To Quchoner's
To His Excellency Sir Samuel George Bonham,
Esq. Governor of Hongkong, &c., &c.
The Petition of the undersigned,
Auctioneers in Hongkong,
and others,
connected with the local trade of
the Colony...
Humbly
Sheweth
That the custom of sales by auction is much practised, everywhere, and was formerly frequently used in China, being agreeable to the feelings and prejudices of the Chinese, by whom such sales were in fact always much frequented, and who have ever constituted the principal bidders, frequently buying damaged goods at a price very little under the prime cost.
That by Ordinance No. 21 of 1844 (afterwards amended by Ordinance No. 5 of 1845), a duty of 2½ per cent. was levied upon all goods, undamaged, sold by auction within the Colony or harbour of