22
464
see that I have proceeded
according
to rule and reason.
As to transmitting the property I beg to say that the deceased were
Chinese men who died at sea and not in British territory,
and as there is
no
Chinese
Consul or other Chinese
Authority in Hong Kong,
If the heirs
of
the
deceased were
British subjects, and had proved their legitimate right to the property before the Supreme Court - a Tribunal much respected,
and
as
the
Consular Officer had communicated,
it is
to this
Consulate and not to the
Supreme Court, that belongs the duty of becoming Custodian of property belonging to Foreigners who have died under the Spanish Flag:
officially I
by no means
would have gladly delivered it over, but to the Supreme Court, which regards the custody of Effects of Foreigners has
as
no
more
right in the matter than this Consulate.