Sir,
Admiralty.
April 16, 1869.
In 45067
114
Sir, Having laid before my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty your letter of the inch inclosing Copies of correspondence, relative to a question which has been raised by the Govt of Hong Kong as to the propriety of the craft of the Hong Kong one of "the Steamers of the French Messageries Imperiales, having hoisted the Japanese Flag I am commanded by their Lordships to acquaint you for the information of Lord Clarendon that they know of no law, national, or international prohibiting vessels from hoisting the colours of any other nation at their mast heads so long as their own is displayed,
prohibiting vessels from hoisting the colours of any other nation at their mast heads so long as their own is displayed), and as their usage has been for years.
If any inconvenience, such as the Authorities at Hongkong anticipate can arise, it would not do so, as no ship or fort would salute until they had communicated with whom they were to salute.
The Under Secretary of State..
Foreign Office
Jan 11
18d IG Romaine.
However, to follow the exact output format as requested and to improve the text according to the given rules:Sir,
Admiralty.
April 16, 1869.
In 45067
114
Sir, Having laid before my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty your letter inclosing copies of correspondence relative to a question raised by the Govt of Hong Kong regarding the propriety of one of the steamers of the French Messageries Imperiales having hoisted the Japanese flag, I am commanded by their Lordships to acquaint you for the information of Lord Clarendon that they know of no law, national or international, prohibiting vessels from hoisting the colours of any other nation at their mast heads as long as their own is displayed, and as this usage has been followed for years.
If any inconvenience, such as the Authorities at Hong Kong anticipate, arises, it would not do so, as no ship or fort would salute until they had communicated with those they were to salute.
The Under Secretary of State.
Foreign Office
Jan 11
18d IG Romaine.
Let's correct and format it properly with Markdown first for better understanding before converting to HTML: # Sir, ## Admiralty. April 16, 1869. In 45067 114 Sir, Having laid before my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty your letter inclosing copies of correspondence relative to a question raised by the Govt of Hong Kong regarding the propriety of one of the steamers of the French Messageries Imperiales having hoisted the Japanese flag, I am commanded by their Lordships to acquaint you for the information of Lord Clarendon that they know of no law, national or international, prohibiting vessels from hoisting the colours of any other nation at their mast heads as long as their own is displayed, and as this usage has been followed for years. If any inconvenience, such as the Authorities at Hong Kong anticipate, arises, it would not do so, as no ship or fort would salute until they had communicated with those they were to salute. The Under Secretary of State. Foreign Office Jan 11 18d IG Romaine. Now, converting the properly formatted text into HTML as requested:Sir,
Admiralty.
April 16, 1869.
In 45067
114
Sir, Having laid before my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty your letter inclosing copies of correspondence relative to a question raised by the Govt of Hong Kong regarding the propriety of one of the steamers of the French Messageries Imperiales having hoisted the Japanese flag, I am commanded by their Lordships to acquaint you for the information of Lord Clarendon that they know of no law, national or international, prohibiting vessels from hoisting the colours of any other nation at their mast heads as long as their own is displayed, and as this usage has been followed for years.
If any inconvenience, such as the Authorities at Hong Kong anticipate, arises, it would not do so, as no ship or fort would salute until they had communicated with those they were to salute.
The Under Secretary of State.
Foreign Office
Jan 11
18d IG Romaine.