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surprise visits might be made to vessels entering their Ports from Hongkong
Civil replies from some were received of the Countries written to stating they would do what they could in the matter, but as in them no laws existed authorizing the searching of ships, many of them proposed they expressed their inability to do so at being able.
4.
The subject was again taken up towards the end of last year by the late Mr Lister, who had previously proposed the establishment of a Chinese Branch of the Post Office which should be authorized to convey Chinese correspondence subject to certain conditions.
The establishment of such a Post Office would, Mr Lister remarked, give rise to a good deal of trouble