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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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Inclosure No. 22.
Sir B. Robertson to the Earl of Derby.
Canton, May 22, 1876.
I HAVE had the honour to receive your Lordship's despatch of the 18th February, conveying the approval of Her Majesty's Government of the language held by me to the Acting Viceroy of the Two Kwang, relative to the question of the so-called blockade of Hong Kong by Chinese cruizers, and transmitting a copy of a letter which had been received from the Colonial Office upon that subject, and instructing me to continue to use all the means in my power to bring about a satisfactory adjustment of the differences between the Provincial and the Colonial Governments.
In reply I beg most respectfully to state that no exertion shall be wanting on my part to carry out your Lordship's instructions, and that I have endeavoured to remove all cause for complaint on the part of the Colonial Government the inclosed translation of a Proclamation by the Viceroy lately issued will show, being the result, I believe, of my representations of the injustice of confiscating both vessel and cargo when smuggled or contraband goods are found in a single package of merchandize or baggage on board, and I hope to be able in time to induce the Provincial Government to make such further changes in their revenue system as will tend to remove or lessen the evils complained of.
I have, &c.
B. ROBERTSON.
(Signed)
Inclosure 2 in No. 22.
Proclamation issued by the Viceroy of the Two Kwang, dated May 12, 1876, exhibited May 15.
(Translation.)
PUNISHMENT for SmuggLING.
LIN, Batalanga of the Chinese Empire, an officer of the 1st Class, President of the Board of War, and Viceroy of the Two Kwang, hereby issues a Proclamation.
Whereas the original object of establishing Custom-houses was to facilitate the circu- lation of produce, and merchants and shippers who evade duties, or engage in illicit transactions should be punished and fined, and Customs' employés who are guilty of fraud and extortion should be chastised in accordance with law; and whereas in 1865 Lin Tui- Yun and other owners of passage-boats petitioned that smuggling was very rife, the former Viceroy ordered the Provincial Chancellor and Judge to notify to merchants and shippers that they must themselves pack their merchandize, and give in manifests on which to pay duty, that if they fraudulently carried other goods than those reported in the bales, the junk- owner should not be considered responsible, nor should shippers by the same passage-boat, who had no guilty knowledge of the fraud, be put to the inconvenience and hardship of being arrested.
It was then ordered that thenceforth, when bales of goods handed to passage-boats by merchants or shippers were found by the Customs to contain smuggled articles, if the junk people were not aware of the fraud, only the goods of the offending merchant or shipper should be confiscated, and only the offending merchant or shipper tried and punished. Goods belonging to other parties should not be touched. In case of guilty knowledge on the part of the passage junk-owners or captain, or connivance at fraud, or direct smuggling on their part, such should be punished by the confiscation of the junk and of the cargo smuggled, but the cargo shipped by other shippers should not be touched.
Though a late Viceroy notified that this should be the rule, and though this rule is strictly in accordance with justice, and one that the Customs' employés should always abide by, yet the Chu-jen Lu Kiew and others have reported to us that the employés of all the Customs' stations, in case there is any discrepancy in a passage-junk's cargo, never inquire whose cargo
it is, but seize the boat and the other shippers' goods, and send all to Canton
to be detained, and thus inflict as much hardship as they choose on innocent persons; and the reporters begged the Viceroy to revive the old regulations, and put a stern stop to such irregular proceedings.
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The Viceroy at once directed the Haikwan to prohibit such course of conduct in future, and now issues this Proclamation:
Wherefore it is notified to all Customs' employés, merchants, shippers, and owners and captains of passage-junks, that hereafter when passage-boats are examined and found to contain smuggled goods, if the passage-boat captains and other passengers and shippers have no guilty knowledge of the affair, only the goods shipped in the name of the guilty parties are to be confiscated, and only the guilty parties arrested and punished; the goods belonging to the passage-boat and other shippers are not to be meddled with.
Any Customs' employé breaking this rule sball, as soon as the facts come to the knowledge of the Viceroy, be severely punished without mercy.
As to passengers, merchants, and passage-boat people, you must report truly what goods you carry; you must not commit frauds, or you will be severely punished.
Let all obey, &c.
No. 23.
Governor Sir A. E. Kennedy, K.C.M.G., C.B., to the Earl of Carnarvon.—(Received September 4.) (No. 126.) My Lord,
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Government House, Hong Kong, July 12, 1876. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's despatch No. 21 of the 29th of February last, transmitting copy of correspondence between your Lordship's Department and the Foreign Office, in reference to the presence of Chinese Revenue cruizers in Hong Kong waters; and also inquiring on what grounds the Acting Registrar General made certain charges of torture against the Chinese Government.
2. Shortly after receipt of your Lordship's despatch, certain proceedings took place at the Police Court here, as specially reported in the accompany Memorandum from Mr. Russell, which seemed calculated to throw some extra light on the modus operandi of the Canton Customs cruizers while within and near to our waters. I therefore thought it expedient to await the result of a criminal trial pending in our Courts so as to enable me to place more fully before your Lordship the nature of the disclosures made in reference to the operations of the "Peng Chai Hoi," one of the Canton Hoppo's armed vessels.
3. On the 24th April four Chinese were brought up at the Police Court, one of whom was charged with piracy and murder; and the three others were charged with accusing him of those crimes with a view of extorting money. During the investigation a Chinese witness was called, who is now Sergeant Interpreter in our police. At the time he had been engaged as Interpreter in the Chinese Customs, and was able to identify one of the accused as a former employé of the Chinese Revenue service. It appeared from this witness that the informer had often given information to the Commander of the "Peng Chai Hoi," and frequently led them off on a wrong scent; the consequence was that he had incurred the ill-will of all on board, and the Magistrate observing how ready the witness was to narrate the misdeeds of the spy in connection with the "Peng Chai Hoi," embraced the opportunity of learning something of the cruizer's movements, which he embodied in a Memorandum for my information, and a copy of which I beg to transmit to your Lordship.
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4. The person accused of piracy and murder was discharged at the Police Court, but the three others were committed for trial at the Supreme Court. At the trial it was shown that all the prisoners were spies in the employ of the Chinese Customs, and they were convicted of attempting to obtain money by accusing a person of piracy and murder. Two were sentenced to five years' penal servitude each, and the third to three years' penal servitude.
5. After the conclusion of the criminal session Mr. Kingsmill, who had officiated for the Attorney-General, addressed a letter to the Colonial Secretary calling my attention to certain testimony which appeared in the depositions in the case in question. A somewhat similar letter was also sent in by Chief Justice Sir John Smale, who presided at the trial. I have the honour to forward copies of both of those communications for your Lordship's perusal.
6. From the facts brought out in this case it now seems to me quite demonstrated that the "Peng Chai Hoi" has made and makes use of the Hong Kong waters for collecting information through the medium of Customs spies, who roam this Colony and
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• No. 18.
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