62
Enclosure 1.
22190 Rong
85
Her Most Gracious Majesty
The Queen.
The Humble Petition of the Bunkers, Merchants, Traders and others constituting the Chamber of Commerce of Your Majesty's Colony of Honghong.
Most humbly and Respectfully Sheweth,—
1. That since the year 1880, there has been annually passed by the Legislative Council of Hongkong, an Ordinance conferring upon the steamers of the Com- pagnie des Messageries Maritimes, employed by the French Post Office in carrying mails to and from this Colony, all the rights, privileges and immunities of vessels of
war.
2. That in 1886 and 1887 similar Ordinances, conferring like privileges and immunities on the steamers of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, subsidized by the Imperial Government of Germany for the conveyance of mails, were passed by the said Legislative Council.
3. That these ordinances have been passed year after year in spite of the repro- sentations and remonstrances of this Chamber, each year renewed, and against the protests and objections of the unofficial members of the said Legislative Council, and wholly by the authority of Your Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies and by the votes of the official members of Council.
4. That this year the said ordinances have been renewed for another year, without regard to the protests of your Petitioners or to the votes and opinions of the elected and other unofficial members of the Legislative Council, and simply in obedience to orders received from Your Majesty's said Secretary of State.
5. That these rights, immunities and privileges were first conferred on the steamers of the Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes in supposed compliance with certain provisions of a Postal Convention entered into by Your Most Gracious Majesty with the then Governmout of France in September 1856, by which, as it has been errone- ously supposed and believed, Your Majesty became bound to grant to all French MailZ steamers, in all ports and places in your Majesty's Dominions the said rights, privileges and immunities.