opinion of my matter; Jam commanded by their Lordships to acquaint
Lords be in this
you
that though the plan of "total disarmament" of Chinese Junks
can hardly be said to have been tried and to have failed, yet it has broken down on the ground which Lords have always maintained would be fatal to it, i.e. that the Chinese Government could not enforce total disarmament on its own honest traders, until it was prepared to ensure thorough protection from Pirates along its whole intricate line of navigation.
This the Government avows it is unable to do; it declined British assistance to enforce the Proclamation, and now the Proclamation is withdrawn.
It is satisfactory to know that though Piracy is by no means extinct, it is reduced in its extent and has become comparatively rare in the immediate vicinity of Hong Kong, and that attacks on European vessels now seldom occur.
My Lords desire me to
intricate