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despatch under reference.
I had proposed to ignore these
regulations, but I learnt by chance from the Mayor's Office
that, in connection with another matter, my failure to reply
had been interpreted as tacit acquiescence. I therefore wrote
to Dr. Tyau on November 29th pointing out that, under Article
52 of the Treaty of Nanking, the right of British warships
to visit all ports in China is clearly defined, and saying
that, while, during the present crisis, the British Naval
Authorities at Canton have complied, and intend to comply,
as far as possible with regulations issued for the safety
of Canton and its neighbourhood, such compliance is without
prejudice to any abrogation of the treaty rights of British
vessels of war.
7.
That such a warning was eminently necessary was illustrated a few days later when H.M.S. "Seamew" came up
to Canton direct from Macao. On this occasion, the usual
procedure was followed whereby the Chinese naval authorities
were notified by telephone of the time at which H.M. S. "Seamew"
would pass Bocca Tigris and were requested to hold a pilot in
readiness. The naval authorities replied that they knew
nothing of the new regulations and referred me to the office of
the Special Delegate, who requested that notification of the movements of H.M.S. "Seamew" should be sent in writing so that
they might transmit the information to the office of the
Pacification Commissioner, who, after he had given his permission for His Majesty's Ship to come up river, would so inform the
Canton River Defence Bureau. I was requested to inform the
Senior Naval Officer, West River, and the captain of the ships under his command, that this procedure should be followed in
all future cases. I told Dr. Tyau that I was quite unable to
entertain any such arrangement, and that, while the movements
of H.M. Ships would continue to be communicated to the local
Chinese/