My Lord:-
22701
PEC
CHINESE LEGATION,
PEC 3 NOV 96!
W
177
October 26th, 1896.
It is well known that the Province of Canton, where the Taiping Rebellion, one of the most serious and disastrous political movements that ever tried the resources and stability of the Chinese Empire, took place, has for a considerable time past, but more especially during the last two years, been the seat of secret societies hostile to the maintenance of peace and order, and that now as in 1850, when the Taiping rebellion broke out, the British Colony of Hong Kong is by those associations made to serve as a base for movements directed against the tranquillity of the Empire of China.
The proximity of Hong Kong to the mainland making the island an especially advantageous station
The Marquess of Salisbury, K.G.,
&C.,
&C.
&C = 1
whence