CO129-418 - Public Offices & Others - 1914 — Page 433

COPY.

C.O.

39991

JAMES GORDON MILNE, (35), Foreman Ship's Carpenter, residing at

54 Urquhart Road, Aberdeen.

States:-

RECE

Rent 16 001 141

In March, 1914, I received a letter (since destroyed)

from my brother-in-law George Leopold Duncan, Exporting

Agent, c/o M'Ewen, Freckle & Company, Exporting Agents,

4 Des Voeux Road, Hong Kong, to the effect that Ernest

Vollbrecht, c/o Wilhelm Vollbrecht, 36 Ferdinand Street,

Hamburg, who was a friend of his was coming to this

country from Hong Kong; that he (my brother-in-law) had

given him my address so that he could call on me. He

however did not call on me, but about the end of April,

1914, I received a letter from Vollorecht at 36

Ferdinand Street, Hamburg, stating that he was coming to

London where he would stay in the Hotel Cecil; that he was

to send on three small cases to me at Aberdeen from

London, and requesting me to make stronger cases for

them to go into, and to forward them to Messrs. Pickfords

Limited, London, for shipment to Hong Kong. Sometime

later the three small cases which were of different

sizes arrived from London, and I made strong wooden

cases in which I put them into. The three cases which

I received were made of tin and were soldered up, and I

did not see the contents. I then wrote Vollbrecht to

his Hamburg address and informed him that I had the

three cases ready and asked him for further instructions.

I then received a letter from Vollbrecht, Hamburg

enclosing three address labels with instructions as tò which case they were to go on to respectively, and also giving particulars as to the contents of each case which was Herrings, Cakes, and Boots, addressed respectively to "J. Fouldie, Hong Kong"; "T. Miller, Hong Kong"; and

I made out a schedule and "A. Melville, Hong Kong", despatched the three cases by Goods train per West Coast

Route to London for Messrs Pickfords Limited, there for

shipment to Hong Kong.

ne/

In Vollbrecht's letter to me

427