The Times described it this way in the next day's newspaper: After Nicholas Beard questioned Leander, Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand was as pitiful as a little sheep that had been ravaged by a hundred bulls.
This description is indeed a bit excessive. At that time, Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand was not completely desperate because he still had two witnesses who did not appear in court.
The second witness to appear was Ronald, an Englishman who was working in the colonial government of Mauritius at the time.
After appearing in court, Ronald first made a statement as required by the judge, confirming that everything he said was true and absolutely not false.
During this process, there was a little commotion in the auditorium.
Ronald, who was taking the oath, found that several special guests appeared in the gallery, including his direct superiors when working in Mauritius, officials from the British Colonial Affairs Department, and one of them was Ronald's son Masefield.
Behind Masefield sat two burly men with sinister faces, one of whom was a well-known villain in Ronald's small town.
Later, when questioned by Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand, Ronald's behavior was extremely abnormal.
"——Adan Company did pay one thousand pounds for the Chagos Islands. At that time, Adan Company had not been established yet, and it was from the private account of Lord Nyasaland. Now it seems that one thousand pounds is nothing.
But for the Chagos Islands at that time, one thousand pounds was already a very good price, and this price was acceptable to everyone at the time-" Ronald's expression kept struggling when answering the question, and now Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand finally
Realize the seriousness of the matter.
"Be clear about your identity. You are appearing in court on behalf of the Chagos Islands. You must be responsible for what you say -" Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand said in a stern tone.
"Objection, your honor, the prosecution lawyer is threatening his witness -" Nicholas Beard's reason for objecting aroused a burst of laughter from the gallery and the jury, and Sir Arabella frowned and banged the gavel in her hand.
"The objection is valid. The prosecution lawyer can continue to ask questions, but he is not allowed to ask questions that are irrelevant to this case." Sir Arabella reminded Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand.
"I've finished asking my questions." Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand's professionalism was not very high.
At least not to the level of being able to represent the Admiralty.
It was Nicholas Beard's turn, and Nicholas Beard only asked a few simple questions.
"Mr. Ronald, can you describe the specific situation of the Chagos Islands when Lord Nyasaland purchased the Chagos Islands?" Nicholas Beard came well prepared, sitting on the assistant's seat behind him.
The three assistants, as well as the support of the entire legal department of Adan Company outside the court, were indeed more prepared than Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand.
"Sorry sir, I don't know the specific situation of the Chagos Islands -" Ronald's words caused an uproar. This is simply unbelievable. Ronald was working in Mauritius at the time, and the Chagos Islands belong to Mauritius.
Jurisdiction: "——This is not surprising. The Chagos Islands are 2,100 kilometers away from Mauritius. When Lord Nyasaland bought the Chagos Islands, I had been working in Mauritius for 12 years. During these 12 years, the Chagos Islands
It has never paid even one pound of tax. On the contrary, Mauritius has to pay about 1,800 pounds in related expenses for the Chagos Islands every year, which includes the salaries of 12 people working in the Chagos Islands. Later, there was no one for this job.
I am willing to do it because the Chagos Islands are far away from the mainland and isolated from the world. There are no entertainment facilities on the island and there are few people on the island. The staff of the Chagos Islands call this job a self-exile."
"So that means there was no coercion in Lord Nyasaland's purchase of the Chagos Islands -" Nicholas Beard reasoned reasonably.
"How could it be an act of coercion? We were even very happy at the time. Finally, someone was willing to take over the Chagos Islands. At least we could save 1,800 pounds a year. You must know that the income of the Mauritian government is not much." Ronald's evidence is doubtful.
Adan's company was very profitable, but Nicholas Beard thought it was not enough.
"Your Honor, I request my witness Huang Liang to appear in court to testify. He can prove the situation in the Chagos Islands at that time." Nicholas Beard asked the judge to allow Huang Liang to appear in court. Ronald did not know the situation in the Chagos Islands.
The jury was not allowed to fully understand how much money Roark invested in the Addanes.
"Objection, Your Honor, I still have one witness who did not appear in court." Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand objected. He had a vague feeling that after Huang Liang appeared in court, his third witness might not have to appear in court.
"The objection is invalid. Mr. Nicholas Beard, you can let your witnesses appear in court. I also want to know the specific situation of the Chagos Islands now." Sir Arabella is impartial. The Admiralty is not easy to mess with, but the entire aristocracy
Even less easy to mess with.
Don't underestimate it. In just ten days, many things can happen.
Huang Liang had just arrived in London two days ago. The London winter in March was gradually fading away, spring was coming, and the impact of the influenza pandemic in the United States was gradually reducing. However, Huang Liang still did not dare to be careless. When he appeared in court, he still had
Wear a thick mask and only take it off when taking the oath.
Just after Huang Liang took off his mask, many people in the court had complicated expressions.
Huang Liang is Chinese.
But Huang Liang, a Chinese, except for black hair and yellow skin, has no other characteristics different from an Englishman who often goes to and from high society. He is well-dressed, clean and tidy. When he stands in court, he is neither arrogant nor humble, and his eyes are clear when he looks at others
He doesn't dodge or wander around. If you ignore Huang Liang's hair color and skin, purely in terms of temperament, Huang Liang fits the image of a local chief executive.
"I came to Zhenghe Island in 1910. At that time, Zhenghe Island was still called Diego Garcia. I clearly remember that I spent the first half of the year in Diego Garcia in a tent——
The conditions in Diego Garcia are very difficult. There is nothing but coconut trees on the island. We tried to teach those descendants of Africans and Indians to build houses and let them accept a more civilized life. As a result, they showed great discomfort.
, even though we have built toilets in every corner of the island, they still prefer to defecate anywhere - it was not until half a year later that everyone on the island except me moved into the house, and I only moved in half a year later.
The office that was built before -" When Huang Liang said this, sporadic applause broke out from the auditorium and the jury. Everyone hoped that the colonial officials of the empire could be as conscientious, responsible and compassionate as Huang Liang.
"Thank you - thank you very much - the first days are always the hardest. We had no clean drinking water, all the food and building materials had to be sent thousands of miles from southern Africa, and only one ship arrived in Chago a week.
While sending food and building materials to the islands, they also sent more new immigrants with their families. Some people died after arriving in Diego Garcia due to acclimatization, some died of mosquito bites, and some died.
Died at sea - but we have overcome these difficulties one by one. There are now 3,156 residents in Zhenghe Island. We have built hospitals, we have built schools, we have built supply bases, improved port facilities, and provided supplies for passing ships.
, since 1916, we have never asked the Lord for even a penny. I brought some photos, which can clearly see the progress of Diego Garcia over the years." Huang Liang also came prepared.
Gorgeous words are not as convincing as real photos.
This time there was no need to ask Sir Arabella for instructions. The people who came out with the photos were not the bailiffs, but four children who were also from Zhenghe Island. They were selected from Zhenghe Island Primary School. A Chinese boy
, three white girls.
The four children were all under ten years old. The youngest girl was wearing a white dress that reached her ankles. She was very happy when she walked into the court. She was jumping up and down and accidentally stepped on her own skirt.
About to fall.
Among the crowd's exclamations, the only boy threw away the photo in his hand in desperation and hugged the little girl with a frightened face.
This little accident immediately received warm applause. Only by caring all the time can you have such a quick response. The two older girls responded a little slowly, but they were also the first to comfort the little girl who wanted to cry but was embarrassed. This scene is indeed
Very loving.
The photos brought by the four children should have been taken at the same place. The location should be somewhere in the central lagoon of Zhenghe Island. They were probably taken while standing on a boat.
The Zhenghe Island in the first photo is desolate. There are almost no man-made buildings on the land. There are tall coconut trees faintly in the distance. There are a few dilapidated fishing boats docked on the coast. This should be
Diego Garcia when Roque first bought the Chagos Islands.
The center of the second photo is a huge cargo ship. Many people are unloading cargo through the gangway. Some of them look like women. There is a large tent on the shore next to it. Further on, there are several half-year-old children on the beach.
We were fishing with a hoop net, and there were two children on the shore holding coconuts on their heads, talking and laughing as they walked towards the tent.
The third photo is slightly further back. The center of the photo at this time is four ships docked at the pier. The port management building further away has also been completed. In the corner of the photo, there are several shirtless workers.
A road was being built with stones tied with ropes, and one of the workers turned out to be Huang Liang.
The last photo was taken not long ago. It shows a modern port with complete facilities and busy traffic. The center of the port is still the port administration building. Both sides of the building have been filled with buildings. There is no longer a circle on the seaside.
Instead of children fishing in nets, there are chairs for people to rest. There are seagulls flying over the top of the photo. Below the seagulls are several children in uniforms. They all carry schoolbags. It seems that they have just finished school.
There is no need for Huang Liang to open his mouth. The changes reflected in the four photos are enough to make a difference.
