The statements made by Mr. Stewart Lockhart I find more than one allusion to the operations of a Chinese Company which appears to have purchased a large quantity of land from the people at a fraction of its value by assuring them that when the British Government took over the territory their land would be confiscated, so they had better sell for what they could get. Such a statement, if believed, would account for the belief that their land would be taken and the determination to resist the occupation. I have heard this statement from several quarters, and I greatly fear that Mr. Stewart Lockhart may have been misled by the machinations of the syndicate; all his information about the district has been derived from them, and one of the Syndicate at least accompanied him during his visit and is acquainted with him.
I have written a minute to Mr. Stewart Lockhart on the subject and directed him to inquire into the ...
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