COPY.
282
20815
Rece & Peet 7 AUG 19
British Consulate.
Saigon, 18th June, 1899.
Sir,
I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your despatch No. 813 of 19th May which arrived yesterday only.
The Governor General being absent in China, upon his railway business, and the Lieutenant Governor being but a substitute ad interim, I wired this morning to the Governor General about the Flags and barriers.
I am not sure whether I should await an answer till July. I am quite sure the Lieutenant Governor will do nothing, he can do nothing to any effect.
I hand you a copy of the "Règlements" of the Port de Commerce. You will see that these 'Règlements', as far as they concern the Customs at least, are Laws of France, with which no Colonial Governor can interfere.
So, the only thing to be done is to petition the Governor General to induce the Chief of Customs to reduce the rewards out of the way of temptation; at present, an informer gets a share of the fine which is altogether out of reason. I do not think that anything will come of it, but it shall be tried.
Although the Administration will not be asked to alter any law, the only reply I shall receive in any case will be that the law holds the ship liable and that there is no power (as there is certainly no desire) to alter it.
The relief must come from home if from anywhere, that I am quite certain of.
As you say, the system of rewards in vogue here is...
The Colonial Secretary,
HONGKONG.