:
Mr. Potter-Aud never got any. Mr. Slade, continning, said the problem was whether Howell had not in January, 1897, after the departure of plaintiff, entirely divested imself of that right to half share of the profis or bad retained for himself secretly any interest in the Butchery as at present carried on and as carried on from that date to this, then he was liable. What was Howell's position? He was a Goverument servant, prohibited under the rules of the service from carrying on any business. He had stated in the box that he kept the mafter qalet. Many people were aware of his connection with the Butchery, but he admitted that he did not want it to be talked about more than he could help. Apart from his relations to Tatam, he would continue to keep quiet about the Pntchery, and Counsel suggested that as it was proved that Howell did in fact get rid of the business in January, 1897, on terms which left Tatam in the cold and kept himself in the warm he had very good reason for great secrecy. It was therefore difficult to prove his connection with the But- chery, and it could only be done by taking ad. vantage of such errors of judgment as he bad displayed during the course of the years from 1997 to the present day in doing things which got on record and therefore could be brought against him. It was only by the slips and errors of judgment made by the fraudulent scoundrel, as they submitted him to be, that the fraud was discovered.
In conclusion, Counsel submitted that the at- tacks which they had made on the books and the accounts based on the books had been justified
up to the hilt in spite of the whitewashing applied by Mr. Lowe,
His Lordship intimated that he would give judgment later.
Later his Lordship delivered judgment. Ha said the case had been fought with considerable rancour, but he was not surprised at that, seeing that there were serious allegations of fraud against a public officer. His own attitude towards the case-and he was certain the defendant fully understood his attitude in the Case-was that he had insisted
0113 great particularity, ou every point being thorough- ly investigated. He was not quite sure whether the defendant's legal advisers had quite appreciated the situation. The casa was by no means plain sailing. There were serious allegations of fraud and the only way in which the caso could be appreciated was by working backwards. There was really one vital point. Had the defendant any share in the Hongkong Butchery Company-any in- terest whatever? If he had, the whole of the allegations were practically established. Having certain information the plaintiff could hardly frame his case in any other way.
It was either fraud or nothing. Of course, the plaintiff made those allegations at his own risk. It was quite idle to pooh-pooh the plaintiff's case. There worg points of very great importance involved in it. Perhaps each of them was not so important HS the other, but taking them collectively they were of the utmost importance. His Lordship was bound to say that every question on which the plaintiff had relied had required explanation, sometimes very complicated explanation. Some limes the explanation given had not been altogether satisfactory. The defendant seemed to have been busy making evidence against himself. It might have boon through his early connection with the Butchery and the subsequent interest which he took in what was called the Hongkong Butchery. He wanted to emphasise the fact that taken collectively the evidence on which the plaintiff had relied was excessively serious. Everything that had been admittedly done were things which the defendant would
have done if he had any interest in the isut-
chery Company. He felt almost ashamed to say what he was going to say, that he thought in many cases in which Chinese had been involv ed, verdicts had gone against the
muw
in consequence of accumulation of evidence 148
of that sert. He wished also to say that if the ease had been tried by a jury he did not think they would have agreed, and therefore he approached the case and gave his opinion with the greatest hesitation. With regard to the employment of Campbell, his Lordship said it was curious, to say the least of it. There was the explanation which Tang Kee gave that. Į Campbell was afraid that he (Tang Kee) would hare muleted him in his monthly salary, as was apparently the custom among the Chinese. His own evidence, however, was perfectly clear. He said he was enraged by Mr. Howell, and he smerested that Howell should pay Campbell's
salary because he had engaged him. He looked to Mr. Howell, and he did not know that Tang Kee was running the show until some t'me afterwards It was a very small point, but it must be noticed. That was that Howell was often at the Butchery shop making inquiries. In connection with the fact that Howell had paid Campbell's salary regularly there was the additional fact that when he went to England he advanced Campbell $200. Then came the question of the entries in Mr. Howell's back book relating in the Butchery Company. They were entries which were arrived at after an order made in chambers. The order was nade in view of one of the letters sent to Johnson. With reference to the crossed cheques. it transpired that Howell was in the babit of exchanging Tang Kee's crossed cheques for his own. That was uncaptable, because, as they knew, the Bau ks did not take ch ques made ont to Chinamen if they were crossed. It showed the particular interest which Mr. Howell displayed in the business. There was abother small point which perhaps has a bearing on the case. That was the sudden increase in the credit side of Mr. Howell's] bank book in 1897. An explanation was given and was accepted. Then they came to Johnson's Jetter. He confessed he had the great- est hesitation in forming a definite opinion on the point. The letter undoubtedly was written in connection with a defiuite order for four casks of butter which was sent to Johnson on the China. The casks were to be delivered on the return journey of the China. The Butchery Company had an advertisement that they had an arrival of butter at the time when the China arrived, and his Lordship could not say that the theory of the bogus letter was altogether acceptable to his mind. The sugges- tion was that it would enable Johnson to obtain an extra five per cent, discount. At first he understood the suggestion thrown out that, it was a general letter, but he had no doubt that it was in fact a letter specially connected with that special order. The letter was written On the Butchery Company's paper and it said that "Johnson may draw on us." Then there was the chit to the Ice Company written last year. He did not think he could discard that merely because it would have been foolish to write it. If Mr. Howell had been nected with the Hongkong Butchery Com- pauy he would hare written precisely what he did write and Mr. Haxton said he considered it a European Company. The chit was signed "F Howell" With regard to the account with O'Halloran the attitude taken by Mr. Hill might have been capable of two constructions. It is possible that Hill being at that time Mr. Howell's attorney and having an interest as he would have in the Hongkong Butchery, know- account against ing that Butchery had an O'Halloran, wieght have sent a message that if
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