10.
11.
142
a Disarming enactment to have force amory
Chiness
on shore and in harbor.
X
Mr. Ball, in transmitting
an Ordinanc
(Shortly to be placed before the Legislative Council) advised against the (Disarming projiet,
and I enclose Extract from his covering
letter.
No3
And here I should notice that this & had
idea of disarmament occurred to Governor commit Sir John Davis as
far
back as 184
1847,
See his Despateti No 18 of 13€ February of that
year
to Earl Grey.
I had a conversation latety with
a Chinese Naval Mandarin who, introduced by the Provincial Authorities at banton, came into this harbor with 4. War junks
on
his
way
north - Knowing
that
any
薹
attempt
be
on am
part to disarm vessels must
fruitless if not similarly and Simultanerisly
made by the Chinese Government. I questioned this officer who first replied that they have. a law
against trading vessels Carrying Arms, and when I remarked that the law uns not
enforced he
rejoined
that to disarm vessels
I would be to stop all trade, as no unarmed
vessel would dare to put to sea.
Thus the idea of disarming Chinese
on land and sea was abandoned, and indeed
!
Supposing the Chinese Government both willing and able to Co operate with us to this end,
there might still be a difficulty to be overcome, as I have shown above, with
the Government of Macau
only suggestion
The
that it ocems