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2. You will now have learnt from the letter from this Department of the 19th instant, that the services of the Directors have been retained.

30360

*

No. 249.

I am, &c.,

C. P. LUCAS.

COLONIAL OFFICE to MESSRS. SUTTON, OMMANNEY, AND RENDALL. GENTLEMEN,

Downing Street, August 25, 1905.

I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Lyttelton to transmit to you, with reference to previous correspondence respecting the Tanjong Pagar Arbitration, a copy of a letter, † with enclosures, from Mr. W. J. Trowell reporting the result of his enquiries into docking and repairing charges in this country.

It is understood that Mr. Trowell has submitted for your inspection the schedules referred to in his letter. He is taking these with him to Singapore.

30433

GENTLEMEN,

No. 250.

I am, &c.,

C. P. LUCAS.

COLONIAL OFFICE to CROWN AGENTS. [Copy to Governor, August 25, 1905, Confidential L.F.]

Downing Street, August 25, 1905. I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Lyttelton to transmit to you the accompany- ing copy of a letter from Mr. W. J. Trowell, and to request that you will pay from Straits Settlements funds, on account of expenses in connexion with the Tanjong · Pagar Dock Arbitration, the sum of one hundred guineas to Messrs. H. and C. Grayson.

30508

No. 251.

I am, &c.,

C. P. LUCAS.

COLONIAL OFFICE to ADMIRALTY.

[Copy to Governor, August 23, 1905. Confidential. L.F.] [Answered by No. 257.]

(Confidential.)

SIR,

Downing Street, August 25, 1905.

I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Lyttelton to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 22nd instant § respecting the Tanjong Pagar Dock.

Mr. Lyttelton agrees to the proposal of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty that a Conference should be held between representatives of the Admiralty and Colonial Office to discuss the question, and he has directed Mr. G. V. Fiddes to attend the Conference on behalf of this Department.

of the 2nd of June ultimo,* requesting a report on the circumstances in which Mr. G. A. Derrick had been engaged by me as an accountant in connexion with the Tanjong Pagar Dock Arbitration.

2. As you are aware, it was my desire to send home early this month such pre- liminary information as it was possible to collect, with a view to the preparation of the case for the Government, and, as I considered that such information would be incomplete without some examination of the Company's books and methods of accounting, I instituted enquiries as to what local firms of accountants were available, as I was aware that the accountants who were being sent from England would not arrive in time.

3. I learnt that there were only three firms of Chartered Accountants in Singa- pore:-Messrs. Lyall and Evatt, who had been for many years auditors of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company; Mr. Thompson, who had been joint auditor with that firm until, on account of age, he had retired early in the present year; and the firm of Messrs. Derrick and Company, the senior partner of which, Mr. G. A. Derrick, had succeeded Mr. Thompson as auditor of the Company in March last.

4. I did not see that there was any necessary incompatibility in Mr. Derrick's firm acting for the Government for the purposes indicated, more especially as he informs me that he did not propose to do the work himself, but to intrust it to his partner, Mr. Llewellyn, but I desired that he should inform the Company and, if they objected, should resign his position as auditor.

5. Upon this the Company wrote to me objecting, in the letter of which a copy is enclosed, and, on receipt of it, I sent for the Managing Director and explained to him frankly my position and pointed out that in a few weeks at most Mr. Derrick would, with the other servants of the Company pass practically into the employ of the Government, and that at most I was only anticipating by a very brief period his transfer, when I should be fully justified in employing him.

6. I added that the objections urged in their letter appeared to me unsustainable as, in so far as Mr. Derrick had discharged his duty to the shareholders, he had been doing his best to enhance the price to be paid by the Government, and that, in any case, his employment had been so brief and, having relation only to the current work of the Company, could scarcely have given any opportunity of acquiring information likely to be detrimental to their interests.

7. I then answered the letter from the Company as in the letter of which a copy is enclosed. Mr. Llewellyn subsequently presented himself at the Company's office, but, as he did not bring with him an official instruction of his appointment, he was refused access to the books.

8. In the meantime I had learned that an examination of the Company's books in London was being made by your orders, and, as owing to the delays which had occurred only a few days remained of the month of June, I refrained from further action in the matter until the transfer took place.

9. Mr. Derrick's firm, with Messrs. Lyall and Evatt, have been appointed auditors to the Dock Board.

10. I regret that this matter has been inadvertently overlooked.

I have, &c.,

JOHN ANDERSON.

Enclosure 1 in No. 252.

A

31055

No. 252.

I am,

&c.,

P. LUCAS.

GOVERNOR SIR J. ANDERSON to MR. LYTTELTON. (Received August 28, 1905.)

(Confidential.)

Sis,

Government House, Singapore, July 31, 1905. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your confidential despatch

‡ No. 246.

• No 241.

† No. 245.

§ No. 244.

SIR,

Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, Limited,

Singapore, May 25, 1905. MR. G. A. DERRICK having informed the Directors of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, Limited, that his firm has been retained by the Government to investigate the Company's accounts in connection with the expropriation by the Government of the Company, I have the honour on behalf of the Company to bring to the notice of His Excellency the Governor the objections which exist to the appointment of Mr. Derrick's firm for such purpose.

2. Mr. Derrick was appointed by the shareholders in general meeting an auditor of the Company's accounts, and accepted that office with the full knowledge that the

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• No. 123.

2 K

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TTLECO. 882

8 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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