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seizure of Whampoa Dock, but the Consul-General at Canton considered that the former action might lead to serious riots and that the dock was of little value. As an alternative he proposed to threaten the repeal of the Hongkong Arms Ordinance, the suspension of extradition and that hospitality should no longer be refused by Hongkong to Revolutionaries. He felt convinced that such a threat at a moment when the Authorities of the Two Kwang provinces were much alarmed at the progress of the Reform movement would have an immediate effect. The Minister supported this suggestion adding that the Admiral might be instructed to proceed to Canton with a Naval Force. The Admiral on being referred to (August 5th) replied that an effective patrol of the Delta would be impossible without suitable vessels and he considered that a demonstration against Canton would be unwise.
Thus at the beginning of the autumn His Majesty's Government stood committed to the demand that China should recognise her obligation to safeguard the waterways by paying compensation for the two piracies referred to and that she should place a certain number of Revenue Cruisers under Customs control on the waterways.
To the former the Central Government has practically agreed while