[Page 158]
6th October 1914.
His Excellency,
Colonel Holmes,
H.B.M. Administrator of G.N.G.,
RABAUL:
Your Excellency;
Referring to our conversation of yesterday, I have the honour to forward to Your Excellency enclosed, a copy of an affadavit as to the contents of the Government Treasury on the 19th September. The affadavit has been handed to me by Mr. Schlettwein. To the amounts enumerated have to be added the contents of the Treasury of the armed forces and the advances made to Officials in Rabaul out of the Government Treasury as far as this money had not been duly expended for official purposes. The latter amounts are not known by me. Your Excellency will be in a position to have them ascertained from the ledger of the Government Treasury and from the accounts of the armed force and of the Officials in Rabaul.
The drafts and cheques of the New Guinea Coy. of Bernsheim and Coy. enumerated in the affidavit shall serve, as stated in the affidavit, as payment for articles taken over from Government main store at the outbreak of war. The Firms being good I presume that the drafts and cheques can at once be realised. Should that be impossible then the Firms will have to hand back the articles, or their value. Which articles were in stock at the outbreak of War in the Government main store should be seen in detail from the books kept by Government Secretary Mahler. Should these books be not on hand, which I would regret deeply, particulars can be ascertained from the shipping registers of the North German Lloyd, all articles having been imported into the Colony. As to the articles which have gone in course of war to Herbertshohe, and to the interior, I cannot tell whether exact books have been kept. Mr. Adelmann and Mr. Steinke, while acting for him, will doubtless be able to state many details. After returning to the interior on the 17th September I have given orders to deliver to the Officer Commanding the detachment sent by Lieut.Col. Watson, not only all monies of the Government Treasury, but also all articles, vehicles and animals, which were accumulated on Places 'A', 'B' and 'C' and on the road. The state of war has, of course, caused many irregularities, damages, and even thefts.
According to an occasional statement by the Cashier of the Government Treasury, there may be on hand at the outlying stations, of which Your Excellency has so far, to my knowledge, occupied Frederick Wilhelmshafen, about 400,000 M. Particulars will be seen from the books of the Government Treasury. As regards the stores and inventories on the outlying stations, the books of Government main store in Rabaul ought to show particulars. A great many outlying states were, however, empowered to buy the articles needed