C. Q.
11694
REC? JUL 86,
204
No. 50.
Mr. O'Conor to the Marquis of Salisbury.~(Received April 6.)
(No. 40. Confidential.) My Lord,
Peking, February 6, 1886. IN acknowledging the receipt of your Lordship's despatch No. 295 of the 20th November last, I have the honour to refer to my despatches Nos. 25 of the 22nd January, and 36, Confidential, of the 4th instant, from which your Lordship will perceive that I have anticipated the instructions now conveyed to me to act in concert with and in support of the German Minister's efforts to secure an amelioration of the present system of inland taxation on foreign goods in return for Germany's acquiescence in the Opium Convention.
I shall continue to afford M. von Brandt every assistance in my power in any further negotiations which may arise out of this question.
In the late negotiations I acted as much as possible as a friendly intermediary between the Tsung-li Yamên and M. von Brandt. On the one hand I was anxious not to lead the Tsung-li Yamên to believe that Her Majesty's Government desired to impede in any way the execution of an agreement which had made so favourable an impression on the Chinese Government, and on the other hand, not to neglect any means of supporting demands which were so much in accord with British commercial interests.
I have, &c. (Signed)
N. R. O'CONOR.
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