532
by taking the weight of sound Casks exactly as received from the ships, then emptying them, and deducting the tare of the Casks, it is not of much value.
been
If however the Resident Engineer has filled up casks out of cement which has been exposed to the air for some time, I think it quite likely that he would not be able to get more than 379 lbs, as an average, into each cask, for the exposure would have increased the volume of the cement and reduced its weight.
20. Messrs Robins & Co are a firm of good reputation, and are not in the least likely to have arranged for such a paltry fraud.
My assistant who weighed these casks is a shrewd and honest man not likely to be hoodwinked in such a simple matter, and far too appreciative of his position and prospects to imperil them by acquiescing in such a swindle.
21.
I may further add that I myself saw from time to time, many of these casks filled and weighed, and found them always to be of full weight.
22. Until I have something explanatory of the method adopted for weighing these casks, and I have some assurance that none but sound casks, unopened as from the ship were weighed, I most emphatically state, that when these
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