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were missiles of offence and not of defence should be forbidden to be carried by natives. The Vice Roy fully
Concurred in this and promised to furnish a scheme of Registration
founded, in the spirit of
our conference; was early in the month of
September 1868.
Immediately previously to this I received despatch from the Governor of Hongkong requesting to know what
steps the Vice Roy had taken out the Proclamation, and after the interview above mentioned I informed the Governor under date the 8th of September that the Vice Roy found it impossible to enforce the terms of
3
the Proclamation, and that it must
be abandoned. On the 10th the Governor
replied that under the circumstances he should suspend all measures for the disarmament of Native people in Hongkong water, and shortly afterwards:
an Order in Council
appeared, revoking
the Ordinance
of
the 22nd of May and the orders of the
22nd of July founded upon it.
This terminates the dark disarmament question, not however without causing much dissatisfaction to the Governor of Hongkong; indeed I was not aware of his intention to sue the Ordinance of the 22nd of May until I saw it in the Gazette,