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DJOJOGILO T*
.Y 900
COPY.
Enclosure 5,
449
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„HOFMENT „M .A (,b2)
.Te Juerett
.6101 (ymurdok real
Hon. Colonial Secretary,
You have asked for a statement from Mr. Reed with regard to the loss of 50 sheets of stamps in 1903. I attach one herewith. I also send you the original book in which you will see the entry which was made. I have circled it in blue.
It is difficult to be absolutely unbiassed in
a matter in which one is oneself implicated but this business happened so long ago that I believe I am now quite unbiassed.
In the first place it is really impossible to lose 50 sheets of stamps. In hot weather if one were very careless and did not check the control numbers it would be quite possible to give out one extra sheet. Stamps stick together in the summer and care is needed in counting. But 50 she sta could not be lost, only stolen.
Again it is a fact that there was something curious about this consigment of stamps. The packing certificate said that there were 5,005 sheets while the invoice stated that there were 5,055 sheets. If the packing certificate were right, I had lost nothing but if the invoice were right then 50 sheats were lost. The mistake I made and I do not now after much greater experience think that it was any great carelessness was to take the sealed up bundles for what they were worth and did not check each separately. I have no doubt myself that the packing certificate was correct and that one packet which I had opened did in fact contain 50 sheets less than appeared in the invoice. In order to erade loss to myself I had not to invent a theory of an error in the documents, there was in fact such an error. And the curious point is that the exact amount of stamps of the same denomination lost is the exact amount of the error in the two documents. Mr. Nicolle was of course quite right in his decision for having broken the packets there was no longer proof that the invoice was wrong and as I had accepted the invoice I had to accept the loss.
lst. March, 1918.
(81.) S.B.C.Ross.
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