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The first indication of this emerged in April 1883, whileDoberck was preparing to leave London for Hong Kongafter being attached to the observatories at Kew andGreenwich. His written proposals about the work of theObservatory attracted this blunt comment:The sooner this apparently unpleasant man goes out the better.As regards his letter . . . tell him that no further recommendationsas to his future sphere of work can now beentertained and that he must be prepared as a member of theGovernment service of Hong Kong to be in the samesubordinate position to the Governor as any other officer and tomake all reports and recommendations to the local government inthe usual manner.In 1885, Doberck's application for a salary increase wasrefused, with despatches noting:Dr. Doberck) as we well know } is a very cantankerous person,but at the same time very efficient and zealous in his own work. . . as time goes on he may with extended duties fairly expect anextended salary, but he has not been at Hong Kong three yearsas yet.Cantankerous he may have been, but Doberck was certainlypersistent. In 1888 he not only renewed his request forhigher pay, but asked for larger quarters as well! Whilerefusing to approve bigger accommodation, the ColonialOffice admitted that he had earned the right to a highersalary. Once again, official comments were a mixture ofpraise for his work and criticism of his personal shortcomings:As regards his request for larger quarters it must I think berefused, but as regards his application for an increase of salary. . . he has established some claim by the good work he has donein Hong Kong, and his disagreeable and difficult manner iscalculated perhaps to lead to his actual services being ratherundervalued.In June 1890, London was informed that the Observatory'ssecond assistant, Mr. J. B. da Silva, had resigned, an actionfor which blame was quickly apportioned:35