Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 1177 Four Photos

The "Times" described it in the next day's newspaper: When Nicholas Beard finished questioning Leander, Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand was as pitiful as a little sheep that had been ravaged by a hundred bulls.

This description is a bit too much to be true. 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 in court was Ronald, an Englishman who was working for 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 nothing 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 immediate superiors when he was working in Mauritius, officials from the British Colonial Affairs Department, and Ronald's son Masefield.

Behind Masefield sat two burly men, one of whom was a well-known villain in Ronald's town.

Later, when asked by Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand, Ronald's behavior was extremely abnormal.

"—Adan Company did pay a thousand pounds for the Chagos Islands. At that time, Adan Company was not established, and it was through the private account of Lord Nyasaland—now it seems that a thousand pounds is nothing, But for the Chagos Islands at that time, [-] pounds was already a very good price, and this price was acceptable to everyone at the time—" Ronald struggled all the time when he answered the question, and now Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand finally Realize the seriousness of the matter.

"Find out your identity, you are representing the Chagos Islands in court, and you are responsible for what you say—" Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand's voice was stern.

"Objection, Your Honor, the prosecution lawyer is threatening his witness—" Nicholas Beard's objection sparked laughter from the gallery and the jury, and Sir Arabella frowned and struck the gavel in his hand.

"The objection is valid. The prosecution lawyer can continue to ask questions, but they are not allowed to ask questions that are not related to this case." Sir Arabella reminded Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand.

"My question is over." Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand's professionalism was not high.

At least not to the level that can represent the Admiralty.

When it was Nicholas Beard's turn, Nicholas Beard asked only a few simple questions.

"Mr. Ronald, can you describe the specific situation of the Chagos Islands when Lord Nyasaland purchased them?" Nicholas Beard came 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 fully prepared than Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand.

"Sorry sir, I don't know the specific situation of the Chagos Islands—" Ronald's words caused an uproar, which was unbelievable. Ronald was working in Mauritius at the time, and the Chagos Islands belonged to Mauritius Jurisdiction: "--It's not surprising that the Chagos Islands are 2100 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 Never paid even a single pound of tax. On the contrary, Mauritius has to pay about 1800 pounds for the Chagos Islands every year, including the salaries of 12 people working in the Chagos Islands. I am willing to do it, because the Chagos Islands are far away from the mainland, 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 self-exile.”

"Then that is to say, Lord Nyasaland purchased the Chagos Islands without any compulsion—" Nicholas Beard reasoned reasonably.

"How could it be an act of persecution? At that time, we were even very happy. Finally, someone was willing to take over the Chagos Islands. At least we could save 1800 pounds a year because of this. You must know that the Mauritius government does not have much income." Ronald's evidence said Adam's was good, but Nicholas Beard thought it wasn't enough.

"Your Honor, I request my witness, Huang Liang, to testify in court. 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 cannot be fully informed of how much money Rock has invested in the Ardan Islands.

"I object, Your Honor. I still have one witness who did not appear in court." Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand objected. He vaguely felt that after Huang Liang appeared in court, his third witness might not need to appear in court.

"The objection is invalid, Mr. Nicholas Beard, you can let your witness appear in court. I also want to know the specific situation of the Chagos Islands." Sir Arabella is impartial. The Admiralty is certainly not easy to mess with, but the entire noble class It's even more difficult to mess with.

Don't underestimate the short ten days, many things can happen.

Huang Liang just arrived in London two days ago. The winter in London in March is gradually going away, spring is coming, and the impact of the American flu is gradually easing. However, Huang Liang still dare not be careless. When he appeared in court, he still brought Thick mask, the mask was taken off only when taking the oath.

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 his black hair and yellow skin, is no different from an Englishman who often goes to and from high society. He doesn't dodge, doesn't dissociate. If Huang Liang's hair color and skin are ignored, in terms of temperament, Huang Liang fits the image of a local administrator very well.

"I came to Zhenghe Island in 1910. At that time, Zhenghe Island was still called Diego Garcia. I clearly remember that the first six months of my arrival in Diego Garcia were spent in tents—— The conditions in Diego Garcia are very difficult. There is nothing on the island except coconut trees. 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 in the open - until half a year later, everyone on the island except me lived in the house, and I moved in for half a year The office was built before—" When Huang Liang said this, there were sporadic applause from the auditorium and the jury, and everyone hoped that the colonial officials of the empire would be as conscientious and responsible as Huang Liang, full of responsibility and compassion.

"Thank you - thank you very much - the first days are always the hardest, we have no clean drinking water, all the food and building materials have to be sent thousands of miles from southern Africa, only one boat a week arrives in Chago At the same time as sending food and building materials, they also sent more new immigrants with their families. Some died after arriving in Diego Garcia because of acclimatization, some died of mosquito bites, and some Distressed at sea—but these difficulties were overcome by us one by one. There are now 3156 residents on 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, and I brought some photos, which can clearly see Diego Garcia's progress over the years." Huang Liang also came prepared, and then Gorgeous rhetoric is not as convincing as real photos.

This time, there is no need to ask Sir Arabella for instructions. The person who came out with the photo was not a bailiff, but four children from Zhenghe Island. They were drawn from Zhenghe Island Primary School. A Chinese boy , three white girls.

The four children are all under ten years old. The youngest girl is wearing a long white dress that reaches to the ankle. She was very happy when she walked to the court. to fall.

Amidst the exclamation of the crowd, the only boy threw away the photo in his hand in desperation, and hugged the terrified little girl.

This little accident immediately received warm applause. Only by caring all the time can there be such a quick response. The two older girls reacted a bit 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 all be taken in the same place, somewhere in the central lagoon of Zheng He Island, probably standing on a boat.

Zhenghe Island in the first photo is desolate, with almost no man-made buildings on the bare land, tall coconut trees faintly in the distance, and a few dilapidated fishing boats docked on the coast. This should be Diego Garcia when Roque had just bought the Chagos Islands.

The center of the second photo is a huge cargo ship. Many people are unloading cargo through the gangway. Some people look like women. There is a large tent on the shore next to it. There are a few half-grown children on the beach further away. I was fishing with a ring net, and there were two children on the shore with coconuts on their heads, talking and laughing as they walked towards the tent.

The position of the third photo is slightly behind. At this time, the center of the photo is four ships docked on the pier. The port work building further away has also been completed. In the corner of the photo, there are several shirtless workers. The road is being built with stones tied with ropes, and one of the workers is Huang Liang.

The last photo was taken not long ago. The photo shows a modern port with complete facilities and a lot of traffic. The center of the port is still the port office building. Both sides of the building have been filled with buildings, and there is no circle on the seaside. Instead of children fishing with nets, chairs are placed for people to rest. Seagulls fly over the photo, and below the seagulls are several uniformed children. They all carry schoolbags, and they seem to 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 change the world.

(End of this chapter)