_No Breaches of Contract committed._ Mr. Croker further examined-- 1152. Would not the Admiralty agent on board those packets be cognizant of any breach of contract which had occurred?--Certainly. 1153. Do not they make reports to the Admiralty through the officers conducting the packet service at Southampton?--Certainly. 1154. Would not any breach of contract come immediately to the knowledge of the Admiralty, through the report of the Admiralty agent?--Certainly. 1155. Therefore the absence of any such report is direct proof that the contract has not been broken, provided the Admiralty agent does his duty?--Certainly. _Complaints made to the Admiralty against the Company._ 1974. At your last examination you carried down a statement of any complaints, or in the absence of any complaints, to a certain date, with respect to the performance of the contracts of which we were then inquiring, of the vessels of the Oriental Company; have you furnished yourself since with any further particulars upon that subject?--This is a _précis_ of the correspondence respecting complaints of the manner in which the contract mail service in the Indian and China Seas has been performed. 1975. At what date does that _précis_ commence?--The 23rd of August, 1846. 1976. Does that _précis_ come down to the present time?--It does. 1977. Who is responsible for that being a correct statement of what has taken place?--Mr. Worth, the head of the packet department. 1978. Have you sufficiently examined that _précis_ to be able to give to the Committee a statement of the number of complaints which are contained in it?--I should say there were three or four complaints; I have read it through. 1979. Were any of those complaints on examination found to be just?--I think the last complaint is at present undergoing investigation. 1980. What is the date of the last complaint?--October, 1848. 1981. Will you state the general grounds of the complaints; were the complaints of the state of accommodation and the conduct of the officers on board, or of the time that the vessels occupied upon the voyage, whether beyond the limited time or not?--The first complaint states that “Lady Mary Wood” was much out of repair. 1982. What is the date of that?--The 23rd of August, 1846. 1983. From whom is that complaint?--Captain Ellice, the superintendent of the packet service at Southampton. 1984. He is a Government officer?--Yes; the complaint was that in consequence she exceeded the contract time by nineteen hours. 1985. By nineteen hours on the whole voyage, or between England and Suez?--The statement is, that in her last voyage from Hong Kong to Ceylon she exceeded the contract time by nineteen hours. 1986. How is it that the Government agent at Southampton makes a report of the state of a vessel in the Indian Seas; did he transmit a complaint from somebody else?--He transmitted a letter from the Admiralty agent on board.