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I was never informed of the nature of the report
of this Commission, although surely I was entitled to know the contents of such report in view of the serious nature of the letter that I received from the Government I I was merely notified by Mr. Chatham on the 4th January, 1913, "that I mist finish the accounts not later than the 15th February, 1913, otherwise I ghould incur a grave respons- ibility."
This equalled the time that. I stated was necessary in the first instance, and despite an unfortunate illness in the meantime the accounts were duly completed by me.
I have to request that the Report of this Commis- sion be submitted to you, and I should like to know whether in fact any date was actually fixed by the Committee.
Indeed, a miracle was expected, and attempted sweating accompanied by a threat, was even resorted to by the Government of Hongkong in a tropical climate, and this con- tributed to my breakdown in health.
The serious responsibility incurred by the failure
10th Nov-
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to prepare the accounts by the time first named ember, 1912, does not rest upon my shoulders, the respons- ibility rests entirely with Mr. Chatham and his methods.
To my mind the attempted sweating on the part
of the Hongkong Government was far worse than anything that has ever been attempted, even in whitechapel; in that dis- trict the poor victims may be able to perform an alloted task by working the greater part of the 24 hours day by
day, whereas if I had worked 24 hours day by day for three
(3) months it would not have been possible to have completed
the work, yet skilled technical knowledge was expected "to