and waters were Chinese, the annoyance would be less en- durable still when they assumed the character of Foreign establishments within territory under British control - Great allowance has been made for the position of
Hongkong, and greater allowance still for the inefficiency
of the Chinese Administration. The British Government
does very much more for the Chinese fise than ang Furopean
Government would do for another pover; and the Chinese
Government responda by a degree of intrusion which no
Airopean Government would adait. It is no exaggeration
to say that the entire native junk trade with the mainland
is controlled by the Staff attached to the Chinese Customs
Office in Hongkong; for the edony is supervised by Chi-
nese native employes, while its waters are patrolled by
Customs armed steam launches, and wo may be sure that very
little escapes such a system under European supervision.
The arrangements made in pursuance of the Chefeo Convention
may have minimised the ostensible Grouble, but it is open
to contention that the result has been attained at the
cost of sacrificing the freedom of the port. How far we have stretched our goodwil) may be inferred from the fact
that junks are forbidden to leave their anchorage in Hong-
kong after dark, lost they should evade the cordon which
the Chinese Authorities hero found it easier to draw
around the colony than along their own const.
That Chinese Traders and junk owners dislike these
conditions is well known. Neither are the reasons which
deter then from remonstrance far to sack, when we remember
the methods of Chinese mandarins, and the facilition
which knowledge acquired in llongkong may »*
sion on the seinland. Chinese Nem
Legislative Council have-
191