Page:Europe in China.djvu/342

324 the Registrar General were excluded from it (May 14, 1858). The Governor at once asked the Justices to nominate a Committee of Inquiry. The Justices declined to do so but, when the Committee appointed by the Governor (Ch. St. G. Cleverly. H. T. Davies, G. Lyall, A. Fletcher, John Scarth) advised the retention of the Registrar General in office (July 17, 1858), four of the Justices (J. D. Gibb, P. Campbell, J. Rickett, J. Dent) published their dissent from the verdict of the Committee. Now in the course of this inquiry side-issues had meanwhile been raised which carried the conflict still further. The Attorney General not only impeached the Acting Colonial Secretary's integrity by insinuating that he had burned the account books of a convicted pirate (Machow Wong) to screen himself and the Registrar General against a charge of complicity with pirates, but the Attorney General also publicly divulged an unfavourable opinion, as to the character of the Acting Colonial Secretary, which the Governor had expressed in confidential consultation with the Attorney General. Naturally, the Governor now suspended the Attorney General, and referred the case to the Home Government. Although the Secretary of State, in reply, expressed himself satisfied with the conduct of the Acting Colonial Secretary, the latter voluntarily resigned his office (August 28, 1858). However, when he commenced an action for libel (with reference to the burning of the books of Machow Wong) against the editor of the Friend of China, the jury brought in a verdict of not guilty and the Court awarded costs against the Government (November, 1858). The conduct of the Governor who, to avoid a subpoena served on him in this case, had hurriedly departed for Manila (November 21), 1858) being too ill to attend, provoked much criticism at the time. But unfortunately matters did not stop here. Elated by this measure of success, the editor of the Friend of China, and the suspended Attorney General commenced an agitation in England which only served to bring upon the Colony greater odium and the contempt of the nation.