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Hongkong Government on this point, and eventually
a proclamation under Section 3 of the Chinese Pas-
sengers' Act of 1855 was published in the Hongkong
Government Gazette of May 13th.
According to
:
this the voyage of steamers carrying Chinese pas-
sengers from Chefoo to Wladiwostock was declared
one of eight days' duration, and the effect was that
British ships so employed incurred obligations as
to additional accommodation, fees, etc. such as
are not entailed by shorter voyages.
Shortly after the proclamation was issued I
received a letter from Messrs Jardine, Matheson and
Company obiecting to it on the grounds that it was
unnecessary as the voyage from Chefoo to Wladiwos-
tock was not properly one of eight days, and that
it handicapped British vessels vis-a-vis to steam-
ers under other flags. The duration of the voyage
d
is clearly a question for experts, and it appears
that the Hongkong Government took the opinion of
their Harbour Master in the matter. But I at once
set enquiries on foot to ascertain whether and to
what