:
511
the circumstances, I must decline to take any part in the
proposed ceremony. It was, as a matter of fact, shortly
afterwards abandoned, ostensibly owing to the Viceroy's
departure.
I fool confident that the attitude I adopted
in this matter will mo t with your approval.
The enclosed copy of a letter which I wrote to
the Governor of Hongkong in response to his request for an
expression of my views on this case is submitted for your
perusal.
The nowe of Messrs Butterfield and Swire's most
humiliating surrender to the Self Covernment Society serves
to confirm me in my opinion that a mistake has been made,
which will, sooner or later, have serious consequences for
British firms and British shipping in China.
Mesars Butterfield and Swire's admission of res-
ponsibility for a death on board one of their ships, which
was at most accidental, establishess precedent which un-
scrupulous Chinese will not be slow to take advantage of,
and their sacrifice of the Captain, the senior officer
in