Government House,
15/5/99.
Sir,
With reference to your letter of this date I have the honour to request that you will make what arrangements seem best to you for the occupation of the town of Shamchun to-morrow & also of the walled City of Kowloon.
I am awaiting a telegram in answer to mine asking if I am to take Shamchun only or to take also the valley to the summits of the hills. In either case you will proceed to occupy Shamchun.
Should the answer be that I am to take the valley, I will have time to inform you, probably before the expedition starts in the morning. In that event I shall take the valley & the line from the hills on Deep Bay, west of Shatao, to a point on Starling Inlet just to the East of Shataokok. You will have so large a force that I do not apprehend opposition & my instructions are that bloodshed is to be avoided if possible.
Should Chinese troops be found in occupation it will be sufficient to insure that they withdraw beyond the new frontier, but I do not desire to remove the Customs Officers from their stations for the present, as I am anxious to assist the Imperial Customs in preventing smuggling.
Should your occupation be confined to the town of Shamchun you will therefore, as soon as you decide upon the boundary (which will in that case be from a point North of Shamchun to the fork of the Shamchun river, S E of Wangpailing) inform the Customs Officials that they can collect their Customs at the boundary & give them every facility. It will be well to issue a proclamation to the people that...
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