The "force" having thus far gained ground without serious opposition, the total strength was put on board the steamer, and with fixed bayonets marched to the bridge, the forecastle-head, and the engine-room. Sentries being placed at those points, the crew were prevented from making any attempt to get under weigh. The anchor was let go, the steam blown off, and the police, with the exception of half a dozen left to mount guard, retired.
While the main body of police were withdrawing, those members of the force who were left on board evidently felt the isolated position in which they found themselves, as was indicated by the parting request of one poor fellow to his comrade who was in one of the boats: "Geordie, send me off my big coat, and four or five plugs of tobacco."
The unhappy constable was, however, not destined to remain very much longer in this unenviable position, as the ship was subsequently released from arrest. It appears that in consequence of the collision with the Rona, a warrant of the Vice Admiralty Court for the arrest and detention of the Ava had been sued out, notwithstanding a treaty at present existing between Great Britain and France, according to which the mail packets of each country have the privileges and immunities of vessels of war in ports of either country. Under these circumstances, the matter was taken before Acting Chief-Justice Ball, at his residence, at 9 p.m., when, as reported elsewhere, the warrant under which the Ava was detained was set aside. The order to this effect was handed to Mr. Tonnochy at 11 p.m., at which hour the zealous Marshal had to go on board and take off his myrmidons, whom we left on board bent on selling their lives dearly in the valorous effort to detain the vessel should the attempt be made to take her off.
The Ava consequently left the harbour at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning, having been detained more than twelve hours by these interesting proceedings.
Subjoined is a translation of the protest made by M. Conil, Principal Agent of the Messageries Maritimes Company, against the seizure of the above vessel:-
To H.E. Sir Arthur Kennedy, K.C.B., Governor of Hongkong, &c., &c.
MONS. LE GOUVERNEUR,-The steamer Ava, mail packet of the Messageries Maritimes, was under steam, and only waiting for her despatches to start for Saigon, when to-day at 4:40 p.m., a few moments before the arrival of the Post Office Agent, Mr. Tonnochy, Marshal of the Vice-Admiralty Court, accompanied by a constable, came on board the Ava, and presented to the Captain of that vessel a warrant to arrest, signed by Mr. Alexander, Registrar of the Court, and bearing the seal of the Admiralty Court at Hongkong, by which he signified to the Captain of the Ava that he placed an embargo on his ship, and seized it in the name of Her Majesty the Queen of England, at the request of the Captain and Owners of the Rona.
The French Consul, who was on board at the time, observed in the presence of the Captain, to the Marshal that this arrest was illegal, irregular, and altogether contrary to the 5th article of the convention of 1856, concluded between the French Government and the Government of Her Britannic Majesty-a convention in virtue of which the mail packets of the Messageries Imperiales, subsidised by the state, ought to be considered as men-of-war, and enjoy the same rights and privileges as these latter; that in no case and on no account, in virtue of the said convention, could the said packets be seized, diverted from their route, or subjected to embargo or arrêt de Prince; that in consequence, the Captain of the Ava was not called upon to pay attention to the seizure which was notified to him, and that he would leave at the time fixed for his departure, that is to say, at 5 o'clock in the evening. The Marshal then replied to the French Consul that he had only to execute the order he had received to seize the Ava; and, notwithstanding the protestation of the Consul and the Captain, he caused several armed soldiers with rifles and bayonets to come on board, and gave them orders to take possession of the vessel, which they did, occupying the gangway and various parts of the vessel.
Informed by me of these facts, the French Admiral immediately sent on board his Chef d'Etat Major, who made the same protestations and observations to the Marshal.
The latter, to further enforce the seizure, which he had already made, caused more soldiers to come on board the Ava, and replied to the Chef d'Etat Major and to the Consul, that he would employ force and, if necessary, order the soldiers under his command to use force, and if necessary to seize the Captain, in order to fulfil his commission and maintain the seizure of the Ava.
In view of these arbitrary acts, in flagrant disagreement with the convention of 1856, we were compelled to yield to force, at the same time protesting energetically against this armed violation, by the local authority, within the anchorage of Hongkong, of a French mail packet, which ought to be sufficiently protected by the international convention cited above, recognising in her and according to her the rights, privileges, and immunities of a vessel of war. These rights were ignored knowingly and publicly, and the mail packet Ava, having on board the mails and despatches, was illegally seized, and could not leave Hongkong.
I come, therefore, Mons. le Gouverneur, in the name of the Messageries Maritimes Company, and of the postal and commercial interests wounded in the most flagrant manner by this circumstance, to protest, by the present letter, in the most solemn manner against this unwarrantable act, contrary to the aforesaid convention of 1856. I make all possible reservations as to the ulterior claims by the Messageries Maritimes Company against this inexplicable and unforeseen embargo, intimated to the captain of the Ava less than twenty minutes before the hour fixed for the departure of the mail, and I hold those concerned responsible for the consequences, whatever they may be, of the illegal seizure of the Ava—a seizure, I repeat, contrary to the clauses of the convention of 1856, which was read by the French Consul to the Marshal of the Court, who did not pay any attention to it.
Veuillez agréer, &c.,
(Signed) A. CONIL, Principal Agent of the Messageries Maritimes Company. Hongkong, 4th May, 1872.
VICE-ADMIRALTY COURT, HONGKONG. May 4th.
In Chambers; at the residence of His Honor Judge Ball.-9 P.M.
The Acting Attorney-General, as the law officer of the Government, attended to bring before the learned judge the circumstance of the arrest of the Messageries Maritimes steamer Ava, under a warrant issued by this Court at the suit of the owners of the steamer Rona, cross-actions having been entered by the owners of these vessels for damages sustained in the late collision. The Attorney-General's application was that the warrant should be set aside, and he produced in support of this application a Treaty between France and Great Britain, relating to the status of the mail packets of either country in the ports of the other, together with other documents from the Foreign Office.
The matter having been fully investigated, the learned Judge made an order setting aside the Warrant and releasing the Ava from arrest.
The following is Article V. of the Treaty in question:-
When the Packets employed by the British Post-office or by the French Post-office in execution of Articles 1 and 2 of the present Convention are national vessels, the property of Government, or vessels chartered or subsidized by Government, they shall be considered and treated as vessels of war in the ports of the two countries at which they regularly or accidentally touch, and be there entitled to the same honors and privileges. They shall not on any account be diverted from their special duty, or liable to seizure, detention, embargo, or arrêt de Prince.
No 15.
Government Cave, Cloughing
9th May, 1893
My Lord,
1872
I regret the necessity of bringing
correspondence
subject before you, which will I fear entail trouble and correspondence
On the 7th May I transmitted the following Telegram to
1
to Your
2.
The Right Honorable
The Earl of Kimberley,
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State,