COPY.
No.2215.
Sir,
RECR
C.O.
5529
A.
10 IC FEB
Colonial Secretary's Office,
Hongkong, 21st December, 1899.
225
I am directed by the Governor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No.148 of the 11th instant, enclosing a translation of a despatch from the Viceroy, and to request you to inform the Viceroy that His Excellency is glad to learn that he is prepared to take steps to check the piracy upon the West and North rivers.
2. On consideration, however, the Viceroy will probably see the impracticability of the proposal that vessels plying on the West River should start in fleets. These vessels start from different ports, and ply to different ports. Even in cases where vessels might ply to the same ports the detention would be of different duration in each case, determined by the amount of cargo to be loaded or discharged.
3. The river must be made safe for all vessels to pursue their usual business, and this can be secured by the effective ...
Her Britannic Majesty's Consul,
CANTON.