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to the original demand, with a slight modification consequent on foregoing the claim made for compensation for the loss of the junk over and above its actual value. I, however, added that looking to the circumstances under which I found the junk had cleared from the harbour of Hong Kong, it was not my intention to return the value of the junk or the cargo to the former owner.
On the 2nd of June the Consul replied that the Vice Roy agreed to send to this Government the value of the 11½ balls of Opium, thus complying with the full demand that had been made.
In concluding the correspondence the British Consul says:-
"I have further to state that I am convinced that the action His Excellency the Governor is prepared to take in cases of smuggling from the colony will go far towards suppressing an evil which has heretofore entailed upon the Government of both Hong Kong and Canton, serious difficulties and much misunderstanding"
The action on my part to which the Consul refers, arises