
Attorney General. You thought the Ma-chow Wong papers would be wanted on the Caldwell Commission! What made you think that before you were asked for them?
Mr Mongan.—I think such a thought crossed my mind.
Attorney General.—You think such a thought crossed your mind! Now, with all these instances of inaccurate memory, can you be confident—are you confident that the destruction took place earlier than May?
Mr Mongan. I am sure it was before the 14th of April.
Attorney General.—In your depositions at the Police Court you said that during your absence at Canton the Ma-chow Wong books and papers were bona fide in the custody of the office servants;—and on another occasion you said you felt sure you had not got all the papers—what made you think that?
(152)
[Sensation throughout the Court—the gist of the alleged libel being justified by the Crown's own witness.]
Attorney General.—They were delivered to you by Mr Morrison?
Mr Mongan.—Yes.
Attorney General.—Mr Cleverly says he had written to Mr Caine the Secretary of the Superintendency, to inquire about the memoranda.
Attorney General.—(After a short pause, to give the Jurors time to digest the deposition)—"Again, you have been mistaken about Mr May's memoranda—With some of those items Mr Caldwell's report agrees, but not with a single item of Mr Caldwell's report would your teacher agree—To the Registrar"—Ho-chun-seen—Ying-lin-tong Mr Mongan.—I never had Mr May's memoranda.—I—Sun-chok-heem—and Lo Ahee, witnesses examined at the Police Court on the part of the Crown—is it the intention of Government to call these witnesses?
Mr Mongan.—No.
Acting Attorney General.—If you wish it I will call them.
Mr Mongan.—I have only a slight recollection of having seen them in Mr D'Aguilar's office, and think he told me he was going to send them to Mr Wade.
Attorney General.—You only think so.
Mr Mongan. I have only a slight recollection.
Attorney General.—About what time was this?
Mr Mongan.—As well as I can recollect it was after the meeting of Council, about the same time that I forwarded the books and papers to Mr Wade.
Attorney General.—Now what office did you hold then?
Mr Mongan.—I was at that time a Student Interpreter in charge of the Chinese Secretary's office. There are two rooms in that office; an outer and an inner. I have never been separated from that office.
Attorney General—Well, you (Mr Mongan) know what evidence they gave, and that the principal contradicted Mr Caldwell in almost every—I may say every particular.
Mr Mongan. I haven't read Mr Caldwell's evidence.
Attorney General. Referring particularly to Mr Caldwell's report on the books (page 104 supra) of every item they say they cannot tell how or where he got them from I will read, and after hearing their evidence you will be so good as to make correction of any discrepancy (reads).
Attorney General.—And now I'll go on reading your evidence before the Caldwell Commission (reads)—You, Mr Mongan's teacher, Cross-examined by Mr Tarrant, (the Magistrate writes) depones "I cannot conceive how he, Mr Caldwell, made up the 13 items comprising this report.
Examined upon each separate item,—
1. A bill of certain arms, such as spear heads, swords & amounting to about $50. Answer. I do not recollect.
2. An entry in a book of the payment of $22 for shot. Answer.—I do not recollect.
3. An entry in another book of the sale of Gunpowder to Te Shai amounting to $22. Answer—I do not recollect. Another entry in the same book of the purchase of Gunpowder. Answer—I do not recollect.
4. An entry in another book of the advance by the Kwang Yeh-long Hong to the Sun'Sum'shing Boat, of Taels 108. Answer.—I do not recollect.
5. A bill for shot sold the Poo-sen boat $12. Answer—I do not recollect.
6. A bill from Foo-shai for the sale of one Gun to Kee Kong $130. Answer.—I do not recollect.
7. An order on the Quang Yek-long Hong to pay $22 for Gunpowder. Answer.—I do not recollect.
8. Two draft receipts from Wong-Akee, acknowledging to have received from Mr Caldwell the sum of $1,500, on account of Foong-hoh-shing. Answer.—I do not recollect.
9. A letter addressed to Wong Akee by Lok Hing, begging him to use his endeavours to obtain the release of a Nephew...
The examination was of a cursory nature—It was not a searching examination—On the 13th of October you sent the papers to Mr Wade—On the 12th you went to the Council. There you heard Mr May's memoranda read—and there you concurred in the correctness of Mr Caldwell's translation.
Mr Mongan.—Mr May's memoranda were never referred to me for collation.
Attorney General.—Are any of the Chinese documents which those memoranda referred to in existence.
Mr Mongan. Not one of them—not a paper.
Attorney General—You say in your depositions at the Police Court that you saw nothing suspicious among the documents inspected—Do you confirm that?
Mr Mongan. I saw nothing that I recollect.
Attorney General.—You say further in these depositions That Caldwell called your attention to insignificant items—did he call your attention to significant ones?
Mr Mongan.—No.
Attorney General.—Now I will read to you Mr Caldwell's report to the Council.—
"I beg to state that the examination was conducted in the presence of Mr Mongan, assisted by his Chinese clerks, and that whatever expense was incurred would be refunded to Akee by the writer."
Now how are we to reconcile this with what you have just now, and before deponed, that it was he, Caldwell, who handed the suspicious documents to you, not you to him?—If you left the searching for suspicious items to him how can you swear you know anything about them in the gross?
Mr Mongan.—I did not leave it to Mr Caldwell—Its all right with exception of your comment on it.
Attorney General.—Did Mr Caldwell ask you whether the report agreed with his own notes, or with the contents of the Chinese documents?
Mr Mongan.—With his notes. I could concur with their general accuracy, having looked over the documents before I handed them to Mr Caldwell, and could judge of their relevancy or irrelevancy to the matter.
Attorney General—One bundle never came under your eye at all, and you made only a cursory examination of the others?
Mr Mongan.—I confirm all that has been stated before the Magistrate; I did not leave it to Mr Caldwell to determine their relevancy; I read them over myself first.
Attorney General—Was it possible for you, after such an examination, to make a faithful report as to their contents?
Mr Mongan.—No answer.
Attorney General.—Supposing you had been called on to confirm Mr Caldwell's report, not as to his notes but as to the documents themselves—Would you have given the same answer, as to the correctness?
Mr Mongan.—I would.
Attorney General. Very well, then we shall know what reliance is to be placed on certificates medical or otherwise—Now I'll read your other evidence (reads). All this happened in March—and the papers were destroyed in March.
Mr Mongan.—I have not sworn it positively.
Attorney General.—Were the documents destroyed in May?
Mr Mongan.—I have sworn to the best of my recollection—I am certain it was not in May.
Attorney General.—Dr Bridges says the burning was about six weeks before the Governor spoke to him about it, and the Governor could not have spoken to him 'till after the middle of June.
Mr Mongan.—I don't think I told Dr Bridges before the end of June.
Attorney General. Is it not just possible that you made a mistake, and that it was only a few weeks before the fact became known that they were burnt.
Mr Mongan.—I am perfectly certain it was not weeks.