CUSTOMS, CHINESE MARITIME (2) Continuation.
Even in 1891, the Customs blockade of Hongkong was giving endless trouble, despite the fact that a branch office of the Customs had been opened in Kowloon in 1887.
Early in April 1891, a Chinese two-masted junk left Stanley with cargo of salpetre, sulphur, and kerosene. It was understood that the junk, before sailing, had conformed with all the regulations of the Colony, and when passing through Shingshimoon Pass, off Cape D'Aguillar, and while still within the waters of the Colony, was captured by a Chinese Customs cruiser and towed to a store hulk anchored off Laichikok.
The junk and its cargo were confiscated and sold to the highest bidder, and the captain and crew thrown into gaol. The Acting Harbour Master in Hongkong investigated the case and made a report on the seizure to the Government. The Captain was later released, and no official action was taken.
On June 1, 1892, following a meeting of the Legislative Council, the Hongkong Telegraph published an editorial, condemning in scathing terms, the newly appointed Colonial Secretary, Mr. T. O'Brien, for his attitude towards the Blockade.
Said the paper: "We propose in this article to briefly discuss the question whether the Colony of Hongkong is a British free-trade port, or simply a dependency and appanage of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs."
The vitriolic Robert Fraser Smith was editor of the Hongkong Telegraph in those days, and after referring to the Government as "an amusing fiction," he continued: "We must insist that the time has arrived when the peculiarly anomalous position now existing must be clearly defined, and steps taken to put a stop to the constant and ever-recurring encroachments on national privileges that are irritating, inconvenient, and costly, and which may even become threatening and a standing menace to British interests in this Colony."
It appears that at the Legislative Council meeting, Mr. O'Brien had opposed an amendment to the Merchant Shipping Ordinance moved by the Hon. Mr. T. Whitehead, who thought that all steam launches under sixty tons, irrespective of their class, should be allowed to leave the waters of the Colony at any hour of the day without reference to the Harbour Master.
It was felt, said the Colonial Secretary in reply, that the adoption of such an amendment might "very reasonably be resented by the Imperial Chinese Customs and result in an intensification of the blockade."
The worthy Mr. Fraser-Smith keenly resented the Government's bowing the knee to the C.M.C. and suggested that the Colonial Secretary would be very well occupied indeed if he devoted his spare moments to ending the blockade and solving a most unsatisfactory problem.
For many a long day, the Blockade continued to occupy a prominent place in the news of the day. Then gradually, reference to it ceased. Seizures in British waters became fewer, and when the Viceroy of Canton and his satellites were removed in the revolution of 1911, a satisfactory relationship was established, and closer cooperation between the Chinese Maritime Customs and the Hongkong Government resulted in many mutual benefits.