As I have informed you of the letter, the men were put on the "Yang tze" at Shanghai by the Police. It is not possible, therefore, as suggested in your Despatch now under reply, that the men were sent down by a Cantonese Benevolent Society or by the Chinese Authorities, for neither the Society nor the Chinese Authorities would, it is presumed, have obtained the assistance of the Police in such a matter. Nor were the Coolies forwarded to Canton, as stated in my letter, they were landed in Hong Kong.
It remains, therefore, that from a British Settlement in China a number of destitute, and probably criminal Chinese have been sent by a British Vessel to a British Colony. His Excellency The Governor is much pleased at learning that such an act was carried out without any sanction on your part, although indeed in your letter it was not imputed.
His Excellency will naturally expect that this Government could not quietly submit to the Colony being made use of in the way indicated without protest, which protest is reasonably made.