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for the Advancement of the Interpreters — adequate silk reference to the social portion they ought to occupy, and the Extremely Important duties they have to perform.
At present the office of Interpreter to the Supreme Court is filled provisionally — no actual appointment has been made since the death of Mr. Rozaris in March last.
Mr. Rozaris had been, I believe, early in his life engaged as Interpreter in one of the Naval or Military expeditions against China.
Born and bred at Macao, he had excellent opportunities of acquiring Knowledge of the Chinese language colloquially. He acquitted himself with Credit and received a decoration.
He was then appointed Interpreter to the Supreme Court; a post in which he had, I understand, preceded by the present Sir Thomas Wade.
It is not necessary to say that Mr. Rozaris was a very educated man. His knowledge of English was most imperfect; so much so that it was often necessary for the Judge almost to conjecture the meaning of the English into which he transferred the words of a Chinese witness. Nor could he write or spell English correctly.
There were continual complaints, but he did his best; and his retirement was looked forward to as the only Remedy.
In a social point of view, Mr. Rozaris was not on a level with the real importance and dignity of his office — as the disclosures made at the recent trial when his will was ...