11
renew their service and make a weekly call at Swatow for this
purpose. It was found that the boycott was still almost con-
pletely effective and that it was impossible to land or take on
board any cargo on the occasion of any of the twenty six cells
which the firm's vessels have made at that port since the
resumption of the service. The firm have on the other hand in-
curred a total loss of some five thousand five hundred taels,
i.e rather more than thirty pound a on each visit, in respect of
port dues, coal and other extra expenses, The firm, while
recognising that this expenditure is inconsiderable, maintain
that as a matter of principle it is not fair that they should be
called upon to carry out what is purely a humanitarian service,
which they consider should properly fall to His Majesty's
Goverment, without at least adequate remuneration for the extra
expenses entailed thereby. If it were in any way to their own
interests to maintain a service with Swetow, they would willingly
assist the British community there by conveying supplies to them;
but, so long as the sole object of their vessels calling at that
port is the maintenance there of the British residents, they
consider that the extra expenditure involved should be refunded
to them by His Majesty's Government.
4.
In these circumstances three alternative courses
present themselves; –
(1) to withdraw from Swatow the small British
community resident there. To this course, however,
there are at the moment grave political objections. The problem at Swatcw forms part only of the wider question of Canton, and the withdrawal of the colony
there......
may....