the whole case came under the notice of Sir Arthur Kennedy before leaving the Colony, and by his direction particulars of the
trial were sent up to Her Majesty's Government, with the request that the
attention of the Vice Roy might be called to the fact disclosed. No reply has however as yet been received from Her Majesty's Government in consequence of the indisposition from which, as I have informed You Lordship, Sir George Robertson is suffering.
I am unable to vouch for the truth of the prisoner's Statement,
and the Chief Justice's report shows, placed little
credence in it, but the mere fact that a prisoner could base his defence upon such
grounds hitherto unknown in British Jurisdiction is
a startling demonstration of the moral effect which the actions of the Chinese Revenue Officers have
had upon the Chinese mind, accustoming them to regard British soil as
Chinese Territory.
I have only to add that Sir Arthur Kennedy before his departure remitted that portion of the sentence of the prisoners which referred to ...
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