ناكو من
THE FRIEND OF
CHINA,
AND LONGBONG GAZI TT L
No. 64 VOL. II.
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY MORNING.
HONGKONG, THURSDAY JUNË 8TH, 1843.
ORIGINÁL CorresponDENCE. || recaived by the Chinese Government, it is impossiblá
OPIUM-AND REPRESSING OF
SMUGGLING,
[To the Editor of the Friend of China.]
SIR,
1st-Dealing in Opium, and Smuggling generally in China, will in all probability soon become the subjects of discussion and legislation at home, and it is desirable that they should be here maturely canvassed. You state, that in my last letter, I am in my view of the provisions of the Treaty, and wrong in my Inter-national Law.
With your permission, I will endeavour to show that my opinion on these points. is supported by competent authority. Ish Il examine the latter point first, for my whole argument chiefly rests upon the correctness of the principle stated in the 3rd paragraph, "every nation has an undisputable right to punish those who violate its laws".
2nd-In the reign of Queen Anne, a declaratory statute was required, to absolve even an Ambassador from the effects of our laws, and though subjecting such persons to the municipal laws of the country where they reside, is now disclaimed, I believe by all nations, still the necessity of the above act, proves how tenaciously jealous Britain ever has been of this right, and how clearly all foreigners residing in our country are amenable to our laws. Let us enquire what foreign Jurists write regarding this matter; in the 2nd Book, Chap 8th, of Vattel, it is stated, "those countries where foreigners may freely enter, the Sovereign is supposed to allow him access only upon this tacit condition, that he subject to the laws." virtue of this submission, foreigners who commit faults are to be punished according to the laws of the country." suppose that it will not be denied, that the ports and harbours of a country, are as much within its jurisdiction as the land itself.
In
3rd-It will not be necessary to enlarge further upon a rule, neither new nor unreasonable, and the dis-allowance of which, would involve every State in disorder.
4th-The Chinese Government, appears therefore to have a perfect right "to, punish those foreigners who violate its laws, whether she exercises this power herself, or transfers it to the government to which the offender is subject, is immaterial, the same high authority declares, If the offended. State has in her power the individual who has done the injury, she may without scruple bring him to justice, and punish him. If he has escaped and returned to his own conn- try, she ought to apply to his Sovereign, to have justice done in the case. And since the latter ought hot to allow his subjects to molest the subjects of other States, or to do them an injury, much less to give open audacious offence to Foreign Powers, he ought to compel the aggressor to make reparation for the damage or injury if possible, or to inflict upon him an exemplary punishment, or finally, according to the nature and circumstances of the case, to deliver him up to the offended State, to be there brought to justice. I am aware that the sordid mercantile spirit of our policy, is reluctant to protect the revenue laws of other nations, but I trust it will not overrule the obliga-
and of Inter-national justice.
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that those concerned in it, can be allowed to escape with impunity, under the pretoxt that their offence is of a petty nature
Price
monthly
Or 12 $ yourly'
ditation of the Press into the Islands, one hundred and ten millions of pages have been published, every page of which containg such reading as tend to elevate the human mind, and make it wiser and happier.
Now, why is it not to be tolerated that these Islanda are to he under the thraldom of men whose labours result in such effets as these,? What sort of thraldom is that which teaches a man to worship the God who made, and Saviour who redecaned him, to live quitely under his rulers, to respect the rights of his neigh- bour, to enjoy the fruits of his own industry, to hallow the Sahhath, and to dress himself in decent apparel 7. Bús I deny that the missionaries have ever-erected in theo-racy at the Sand. wich Islands, and it is your part, now Mr. Editor, to prove that the sort of theoerney which they have established is " alike re- pugnant to sound policy and libéral principles."
If you, as editor of a public print, take upon yourself to be the exponent of public opinion, it were proper that your readers should be informed of the fness of the case, and not served with empty declamation and hard words. If you mislike the dainga of the missionaries, shew where they have done wrong, and help them with your advice to do better, before you go out of your way to stigmatize them as ignorant fannes" You ourke nO comment upon the Catholic missionaries, aided by the Captain and Officers of a French frigate, celebrating high Mass at Hong- lulu against the wishes of the people. I have paid more atten- tion to your remarks than they deserve, but not too much if they have the effect of informing you regarding the merits of the
7thi-The only difficulty that occurs to me, is, the extent to which we ought to interfere in repressing Smuggling. It would probably be unwise to go to for such a system could not be carried out, without far as the Senior Naval Officer at Chusan lately did, maintaining a fleet on the China coast, Besides it would be highly inexpedient to allow the Chinese to suppose, that we could control, and therefore in some scils along their coast, The American Commodore, degree, be responsible for every, British trader who
take a still more vigourous measure against the Opium from his Notification at Koolongsoo, will, I suppose, Trade, than our Captain attempted. Notwithstanding the auxiety of the American Government to conciliate authorized, or will sauction his proceedings. The the Cabinet of Pekin, it remains to be seen if it has Russian Government has already prohibited the dictates of justice and of prudent policy, than the traffic in Opium. I would rather however, consult the
example of foreign nations. Our indignation against an unworthy contraband traffic must not lull us into an oblivion, of the measures regarding Opium in other You well remark upon the conduct of Lord G. Paulet regard. ing the sale of liquor and it is worthy of notice, that one of the parts of our Empire; I would therefore only recom. mend, with the view of suppressing Smuggling, that
first acts of the commanders of both the English and French every British subject engaging in it, who may be appre-authorities to give full license for every intoxicating drink to run frigates (L Artimise, and Carysfort) is to give, or compel the ended by the Chinese and delivered up to us, should be its course of death through the land. But is this a small tuatier punished, so that those who resist the search of the Chinese Revenue Officers, be held responsible for all the consequences that may follow-That any one. residing on this Island, if complained against as a Smuggler, and convicted, be if a foreigner expelled, and if a British subject, duly punished. They are not to convert a British possession into a den of snugglers, to the degradation of the national character, and to the annoyance and injury of the Empire, with which, we are to be connected by the tics of fair inter commercial advantages.
OBSERVER.
29th May, 1843.
(To the Editor of Friend of China.) SIR-It is no new thing in the world for things to be called by their wrong names, to have good called evil, and evil good; yet, it was with some surprise that Iread in your paper of the 25th ultimo," that the Missionaries in the Sandwich Islands were well mean ing but ignorant fanatics." At this day, after the character, objects, and conduct of this body of men has undergon the scrutiny it has, from friend and foe, it seems to be almost needless to produce new argu ments to prove their claim to the confidence and approbation of every right-minded man, and I can account for the terms you use, only by the supposi- tion, that, having spent much of your life in the turmoil of London, aud near the influence of the Quarterly Review, you are ignornat of what these men are, and what they have done. It is easy to apply harsh epithets to men and measures, and sometimes their harshness is in direct ratio to the person's knowledge and candour, but e oft-times bestowed from
they are the writer's private, opinion, rather than from an un- biassed view of the merits and demerits of the ques.
tion.
It is now twenty-two years since the first mission They found the Sandwich
Islands destitu of
case.
compared to the injustice of Lord G. Paulet in thus taking pos Session of the Islands, and deposing the King without allowing the notive authorities time to refer their hard case to Her Majesty's Government for decision, I cannot suppose that the British Nation will consent to so summary and flagrant an occupation of the country; if they do, it will go.nigh to adding a new para- graph in history, to that chapter of which the story of the partition of Poland is the first section.
PER FAS.
We have much pleasure in being authorised to publish the following communication, which entirely relieves Sir Thomas Cocrhane from an imputation of discourtesy, which we are glad to know, is as alien to his disposition as it is incom. patible with his high character and standing in the Service
SIR,
HONG-KONG, 6th June, 1843.
With reference to several documents you have lately shown me, I have the honour to request you will submit to Sir Thomas Cochrane the following statement :-
:
In a letter addressed to the Editor of the Friend
of China, and published in that Paper, on the 25th
ultimo, I made assertions relative to Sir Thomas Cochrane, H. M. S. Agincourt, which, though obtained: from sources which I had every reason to rely on, subsequent information has proved to be entirely incorrect.
I have, therefore, no hesitation in expressing my deep regret, and in tendering to Sir Thomas Cochrane my apology, for the imputations I cast upon him.
1
In thus acknowledging my error, I trust I shall be acquitted of all desire to reflect upon any party, and the circumstances above adverted to, having
surrendered to the aries landed at Ho government, and the already been before the public. I would also
tions of Treaties, and
5th-To ascertain the design and object of that condition of the Treaty, which stipulates that the offenders of either nation, be Government to which they belong. We have only to recollect the melancholy fate of those unhappy foreigners, who, to the eternal disgrace of those who gave
ave them u
were delivered to Imperial justice. It was necessary
to provide against the murder of innocent men in all future times, and the stipulation in question was wisely framed. In virtue of that condition, all offenders will be handed over to us, and "the Sovereign who retuses to cause reparation to be made for the damage done by his subject, or to punish the offender, or finally, to deliver him up, renders himself in some measure an accomplice in the Injury. and becomes respoħsible for it.” A Provision of the nature in question, is not altogether unknown in Treaties, but, it is so rare, that its obligations may never have been formally laid down. Had it been entirely omitted, and the Chinese yolun delivered up a British offender, the law of nations, as just quoted, would have required the infliction of punishment; and the giving up of offenders being now made compulsory on both parties, renders the obligation of punishing them equally, if not mero imperative,
and
blaze
6th-Smuggling elsewhere, pursues her dishonest and crooked ways, under the shade of concealme practices all those artifices hich conci naturally resorts to here she raises front before the eyes of all men, and in the of the noon day sub imagining perhaps, the
gigantic operations will scare usi Smuggling Opium is not only an offence again fiscal laws of the Empire but
and
crime, on account of the dru
we look to the s
on or to the natu
on wh
of the chie
ther
week exposed to the aggressions of the strong; the natives were degraded heathens, living like the brutes, and had but just cast off the tyranny of a system of the grossest idolatry; they were without a written lan guage, and, of course, without books or schools, and ignorant of their obligations to their Maker, and their rights as men. By a late report of the Mission, it
appears that during these twenty-two years, among
other things which have been done, that the language has been reduced to writing, and the entire Bible translated into it, and 10,000 copies of it, and 20.000 New Testaments, printed; that there are now 835 Schools established in the group, i in which 18,034 pupils are instructed; that the Sabbath is everywhere respected as a day of rest, and that there are 14,893 The natives them. member of Christian Churches.
selves have framed a Constitution, and a system of laws is bein established which guarantees to every man the liberty of worshipping God as he likes, and secures
Se to every man the fruits of his own industry. Churches too, have been built by the peo
by the labours of these well meaning" men, the whole nation has been raised from a state of heathenish degradation to be a civilized
anized
observant of their own laws and able to unders their ghts as men. Such results have not bereto been the consequences of the labours of ignorant me and it were much to be desired foo far as I can see
that the world had more of fanato like this exhi- A Bible Society too, has been' formed, and one auxiliary subscribed 300 last year for
everywhere.
the purpose of giving each child attending school in its town a copy of the New Testament. Since the intro
desire that the above expression of my regret may appear in the same Paper.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
14
Your most obedient Servant, Signed] J. R. MAGRATH,
Lieut-Adjutant, 55th Regt. The Dep. Judge Advocate-General, &c,, &c, &c, Hong-Kong.
We are glad to find, that the late measures of the Naval Authorities have, effectually prevented the incursions of the Kowloon Robbers. * On Shore we
have, we regret to say, accounts of several attempts at burglary that have been made, one we are told was successful, at the house of Colonel Wilson, Pay Master of the Forces, and lost. property of considerable value was We would advise our roaders not to relax in their watchfulness and precautions, it is quite certain wherever property of convertible value is deposited,jan attempt at plunder will be made.