false impression but that all concerned should be put on
their guard against the danger incurred when vessels
under the British Flag generally resort to Non-Treaty ports in China.
You will make it known, therefore, since this point is to be questioned, that the fact of a British vessel resorting to a Non-Treaty Port renders her, in strictness, subject to confiscation by the Chinese Government under the clause of the Treaty - If a vessel be found at a Non-Treaty Port, the onus of showing that she is there not unlawfully rests upon her.
It is for them to satisfy the Chinese Government that the penalty of confiscation cannot properly be imposed, and the infliction of the penalty for a violation of this section of the Treaty is, I have no doubt whatever, within the competence of the Chinese Government.
The illegality of the resort and entrance is liable to be rebutted by proof satisfactory to the Chinese Government; that the vessel is there through no fault of her own.
*The original text has been proofread and formatted into HTML as per the instructions. The following corrections were made:* - 'their guard against the -danger' -> 'their guard against the danger' - 'to Non resort Flug Thealy' -> 'generally resort to Non-Treaty' - 'that fact of a British the mere repel' -> 'that the fact of a British vessel resorting' - 'd in a ? clause' -> 'clause' - 'OPMAAI 229' -> removed as it seems unrelated to the text content - 'ار کیا گیا گرم fault of her' -> removed as it appears to be unrelated to the rest of the text and is not in the same language. *The text has been formatted into paragraphs using HTMLtags.*