1922
Rreier of Puble Occurrences During the
APRIL.
have the sagacity to foresee the endless embarrassment certain to emanate there- from, but they will facitly sanction, or perhaps avail themselves of the fall exer. tise of his functions and authority without the river, and I am confident, appeal to him in any extreme case of difficulty or aggression on the part of his country- inen, thereby at once yielding a point of contention which it seems to me idle to_arge."-Corresp_p. 135
November 8th. Regarding the goods lost by Mr. Innes, viscount Palmerston wrote to captain Elliot
"The dispatch of sir George Robinson of the 20th of November, 1835, relative to the case of Mr. Innes, together with the various minutes and other papers connected with it, which have bcen transmitted home by the superintendents have received the most careful consideration of his majesty's government, and their legal advisers.
"It appears from these papers, that Mr. Innes, a British merchant resident at Canton, had employed a pilot named Acha, to transfer some goods from the ship Orwell, while passing up from Lintin to Canton, to another vessel at Lintin bound for Manila: that the pilot Acha, instead of proceeding with the goods to the other vessel, was conveying them up the Canton river, when his boat and the goods were seized by the Chinese custom-house officers, near the Bocca Tigris, for a breach of the Chinese revenue laws; it being considered that he was attempting to smuggle the merchandize within the entrance of the port of Canton; that Mr. Innes conceiving himself to be wronged by the acts of the pilot and of the custom-house officers, had petitioned the governor of Canton for redress; and that, upon experiencing delay in obtaining the restitution of his goods, he had noti- fied to the governor his determination to procure redress for himself by acts of reprisal against the Chinese trade; but that he had consented to abstain from his ineditated hostilities, upon receiving from the superintendents a pledge, that his case should be submitted to the consideration of his majesty's government; and that the recovery of his property should be made the subject of a demand on the Chinese authorities, on the first occasion of the superintendents coming in formal contact with those authorities.
"You have already been informed, by my dispatch of June 6th, addressed to sir George Robinson, that the papers connected with this transaction were under the consideration of the law officers of the crown. The report which I have now received from the law officers, fully confirms the opinion which I expressed in that dispatch, that the acts threatened by Mr. Innes, would, if carried into effect, amount to puracy. I have therefore to instruct you to communicate to Mr. Innes the opinion of 'is majesty's legal advisers, with regard to the intention which Mr. Innes had announced, and to express the conviction of his majesty's government, that he will abandon all intention of having recourse to proceedings which high legal authorities have declared would amount to piracy. You will further inform Mr. Lunes, that if the contrary should unfortunately happen, and if he should per- sist in carrying his former intentions into execution, he will be abandoned by the British government to the fate which such a course will probably bring upon him; and further, that the commander of any of his majesty's ships which may fall in with him, will be bound to act towards him as the naval instructions re- quire commanders of his majesty's ships of war to act towards pirates whom they
may meet.
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