Anclosure
Chief Justice to Officer Administering the Government.
Sir,
Supreme Court,
Hongkong 16th November 1896.
304
I have now the honour to forward to Your Excellency, copies of the letters which in conformity with Your Excellency's directions contained in your letter of the 4th instant, I caused to be sent to Messrs. Rahman and Sales respectively, together with their respective statements in exculpation.
As Your Excellency was good enough to suggest, that I should make any observations on these statements that I might think necessary, I beg to submit the following: -
1. As to Mr. Rahman- He states again, and reiterates the statement more than once, that at the time the altered list was made out, he had the money in his pocket. In view of the Shroff's further statement as to the balance of $10, I fear that this may possibly be found not to be strictly true, but I would ask Your Excellency in such a case, to take into account the very lax ideas that Orientals have as to exact truth, and not necessarily to assume that Mr. Rahman is telling a wilful falsehood with a view to deceive.
2. As to Mr. Sales- I think that the expression attributed by him to Mr. Rahman that "nothing would come of the matter" should probably be taken to mean, that the alteration which Mr. Rahman alleged was of no importance, and not that...