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484
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
AGAINST F. WALKER,
[June 10, 1896.
permission, asking for the management to be transferred to me. On the 20th of last month I told him I should want to have a list of the
Inspectors of Nuisances directly under the THE CHARGE OF EMBEZZLEMENT orders of the recently appointed Medical Officer of Health. This change has been a great relief to me, inasmuch as it enables me to practically devote the whole of my time to the secretarial work of the Board. It is, however, somewhat anomalous that a large section of the Board's staff should be working directly under the orders of a gentleman who is himself a member embezzling $2,572.76 belonging to the Company; have checked him. I do not know whether the
of the staff of another department. However, the anomaly has not, so far, materially inter- fered with the successful working of the new arrangement.
In April Mr. W. E. Crow, Government Analyst, was lent to this department for parti- cular service. His report to the Board, dated 23rd December and laid before the Board at a
meeting held on the 16th January, 1896, states very fully the duties he performed.
The Colonial Veterinary Surgeon went on leave of absence in June, and Mr. Wm. Fisher has been performing his duties.
The six additional Inspectors added to the staff at the end of 1894 took up their duties on the 1st January, 1895. It is satisfactory to be able to record that they have all proved them- selves to be active, energetic, and painstaking
officials.
There is nothing calling for remark with regard to the other members of the staff.
CHINESE PETITION ON THE
TARY REGULATIONS.
At the Police Court on the 3rd June before Hon. Commander W. C. H. Hastings, Frank Walker, late manager of the Vacuum Oil Com- pany in Hongkong, was charged on remand with Mr. Mounsey appeared for the prosecution and Mr. Looker represented the defentant.
Mr. Bottenheim, who was called on the last occasion, was recalled and said-I referred in my evidence to a telegram sent to the head office in Bombay in reply to a communication from them that I was to look after the office work in conjunction with the defendant. The tele- gram_reads="13th May. Management please transfer to Bottenheim. Telegraph confirma- tion." I also referred to a letter received from the head office by me mentioning the dilatori- ness of Walker and asking me to make myself acquainted with the work. I produce a tele- gram I sent to the head office stating that Walker was 82,500 odd deficient. I received the following reply-"Are you quite sure that Walker has committed embezzlement ?
.
Do you think he will abscond? Prevent his leaving the colony. In case of necessity you must arrest and make searching examination. Act cautiously; reply immediately." I saw my solicitor and we gave Walker all the oppor- SANI-tunity we could to get the money. I received another telegram asking me why I had not replied and I sent a wire stating that Walker would be arrested that evening at seven o'clock. I afterwards wired that he had been arrested and that it was impossible to arrange guarantee, I then received the following telegram-" See lawyer, aud arrange as you deem best; keep me well posted up."
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A petition has, we hear, been sent in to the Sanitary Board signed with the chops of over four hundred of the leading hongs and merchants in the neighbourhood of Bonham Strand, Wing Lok Street, and the Praya. The following is a translation of the petition
This petition is sent in by firms engaged in Cross-examined-I have been in the Vacuum various branches of trade in Hongkong asking Oil Company for eight years. I entered the for mercy and that lenient steps may be taken Company as travelling agent and I have been in carrying ont the sanitary laws, so that the manager four years. My duties were to a people may have no cause of fear in the certain extent similar to those of Walker here. carrying ou of their business. Hitherto, I had to keep accounts of monies received for while carrying on our business in Hongkong. goods supplied and remit them to the office. I we have been kindly treated by the officials..had to remit on the most favourable opportunity. After the outbreak of plague in Hongkong the We always had to remit all we received and under year before last the Sanitary Board was con. no circumstances only a part. I have not known structed by the Government in order to clear of anyone not remitting the whole of the monies. away dirt and make the houses clean. Unex- Every man sent out from head office had written pectedly Hongkong has been again visited by instructions. I have never known of different plague this year. Though the persons attacked instructions being given. The general man- by the disease are allowed to return to their agers have visited the branches and agencies native country, the cases must be reported to on two separate occasions since I have been in the Sanitary Board and the patients examined the East-about four and a half years, includ- by the doctors before they can leave the colony, ing one year's leave. have held the position and some, who were afraid to report to the Board, of manager since I came out to the East, but have died here.
only in Japan-Yokohama and Kobe. On the visit of the general managers they made a ge- neral inspection and if they thought it neces sary had an audit. They did not go through the books, and I do not think that was neces- sary. I was told to keep up books of account. I believe a small bill book was used by the de- fendant when he was first appointed here. I presume the Company took it for granted that he kept books. I should not think they in- structed him not to keep books. No other case of this description has, to my knowledge, occurred in the Company. I had not the slightest idea that he was short in his accounts. The Company complained of his irregularity in his correspondence. Before I was appointed manager here I was perfectly, certain that he was irregular in his work, but I did not know that he was short in his balance I found a ledger, when inquiring about the system of bookkeeping, and it had not been properly kept. I offered to help him to make up the ledger if he cared for my assistance. The question of my taking over the business first cropped up in the telegram-" Manage- ment left to you. Affairs must be minutely examined." That was the first intimation I had that I was to take over the management. When I came here it never dawned upon me that I was to take over the management at a future date. Defendant never asked me to take over the management. He once suggested that he would like to leave Hongkong on ac- count of ill health. He said I am sick of the management here, and I wish you or any other person would take over the manage- ment.' When I told him I refused to take a joint responsibility he telegraphed, with my
According to the sanitary laws houses must be whitewashed and illegal cocklofts broken down. With these laws we agree and we dare not disobey them, for they are important laws for the safety of the people. We only ask that proper notice may be given and sufficient time allowed for the removal of our goods, so that they may not be destroyed. The Whitewash Brigade have, however, acted in a rough manner, which is disliked by all. They have only given notice in the afternoon and then come the next morn ing to whitewash the houses without allowing another minute to remove the goods which we have not had time to remove, and our goods have therefore been damaged by dirty water, so that a good part of our capital has been lost. This is a great injury to trade. Some cocklofts and other things which were quite legal have also been broken down and some illegal cock- lofts and other things have remained unbroken, The right and the wrong mix together. The Brigade has not acted in accordance with the views of the Board, which 'wants to protect the people.
We sincerely hope that the Board will for- ward our petition to H.E. the Governor, so that in future we may be granted proper notice with sufficient time to whitewash our houses, and that persons suffering from plague may be allowed to return to their native countries without being called upon to report to the Board. For this the Hongkong merchants will be ever grateful.
:
The ship Dundee, which went ashore at Hyogo during the recent gale, was successfully floated on the 26th May.
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accounts that had not been remitted to Singapore, of the monies in his hands, and of the accounts outstanding. He showed no reluctance in' ̧ letting me see the accounts, because he had to If he had kept any back I could easily
do so.
bill book was a private book. I could have found out whether the defendant was short formation from Singapore. He told me after without this book, as I could have got the in-
the bank book was made up that he did not know he was so much short in his accounts. When I struck the balance he said "it was impossible;" and when he went through the accounts he said he could get the money as he expected to raise $1,700 which was due to him. If he had paid the whole of the money the next day I should have considered he had committed a crime, as he had used money not belonging to him. A general manager of the Company was here last Novem-
ber and went into the business and asked defen dant if the accounts were in order and he replied "Yes."
L. L. de Silva, clerk in the employ of the Vacuum Oil Company, spoke to collecting cer tain accounts and handing the money to the defendant.
This concluded the case for the prosecution- and Mr. Looker asked for a remand as he wished to cite cases.
SENTENCE OF SIX MONTHS' IMPRISONMENT.
At the Magistracy on the 4th June, before Hon. Commander W.C.H. Hastings, F. Walker, late manager of the Vacuum Oil Company in Hongkong, was charged on remand with embezzling the sum of $2,572.76 belonging to the Company.
He
Mr. Looker addressed the Court for the defence and contended that no fraudulent intent had been proved by the prosecution. He also cited cases in support of his statement that a charge of embezzlement could not be sustained unless fraudulent intent was proved. submitted that there was no evidence that the defendant fraudulently embezzled the money, and the prosecution had failed to prove any Mr. Looker distinct act of embezzlement. dwelt on the point that there had been no con. cealment by the defendant as to his shortness in the accounts, and said that if he had not voluntarily brought forward his pass book and his memos Mr. Bottenheim would not have found out for some time that the accused was short in his accounts. All that the prose- cution had proved was that defendant was unbusiness like in his manner of doing business and keeping his books, but they had not proved the charge of embezzlement, He therefore submitted that the proper course for his Wor- ship to adopt was to dismiss the case,
Mr. Mounsey then addressed the Court and contended that as regarded the plain facts of the case the charge had been fully brought home to the defendant: The question that re- mained was where had the money gone? There was no reason why defendant should have mixed the monies of the Company with his own private cash. The course he should have adopted was to keep a private account, but that he did not consider necessary, and the result was that the Company had not only been put to considerable expense and trouble in bringing this charge, but they were also the losers of the sum of $2,572.76. In conclusion Mr. Mounsey. sub- mitted that the charge had been fully proved, and he confidently left the matter to the discretion of the Court."
His Worship--I have no hesitation in con- victing the defendant. I give due weight to the fact that he gave every assistance to the prosecution when he was arrested, but the Court cannot do less than impose the maximum penalty that an inferior court has power to impose--six months' hard labour,
A cricket match played by teams from the Edgar and Centurion on the 28th ult., at Yoko- hama, was won by the Edgar by one run and eight wickets.
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