FOREIGN OFFICE,
July 9, 1901.
Sir,
I am directed by the Marquess of Lansdowne to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 19339 of the 20th ultimo respecting the proposed repatriation of a German lunatic, Karl Ahrens, now in the Hong Kong Asylum, and asking whether in His Lordship's opinion any advantage would be gained by making representations to the German Government on the subject.
The question of the repatriation of lunatics formed the subject of a correspondence between Her Majesty's Government and the German Ambassador at this Court in 1872. His Excellency was informed that as the British law did not authorize the removal of any person from this country and Her Majesty's Government were precluded from proposing any system of mutual repatriation, they thought it better
Under Secretary of State, Colonial Office.