look upon the restoration of that place to their own foot as the greatest misfortune : and were I to propose the choice individually to every Chinese Inhabitant of Hong kong, I should look for a unanimous result..
If I revert to the provisions of The Treaty, it appears that by the 3rd Article of the Treaty of Nanking "The Island of Hongkong is to be possessed in perpetuity by Her Britannic Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and to be governed by such Laws and Regulations as Her Majesty shall see fit to direct." The Chinese is if possible still stronger - It is literally "Forever to hold and guard the lordship, and according to convenience establish Laws, govern, and regulate".
The 15th Article of the Supplementary Treaty provides that debts from Chinese Inhabitants of Hongkong are to be recovered in the English Courts of Justice, which plainly admits that the English Law shall be supreme.
Your Lordship quotes the statement of Sir Henry Pottinger, that the Chinese Authorities had tacitly abandoned the claim of jurisdiction. Such an abandonment on their part could not be otherwise, for they