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least trebled.
Had my Office of Auditor General as originally established been one in which the duties were lighter than those that generally devolved upon other Officers, it might be urged that the whole of my services being retained by the Government, I should have no right to make extra claims. This would to a certain extent be true, but such was not the case, and I may safely assert that had I not worked at all hours and foregone that relaxation from business to which Government Officers, in common with others, are usually entitled, it would have been quite impossible, with the very limited assistance at my disposal, to have prevented the Colonial Consular work from falling into arrear.
It was upon these grounds, together with the consideration that my salary, as at present fixed, is far below that of other superior Civil Officers in China, that I based my claim for additional emolument, and I hope that under these circumstances Your Ladship will feel justified in again submitting my