16
189
17
: other ships of war. It has frequently been shown, moreover, that Hongkong commands our trade routes in the East; that shipping to the amount of nearly four millions of tonnage yearly enters this port, and that it
米
* It is
a very remarkable fact that the tonnage of the shipping which now enters the Port of Hongkong is nearly equal to the tonnage of the shipping which entered the Port of London in 1837, (the year of the accession of Queen Victoria), at a period five years previous to the British occupation of this island, and when it was uninhabited except by a few Chinese Pirates and Fishermen
is of paramount importance not to suffer any nation or possible confederacy of nations, to destroy or lessen the prestige and influence of Great Britain with China and Japan, those rich and vast countries which have, in all human probability, a great future before them in the history of the World
I have the honour to be,
My Lord,
Your Lordship's Most Obedient Humble Servant,
5. Bowen