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what extent British ships were prejudiced to the
advantage of other flags.
I learnt that the
German Vice Consul at Chefoo had power to prevent
overcrowding on German steamers, but that neither
the Russian nor the Japanese Consul could exercise
--
any effective control over the number of emigrants
carried by their ships. In fact it was abundant-
ly clear that the enforcement of the Chinese Pass-
engers' Act at Chefoo must tend to hamper British
shipping so long as the vessels of other Treaty
Powers were not subjected to similar regulations
for the safety of passengers.
In the meantime Messrs Jardine, Matheson and
Company protested to the Hongkong Government against
the enforcement of the Chinese Passengers' Act Re-
gulations, and I ventured to draw the attention of
the
Governor, Sir William Robinson to the disad-
vantages imposed thereby on British shipping, urg-
ing that before putting the proclamation into force
I should be allowed time to make enquiries with a
view to finding out what preventive measures the
other
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