CO129-171 - Acting Governor Austin - 1875 [7-11] -- Sir Kennedy - 1875 [12] — Page 158

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From enquiry I found that Johm Jack was the owner who sold her to us at a suitable price of $91,000 duly paid in full, and of this there is documentary proof.

In the 23 and 24th year of Tu Que, Lui Jai hir first commander and Ng Wang her second Commander were commissioned to proceed in the steamer to Hong Kong where they had the presumption to stand security for Un tak stan in the purchase of a small steamer and for the private negotiation of a loan with Mefo Landstein & Co. for the buying of some Timsing. The master of that firm wrote to us asking for the reimbursement of the debt which had been privately contracted by those two officers. This was a private transaction and not a public one, and the debt was not incurred for the purchase of the "Dang" the steamer, which is the property of our Government and not of Un takstan.

The circumstances of the case were set forth in a letter which was forwarded to His Excellency the Governor through Woo Kir the 1st Commander of the "Wee" steamer, then bound to your port for repairs on a certain day in the 1st month of last year, and His Excellency perused its contents.

Now the steamer is implicated in a suit and up to the present time, which is fully one year, her repairs have not been completed. According to the reports of Woo Kii and of another officer who has returned, the suit was trumped up by Than yu yee (Schwoerer?), a capitalist in Messrs Landstein & Co. with the assistance of Mongham, the Engineer of the steamer "Pany" and Dumphy the superintendent of her repairs, who acted as spies and used their influence in the case.