Agincouth on the 27th Instant, I shall thus take the last of the South-west monsoon to carry up, and, by returning with the first of the north-east shall perform the circuits (with the occasional aid of a local Assistant) in 30 or 46 days.
Major General D'Aquilar will be Lieutenant Governor during any absence, and I have in the mean while prepared the Supreme Court to commence at once the exercise of its functions, by an Ordinance which will be transmitted to Your Lordship when it has undergone that careful revision by the legal authorities which such an important document requires.
On this subject I may incidentally observe, with reference to Your Lordship's Despatch No. 816 of May 24th, that I can hardly contemplate any occasion that shall absolutely require the Chief Justice to act out of the precincts of this Colony.
Provision has been made for all cases of an important or aggravated nature to be sent home or for the Consulates to send them to Hongkong for trial, and a criminal is in gaol at this place whose offence (that of stabbing) was committed at Shanghai, and the evidence against whom, both recorded and oral, is abundant for his conviction.
I have the honor to be, with the highest respect, Your Lordship's Most Obedient Humble Servant.
Ndani