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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TICO. 885

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

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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78. Before the expiration of that term the members of the so-called Bürger Committee appeared before the police magistrates, and stated that to prevent the necessity of severer measures they would go round and collect the taxes.

79. Whatever the motive, the action was practically good and naturally acceptable to this Government.

80. The motives, however, which caused this proceeding on the part of a body called into existence simply to oppose taxation, and which had obtained support solely and entirely on this ground, were these.

81. The first motive was so simple that a child might have seen through it, those of the inhabitants who had not paid, and who were not themselves members of the so-called Bürger Committee or their immediate friends, were paying in their taxes, and the so-called Committee saw that almost to a certainty they and their immediate supporters, number- ing perhaps 40, would have been left isolated.

82. They elected, therefore, to bead the movement, and to place themselves before the Secretary of State in the light of most respectable and orderly citizens with great influence on their fellow countrymen, who had only objected to taxation on the grounds of what they are pleased to term the reckless direction of finances.

83. The second motive was that a telegraphic despatch from yourself had reached me the night before to the effect" that the people must be informed that the law must be obeyed, but that no unnecessary measures of severity were to be taken.

84. As I already have had the honour to inform you, I am so morally certain that not only the arrival of that despatch, but also the sense of the contents were revealed, the night of its arrival, by the clerk who received it, who is one of the worst and most unprincipled agitators on the island, that I have considered it my duty, as already stated to yourself, to report the circumstances at the chief office in London, and am still in correspondence on the subject. The clerk's name is Mr. Botter, and he is the person referred to in paragraph 50 of the present despatch.

85. Up to the arrival of the telegram in question the members of the so-called Bürger Committee had openly stated that H.M.S. Gladiator" had not come here to support the Government in the collection of taxes, but that the threatening war in Germany had brought her, and that the Governor had arbitrarily (Willkürlich) made use of her.

86. Finally, I have to state that it took over two days, and not four hours, to collect the remaining taxes, and that the so-called Bürger Committee only got the outstanding taxes from their before-named immediate supporters by the following statement, or words to the same effect :—

"We cannot help the taxes being collected this year, but pay quietly and give no cause for the employment of force, and you shall see that by next year we shall have changed everything and got the old state of things back again."

87. I had almost omitted to state that the so-called Bürger Committee in memorial No. 2 also object to a translation of their memorials being made in Government office, or, in their own words, they "cannot accept such a translation;" comment is needless here.

88. I beg to apologise for the length of this despatch, on the grounds of my wish to place before you the peculiar difficulties which environ the Government of this colony, if a course of progress is to be pursued, and the island and its government not again permitted to sink into the hopeless state of disorder and debt from which I trust we are gradually emerging.

89, Finally, whilst I permit myself to say that to be unpopular with, and to be attacked by such persons as those composing the so-called Bürger Committee, is a sure sign that the Government is doing some good, I beg to conclude by reiterating that the task of the regeneration of this little colony is peculiarly difficult, and, if I may be allowed to say so, I, individually, have worked very hard at the task allotted to me, and that the members of both Councils, as a whole, have exceeded my expectations in the conscientious discharge of their voluntary and difficult duties, whilst the elected members of the Combined Court have, if possible, a still more thankless task.

90. It is, indeed, on this account difficult ever to get them to act decidedly on any question.

91. The Heligoland nature is so thoroughly averse to accepting any sort of respon- sibility against their fellow-citizens, not on account of affection, very far from it indeed, but from simple fear of retaliation.

92. When this is the case with a solitary individual who has to be punished or reproved, how much more with a body like the so-called Bürger Committee.

93. The authorities, official or elected, are quite ready to pray for the support of England towards any punishment, to acknowledge its necessity, and, indeed, to feel such

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thoroughly; but they will resolutely shuffle out of any position which render them

may liable to the possibility of being pointed at as having been the cause of punishment; former record show that this has invariably been the case in Heligoland.”

I have, &c.,

The Right Honourable Edward Cardwell, M.P.,

&c.

&c.

&c.

No. 1.

Extractus Protocolli

Heligoland, Town Hall, the 7th May 1857.

FITZ MAXSE,

Lieut.-Colonel, &c.

In consequence of a summons there appeared the following resident inhabitants, viz. :—

Jacob Fr. Lassen.

Paul And Reimers.

Paul Volkers. Peter CIMohr.

Petr. N. Rröger.

Ehrich Krüss Lassen.

Hans Schr. Lübrs.

Hamcke Botter.

Otto M. Bock.

Jacob Eilers.

Jacob Heickens.

Otto Hiar Bredau.

Jacob P. Aeuckens. Hans Tönnis.

Peter Cob Reimers.

Pet Volkers.

John Jacob Friederichs.

Paul Jans Botter.

C. Vähland.

Jasper Claasen.

Michel Bock.

Peter Amk. Ralffs.

S. Cob Reiméra.

Pet Eilers.

Peter Hausen.

Arian Jansen. Ehrich Hinrichs.

In order to ascertain how far they intend to protest against the proceedings of the second clergyman, Pastor Siemens, respecting the school affairs, whether the details of the case had ever been sufficiently explained to them or not, previous to their signing that protest.

They all, with the exception of Jacob Fr. Lassen, gave to understand that they were not sufficiently informed as to the nature of the case, and only sigued the protest in order to show that they were perfectly satisfied with Pastor Siemens in the manner in which be performed bis duties as a clergyman, but they did not protest against the proceedings that have been taken with regard to school affairs.

Jacob Fr. Lassen declared that he protests against any measures being taken against Pastor Siemens either in his duties as a clergyman or a schoolmaster.

(Signed) C. PAYENS.

JACOB FRANZ. JOACH STOLDT. NICKELS HAAS. HERRMANN EHRICHS.

In fidem.

K. N. MICHELS,

Secretary.

No. 2.

KRÖGER FRANZ. MICHEL JASPERS.

K. M. MICHELS SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

Court of Heligoland, May 1859.

This is a case of certain parties forging a paper and transmitting the same to Her Majesty's Government.

Accused.

N. Block, P. H. Thaten, H. Bock, O. C. Bock, H. Spangenberg, P. P. Hansen, H. Dreyer, M. Classen, C. Rickmers.

The above persons transmitted to Her Majesty's Government a document bearing the signatures of 400 inhabitants of this island; they alleged that those 400 persons had signed the document as a pro- test "solemnly and justly" against the steps adopted versus Pastor Siemens recently dismissed from the post of first-class teacher of the island schools.

This document Her Majesty's Government has returned to his Excellency the Governor for exami- nation who transmitted it to Court of Magistrates.

Forty of the alleged subscribers were summoned, out of whom 39 declared that they had no know- ledge of such a protest, and that they never intended, nor at present contemplated, to make such a protest, as hereby it is sufficiently proved that the document alluded to is a gross forgery and deception against Her Majesty's Government; the Court decrees as follows :--

"That the above-named nine accused shall be held, one for all and all for one, to pay a fine of 1,400 marks current.

The purpose to which this sum is to be employed will be hereafter decided by the Court. Finally, the Court remarks this: that the accused may consider the above fine a very lenient punish- ment, for had the Court rigorously followed the decrees of the law, imprisonment in a house of correction must inevitably have been the verdict.

(Signed) THE MAGISTRATES.

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