local Government, to which it was always opposed; it nevertheless at times contained articles of some value. Since, however, it has been published by its present Editor, it has levelled all sorts of abuse and scurrility against the local officers, especially at the Military. At the request of the Major General Commanding I have consulted the Attorney General on several of its articles, and Mr Sterling has informed me that they are certainly libellous; but for reasons with which Your Lordship is not necessarily troubled, I have seen fit to allow them to pass unnoticed. Mr Carr had for some months been attempting to dispose of the "Friend of China" without success, which accounts for its coming into the possession of a person of the description of the present Editor, who assumed the Editorial Chair on the 3rd July last. Mr Tarrant arrived in China some years since as Steward of the Ship "John Layar", and it is my belief that the days of the "Friend of China" will not be many.
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5. To enable Your Lordship to understand the tone and temper of the "Friend of China", I have directed half a dozen of its latest issues to be forwarded to the Colonial Office, via Southampton.