99.
lov
164
in charge of the Vice President of the Board of Revenue,
would be spared and who stated that no efforts
have the case in
impartially decided according to its
to
merits and according to law. In reading this dispatch
thrice over
I felt how good
was the intention and how
great the kindness of His Excellency. Lately I received
by a
steamer a despatch from Schweerer in which
peremptorily asked for payment of the claim, and
also another despatch in
English
on the translation of
which I found it contained your Lordship's decision, but many of the statements seemed to have been --- obtained from hearsay. I
am
at a loss to
why
it is at variance with the good intention expressed
in His Excellency the Governor's letter. Moreover as these
firm
purchased the goods on credit
account, they ought to pay
and our
Government should
on no account be called upon to pay for them, I ... send Lai Sai and Un Sax Stan to your foot to
now
answer the suit instituted by Schweeves and to finally settle their accounts with him. According to the statement of Lai Lai and Un Sax Stan when they went to Amoy in a former year they took
advantage of the Government's trust to privately purchase
a vessel and goods from Messrs Landstein & Co. As the matter has now come to light and they must
be
brought to trial and punished, they are willing
to sell whatever copper, saltpetre, lead and Coal
they have to the Government in order to pay that
Company in Hongkong with the proceeds; they only ask their creditors to give
them time to
pay
the debt. They say they cared not to mix up their private purchases with public transactions. In consideration of their suggestion I memorialized and prayed
the
...