499
Foreign
Enlistment Act.
5. I trust that I shall not be
misunderstood in any quarter. Like
Admiral Dowell, I am determined to
out the instructions
Her Majesty's Carry
of Government by enforcing, to the best of my ability, the Provisions of the Foreign Enlistment Act against botte the French and the Chinese. But, again like Admiral Dowell, I fail to see that the ; objects which Her Majesty's Government
have in view, world be ganied by subjecting
either the French or the Chinese to m
petty annoyances (tracasseries), not autturized by law, and without any substantial result, except that of provoking botte the French and the
Chinese to
very
inconvenient reprisals.
For
•
R
For example, it is believed that the French have recently adopted the practice of searching and detaining British Ships
ow
in consequence of
the high seas, mainly
the
very
limited
quantity of coal and provisions which their own men- of- war are now allowed to receive at Hong Kong. It is also believed
that the Chinese authorities at Canton
have shown some ill-humour of late,
manily in consequence of the refusal of
the Imperial Government to save the extradition of certain fugitive
prisoner
tow
criminals. It is alleged that it would be within the legitimate power of the Chinese to prohibit the inportation of provisions to Hong kong; and of the
Freuch