Thus it came about that sceptics innumerable rose up and discounted all proofs of the _Regina’s_ power. No proof could be sufficiently strong to convince them, short of making them a present of the vessel, for which they could not very well ask though they wanted it all the same; others also professed incredulity unless the whole of the secrets were laid bare before them, and when this proposal was treated with derision, they said the owners were afraid of the consequences, knowing the matter would not bear investigation. In former times—particularly about the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—the British government dealt with matters so slowly that in many cases the need for action had passed long before the decision to act had been arrived at, and when this action was by time rendered unnecessary or perhaps impossible, further consideration was indulged in to countermand the previous decision, the pros and cons of which took up so much time that when the fiat had gone forth that no action was necessary, the time had then come round for a decisive move to be made. All this used to please the heads of the government in those days, for they gloried in what was then called ‘red tape,’ which was a term understood to mean refusing to grant what was needed when wanted, and compelling acceptance when neither wanted nor necessary. This was the essence of parliament in times past and business of world-wide importance would readily be put aside indefinitely, in order that some hundreds of members could debate at length on more urgent questions, such as “When expecting friends to tea on the Terrace, are members compelled to take a parliamentary bath first, and are towels a suitable costume in which to vote or entertain?” Fortunately ‘red tape’ had rolled away with the old order of things; the government was now alive to the country’s interests, and the officials were almost always first in the field, often before the ordinary people had realised the necessity for action. This was proved by the hurried meeting that was called after the discomfited deputation had left Dennis, when one of the chief officials was deputed to go alone, on the assumption that one might find out more and be more confidentially treated than a deputation. Solomon Magson was therefore selected because he was one of the smartest of officials, though he suffered from _caput inflatum_, which is a disease especially prevalent amongst the young though it has been known to attack those of maturer age, as in this case.