13
:
*
:
*
771
F
the discharge of the crew of the "Inkula" without such a
deposit being made was therefore unusual.
The 2nd. paragraph of the Board
of Trade's letter of the 29th. April justifies the regula-
-tions and conditions imposed at Hongkong with respect to
the discharge of seamen. These regulations and conditions
are essential for keeping the number of destitute Europeans
in the Colony within manageable limits.
(5).
In what respects did the men al- -lege that they had been misled with regard to their agreements ? On what grounds did Captain Barnes- -Lawrence, in his minute of 15th. December, suggest that the owners' guarantee might not be genuine, and in his minute of 24th. December express the opinion that the action of the owners in discharging the men in accordance with an agreement, with money in their possession and with a promise of repatriation if they become destitute, was "unscrupulous" ?
The men were unanimous in saying
before the Harbour Master and the Italian Consul-General
that they had been informed that they were to receive at
the port of discharge one month's pay in addition to their
passage to England. Though it is possible that they were
mistaken in this, the stipulation would not in itself have
been unreasonable as the journey to England occupies over
a month and the men might have had to incur further ex-
-pense in getting to their homes on the Continent.
Captain Barnes-Lawrence states
that the grounds on which he suggested in his minute of the
15th.
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