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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TELEC.O. 882

سلسيليسا

8

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

280

Instead of our anticipations being realised, the Tribunal determined to sit from 10 o'clock in the morning till 5 o'clock in the afternoon, with an hour's interval for tiffin. This meant an actual sitting of 6 hours a day, and our arrangements having been made upon the basis of a 4 or at the most a 5 hours' day, it will be readily appreciated that a staff which was only just equal to the production of the report of the shorter meetings would fail to overtake the increased work which the additional hour or hour and a half's sitting per diem entailed

It was not as if the work were being done in London, or where adequate help could be at once obtained to cover the additional labour imposed. As the result of cabling beforehand, it was ascertained that no local assistance was to be expected at Singapore. It was therefore impossible for me to enlist the services of expert assistants, who would have enabled me to supply the report in time, because they were not available.

The reporting staff did not spare themselves in any way, and in the attempt to produce the second day's proceedings before the opening of the Court on the third day, they worked continuously from 10 o'clock on the morning of the second day until 10 o'clock on the morning of the third day, and then commenced again without any interval for rest.

It was felt, however, that this could not be continued indefinitely, and arrange- ments were then made between me and the parties that half the day's proceedings should be supplied the following morning, and this was done.

By working all Saturday afternoon and evening and all Sunday we were enabled to wipe off the arrears on the first week's work, and when the Inquiry concluded on the following Thursday, one and a half working days, that is to say the Friday and the half-day on Saturday sufficed to complete the report of the entire proceedings of the Arbitration.

As a matter of fact, therefore, the reporting staff did all that they undertook to do, as, taking the increase imposed upon them at only one hour a day for nine days, that would represent practically two normal London working days, and these were got out in a working day and a half. If, on the other hand, an hour and a half a day is taken as the excess, they really did a good deal more than they under- took to do.

Besides, the original idea was that a dozen copies of the proceedings would be all that would be required. The first day over 40 copies were demanded, and on the subsequent days from 40 to over 50 were supplied.

up,

Complaint, I understand, is made that some of the copies were not properly bound but when the increased work and the increased number of copies required are taken into consideration, coupled with the fact that the only assistance which could be procured in Singapore was that of Chinese, it is not to be wondered at that occasionally the binding was not quite satisfactory, and that in odd volumes here and there a page was out of its place.

As to the numbering of the questions, as only half-days were supplied, a fresh set of numbers had to be started for each day's proceedings, otherwise things would have got into inextricable confusion.

In order to cope with the difficulties which presented themselves, I secured the services of no fewer than four relays of 22 Chinamen to print and bind up the enormously increased number (beyond the original estimate) of copies required. I also hired relays of Chinamen and Eurasians to assist in the typewriting, especially of the table matter, which took more than twice as long to produce as the ordinary report, and when I say that these groups of men would only consent to work four hours at a stretch, which they considered, at the high pressure which we put upon them, was a good day's work, some idea may be formed of the severity of the task which fell upon the reporting staff imported from England for the occasion.

While regretting the failure of the reporting arrangements, I am of opinion that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case the staff, so far from incurring censure or blame, are entitled to the highest credit for what they did.

I am, &c.,

Messrs. Sutton, Ommanney, and Rendall,

Solicitors,

3 and 4, Great Winchester Street, E.C.

GEO. LESLIE BANNERMAN.

43560

No. 298.

COLONIAL OFFICE to MESSRS. SUTTON, OMMANNEY, and RENDALL. [Answered by No. 300.]

GENTLEMEN,

Downing Street, December 15. 1905. WITH reference to previous correspondence, am directed by the Earl of Elgin to transmit to you a copy of a despatch* from the Governor of the Straits Settlements, forwarding further transcripts of the shorthand notes of the pro- ceedings in the Tanjong Pagar Arbitration.

2. Lord Elgin has noted with satisfaction Sir John Anderson's observations as to the valuable services rendered by your representative at Singapore.

I am, &c.,

45050

No. 299.

C. P. LUCAS.

MESSRS. SUTTON, OMMANNEY, AND RENDALL to COLONIAL OFFICE. (Received December 22, 1905.)

SIB,

[Answered by No. 302.]

3 and 4, Great Winchester Street, London, E.C., December 21, 1905.

Straits Settlements.

Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, Limited.

REFERRING to our letter to you of the 21st July last, having received one-half

of the fee mentioned and our junior partner having returned to this country, we suggest that the balance of this agreed fee should be now paid to us.

We find we have in hand on account of printers' charges and other outstanding liabilities in connection with these Arbitration proceedings the sum of £1,100. We shall be glad to know whether we are to deduct the balance of our fee from this sum, or whether you would prefer to cause a separate payment to be made us in this respect.

45051

We have, &c., SUTTON, OMMANNEY, AND RENDALL.

No. 300.

MESERS. SUTTON, OMMANNEY, AND RENDALL to COLONIAL OFFICE.

(Received December 22, 1905.)

SIR,

[Copy to Governor, December 29, 1905. No. 353. L.F.]

3 and 4, Great Winchester Street, London, E.C., December 21, 1905.

Straits Settlements.

Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, Limited.

OUR junior partner having now returned from Singapore, we are in a position to resume the proceedings in this Arbitration.

With reference to the shorthand writers' notes of the proceedings in this Arbitra- tion, which is necessary to be printed in order to be submitted to the Arbitrators and Umpire with a view to the award being made, we have to inform you that the whole of the transcript has been printed, but insomuch as the transcript of the evidence given by the various local witnesses retained by the Government, after having been corrected by them, has been consigned to us by the s.s. "China," which is due to arrive at Tilbury on the 23rd instant, we shall not be able to proceed with the final correction of the printed proofs until after that date.

• No. 295.

† No. 188.