366
A compulsory disarmament
be enforced
by the government;
whereas at present each trading
Junk being allowed to provide
for
its
own law
was made
authorised.
safety
no
complaint
against the
The following answer appears
to dispose of every objection.
It must always
be
held to
be the duty of the government
of
a country to protect the
lives
and property of its
subjects,
and if the
Chinese
Government be
unable to afford adequate
protection without further
preparation, it is the more
needful that they should accept the offer of assistance now tendered by Foreign
Powers in the interval.
The naval cooperation
is now
freely offered by the
other Treaty Powers and is amply sufficient for the purpose.
There can therefore be no hardship