The instructions conveyed in your Dispatch shall be strictly attended to.
But I think it right to explain more clearly, than I have in my despatch 133 of 28th March last, the peculiar circumstances and position under which Kowloong was acquired and is held.
The Government of this Colony had long been embarrassed by the anarchic state of Kowloong and more than once brought to notice the necessity of its occupation. The arrival of the expeditionary force, and the want of space wherein to locate it in the island of Hong Kong, suggested the immediate occupation of the opposite territory.
Admiral Sir Richard Laird and General Straubenzee objected strongly to any interference with it on political grounds, but the policy of doing so was a point that could only be decided here by Her Majesty's envoy; and Mr. Bruce, after a short correspondence with Sir Richard Laird, issued instructions to myself to acquire the ground by lease or in any other convenient way, so that it might be held and maintained until the ratification of the treaty with the Imperial Government of China should hand over the sole authority and jurisdiction at Kowloong to the Government of the Colony of Hong Kong.
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