to himself, and it therefore became necessary for me to report in plain terms my opinion that W. Freire was evidently either incapable or effete, and that, as he had reached pensionable age, he should be retired.
may add that his entire work now forms a small portion of that performed by one of the recently appointed clerks.
D. N. Mitchell-Innes,
Treasurer.
20th March, 1893.
DRAFT.
W. Robinson, K.C.M.G.
MINUTE.
Mr. Johnson 18
Mr. Lucas. + Mr. Fairfield, 18
Mr. Wingfield.
Mr. Bramston.
Mr. Meade.
Mr. Buxton.
11. May
1977
Marquess of Ripon.
Minute.
See further
9. XIX.
19/5-
Sir,
Hongkong
Downing Street
11 May 1893.
551
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No.74 of 25th March last, forwarding a Memorial from Mr. F. Freire, praying for an addition to the amount of pension which has been awarded to him.
2. After carefully considering the correspondence in this case I am of opinion that the Treasurer was not justified in treating Mr. Freire as having admitted that he would be unable to undertake additional work. The expression used by Mr. Freire that his work fully taxed his energies, was not an inquiry touched on his own, but was a response to a similar phrase used by Mr. Mitchell-Innes, and does not appear to have been intended to mean that it exhausted his whole working powers. When Mr. Freire was offered extra work, if required to do so, in his letter of 29th December, he...