A memorial from the Lieutenant-General of the Hax-chun Bordered Red Banner states that towards the end of last year a despatch was reported to have been received at his office from the Three Treasuries of the Board of Revenue, asking that a soldier might be selected from the Banner and sent to the Three Treasuries to do duty there. Accordingly, in the third month, a man was selected from the supernumeraries and unemployed members of the Banner, and was sent to the Treasuries with the proper credentials. Buta few days afterwards the credentials were returned with a despatch saying that no requisition had been made for any soldier. The memorialist was much astonished at this, and at once instituted an enquiry. On examination, it was found that the seals on the two despatches from the Board of Revenue differed in size, colour and pattern, so that one of the two must be forged. The earlier despatch was therefore sent to the Three Treasuries for in-ection and was returned with the answer that it was certainly not genuine. At the same time the clerk who had originally received the despatch, and the men, fifteen in number, from whom the selection of a soldier was made, were examined by a commission composed of the two Adjutants-General and the other Colonels of the Corps. The clerk deposed that he was on duty during part of the twelfth month, and one evening just at dusk a card from the Three Treasuries was brought in with an unsealed application for soldier from the Banner. The clerk took the letter to the house of Adjutant-General Wan-kuei, who gave instructions about itand kept it in his house, The clerk never saw it again till the day on which a soldier was selected nearly three months afterwards. On that day the Adjutent-General handed it to him once more and made him erase some words mit. He then noticed that there was seal on it; but he did not dare to.make any remark either to the Adjutant-General or to any other of his superiors. Further, when the investigation began to be held, the Adjutant-General said that he would make any necessary arrangements and pay all expenses, if the matter should come into the hands of the Board of Punishments.
In addition to this, the memorialist finds that there were suspicious circumstances concerning the transmission to the Three Treasuries of the reply informing them of the nomination of a soldier. He therefore proposes that both the corporal who received the despatch for the Treasuries and the mau nominated for the appointment should be sent to the Board of Punishments for examination. At the same time he will temporarily remove from their posts the superior officers implicated, and will instruct them to be in readiness to appear whenever called upon.—Decree issued previously.
30th May.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.