CO129-333 - Governor Nathan - 1906 [1-4] — Page 320

COPY.

Three dol-

-Lars Stamp.

@

317

!

1, Leofric Hale Gilman, of Canton, in China do

solemnly and sincerely declare that:-

1. I am the manager in Canton of the firm of Shewan,

Tomes and Company.

2. instructions were given to the Canton office of my said firm early in February, 1905, to take possession of certain coal stored at Wati close to Messrs. Arnhold Karberg's oil go- -downs and to register a Mortgage on such coal with the British Consul-General. I was absent from Canton at the time owing to

sickness but I returned to Canton on or about the 15th. of March.

I frequently went over to see that the coal was properly looked after. It was in charge of Sz A Chim a man engaged and paid by our Canton House for the purpose of taking charge of the coal. he lived by the coal and was there all the time. The place where

the coal is stored is close to the British Concession in Shameen

and if anything had happened he would have sent over to me.

Speaking of my own knowledge since my return to

Canton in March aforesaid and to the best of my knowledge and

belief as to the time between the date of the registration of

3.

the said Mortgage and the date of my said return I say that the

coal was actually in the possession of my said fire from the

date of the registration of the said Mortgage up to the time of

the seizure of the coal by the Chinese Government except as to

such portions as were delivered under orders granted by the

National Bank of China Limited on my said firm for about 7,000

tons in all the first of such deliveries being in the month of

June and the last in the month of September, 1905, and I say

that no coal was at any time taken away or disposed of except

under the delivery order of the Bank and that I would not have permitted

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