30.
after embarkation their agreements;
which were to
guarantee them all they had been promised, would
be furnished them.
Au
The Examination
of
the 22nd
instant was in consequence of
application (copies enclosed) made by
Mr Groeneveldt to His Excellency the Administrator
that
they
service
any
Chinaman who stated
were under contract of
might be struck out of the list of men to proceed by the Abbotsford
o
Ten men examined on
this occasion most of
them gave
different names to those inserted
530
their passage ticket, which had
in their
been signed
on the 12th instant.
This looked as
72
if the tickets had been taken from the Chinese
originally engaged, and given to others who had not got
their new
sufficiently well used to their
names to be able to answer to
them readily.
The evidence of these men was to the effect that they had to pay something to enable their friends
receive a
during
lo
were
a portion of their wages during their absence. Some of the men stated that they had to work for two and some for three months to pay off one month's
Advance.