11024 1904
Sir:
CUSTOM HOUSE,
LONDON,
C.O.
22413
Peck
286 Red 22 Jul. 04)
13th June, 1904.
In reply to Mr. Campbell's letter of the 3rd instant with respect to the rumoured sale of the Steam-ship Ohio to the Japanese Government, I am directed by the Board of Customs to acquaint you, for the information of the Secretary of State, that they find upon enquiry that Mr. Frederick J. Bardens, in whose favour a Certificate of Sale of the vessel has been given, is a British subject and the partner, at Kobé, of Sir Marcus Samuel, of the Shell Line of Steamers.
The vessel may have been purchased in good faith for the use of the Shell Line in Japan, but the Certificate of Sale empowers Mr. Bardens to sell the vessel for a sum not less than £12,000 at Kobé or Yokohama, Japan, within six months from the date of the Certificate (31st May, 1904).
A copy of a paragraph in the Hull 'Daily News' of the 27th ultimo in which the vessel is described as ...
Under Secretary of State,
Foreign Office.
a