Mr. Emmett Scott makes some pertinent observations in connection with this affair. He says: “Sir Harry Johnston, in his book, quite spiritedly criticizes the agreements under the loan of 1871. It is hard to determine, however, how less one-sided they were than those of his own benevolent corporation, even if his company had in perfect good faith carried out their part of the bargain. The suggestion that the customs should be collected by European experts, Englishmen being understood, introduced, of course, the feature of external control into the customs service . . . of the so-called experts sent to Liberia under the agreement, the first one’s selection was, to say the least, unfortunate. He all but confessed his utter failure after two or three months to understand what he was about, although he had been granted a salary of about $3500 a year, much more than he had received in the British service in Sierra Leone. The second one appointed has developed into a somewhat capable official, although his chief claim to being called an expert was, it is said, that he had successfully raised oranges in California. He was certainly no customs expert, and, I learn, had probably never been inside of a customs house. He received £500 a year. The present chief inspector of customs is a wholly efficient man, but while doing similar service at Freetown, Sierra Leone, the neighboring country, he received a salary of £300 or $1500 a year, while the Liberians are called upon to pay him a salary of £1000, or $5000 a year. This salary, perhaps I should state, is twice that received by the President of the Republic. Efforts to reduce this salary to £700 or $3500 have recently been made, but with what success I cannot chronicle.” Again: “The company’s high-handed manner of expending the money on hand, however, engendered so much bad blood, that at last President Barclay applied to Sir Harry Johnston, managing director of the Liberian Development Co., for an accounting. The latter, it is said, expressed the greatest surprise that such a demand should be made upon him, and disclaimed any and all responsibility to the Liberian Government for the way in which the money had been or was to be expended. He persistently refused to render any accounts until he found the position he maintained was so untenable that he could not depend upon his government for support; he also found that President Barclay was about to sever all relations with his company, maintaining, in the absence of any accounting, that the Government of Liberia would hold itself responsible only for the cash actually received. About $200,000 of the amount raised on the credit of the government, it is said, had been frittered away on badly managed schemes.”