4
collisions had taken place.
on the mainland close to
the frontier between
armed bands of smugglers
and the Chinese Customs.
officers, and it was suggested that the Opium
Ordinances should be amended so as to mitigate
the evil.
3.
I should mention
that smuggling had been facilitated by
a decision
in the Supreme Court —
which placed upon the
words "in quantities less
than one
chest" the
468
— interpretation of quantities less than the contents of one chest — not confining the phrase to unbroken
chests.
4.
On Sir James
Russell's return to the
Colony last autumn the Opium Farmer's petition and the subsequent
correspondence referred to.