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When the matter was reported to the Secretary of State, the Duke of Newcastle directed Duke of Newcastle to inform the local Ordinances to Mr. Mercer 10108 of 16th August, 1863... that if existing Ordinances should be insufficient, others should be framed which would prevent unauthorized supplies being taken from Hong Kong to belligerent vessels anchored in the position occupied by the "Wyoming" in April 1863 - i.e. in waters without the limits of the jurisdiction of the Colonial Government.
It was never intended thereby to create an offence which should not be commenced, continued, and completed within the Colony, but only to render amenable to its provisions persons in the Colony furnishing or aiding in furnishing belligerent vessels with prohibited supplies.
The framer of the Ordinance was alive to the legal difficulties with which his task was surrounded, and his object was to give effect to the Duke of Newcastle's instruction in the only manner in which he considered it could legally be carried out, namely, by creating offences which should be complete within the jurisdiction.