APPENDIX TO COUNTER-CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 741 



138 Deposition of Roscoe Wheeler, Junr. 



State of California, City and County of San Francisco. 



Eoscoe Wheeler, the younger, of the city of San Francisco, being 

 duly sworn, deposes and says: 



1. I reside in Flintville, Alameda County, in the State of California, 

 and am, and have been for some time past, connected with my father, 

 Roscoe Wheeler, in business in the city of San Francisco. 



2. My father, the said Roscoe Wheeler, is managing- owner of the 

 sealing- vessel "San Diego," of this port. 



3. Said vessel " San Diego" arrived in port on or about the 18th day 

 of August last from a sealing voyage to the Japan coast, having on 

 board 2,069 skins for her season's catch. 



4. On the afternoon of the 19th of the sa-me month an inspector came 

 on board and commeuced an examination of the skins on board of said 

 vessel the " San Diego." He sorted them out in various piles, and 

 occupied the afternoon of that day, the 19th, and the forenoon of the 

 20th, in such examination. 



5. I cannot give the name of the person who made said examination 

 of skins, but know him to be in the employ of the firm of Liebes and Co., 

 furriers, of this city. 



6. lu the course of conversation while he was examining the furs I 

 have referred to, he said he was doing it for the Government, and also 

 mentioned that he had inspected the skius of the vessel " Sophia Suther- 

 land" previously, and also said he had been with the firm of Lampson 

 and Co., of London, England, for some years. 



7. On the 23rd day of August my father sold the skins referred to 

 to the firm of Liebes and Co., and they were subsequently on the same 

 day delivered at the store-room of that firm's place of business in this 

 city. 



8. On the following day, in consequence of the discovery that some 

 of the skins were missing, I had occasicm to go over to H. Liebes and 

 Co.'s warehouse to see about those missing, when I saw there the same 

 party who had inspected the said skius on the 19th and 20th, and who 

 appeared to be engaged in baling the same skins for shipment. He 

 was in the basement of the firm's warehouse, which is situated on Post 

 Street, in this city. 



9. The missing skins were found, with the exception of one, they 

 having been left on the vessel covered up in the salt, and had not been 

 inspected; they were, I think, sixteen in number, which were not deliv- 

 ered at the store of Liebes and Co. until the 24:th August, when the 

 final payment was made to my father. 



Ko other person insjjected the skins of the " San Diego" whilst they 

 were on said vessel, for I was present during all the time they were 

 being so inspected. During said inspection the skius were thrown out 

 in several piles, and the inspection appeared to be the same as is adopted 

 when grading for purchase. 



10. On the 21th August, when, as I have previously stated, I was in 

 the basement of Liebes and Co.'s store arranging for final settlement of 

 the purchase by that firm, I saw in the office there what appeared to be 

 a sworn statement of the assortment that had been made of the skins 

 on the vessel " San Diego " referred to, and though T asked at the time 

 for a copy of it, it was not given me, the excuse given being that it was 

 for the Government. I cannot now remember the contents of that 

 statement, nor the name sigued thereto, but it contained several classi- 

 fications ; I do remember that it placed the number of pups at 101. 



