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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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3 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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Canton, most of the Chinese residents here having relations in the Province of Kwang- tung, and it being an ordinary occurrence for the Mandarins to imprison and otherwise injure blameless people whose absent relations have offended them.

We send you also six additional translations with maps, and will feel obliged if you will lay the Petition before his Excellency the Governor, with a request that he will be good enough to forward it to the Right Honourable Lord Carnarvon, for presentation to Her Majesty.

With reference to the seizure of the "Kum-Hop-Sing," respecting which you were good enough recently to communicate with our Mr. Brereton, we beg to say that we decline to par- ticipate in any further inquiry respecting the seizure of that vessel. When we sought to have the question re-opened, we hoped to have had the junk and her cargo restored to her owners; both have since been sold by the parties at whose instance the seizure was made, and the proceeds confiscated. In view of this fact, and that the "Kum-Hop-Sing" was only one of numerous other junks which have been in the like manner wrongfully seized in British waters during the past few years, we do not believe that we shall ever have sufficient pro- tection for Chinese vessels frequenting this port until the Governor is armed with sufficient powers to put an effectual stop to such outrages in future. This we know to be the opinion of the Chinese merchants of the Colony, who ought to understand such matters.

We have, &c. (Signed)

CALDWELL AND BRERETON.

(Translation.)

Inclosure 2 in No. 1.

To Her Most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, &c., &c.

The humble Petition of the undersigned Chinese merchants. residing and carrying on

business at the City of Victoria, in the Island of Hong Kong,

Sheweth,-

THAT at or about the time when the Island of Hong Kong was ceded to your Majesty, that is to say, on the 7th day of June, 1841, Sir Charles Elliott, your Majesty's Plenipotentiary, issued a Proclamation whereby Chinese merchants were invited to resort to Hong Kong for the purposes of trade and commerce, under the promise of full protec- tion from interference on the part of the Chinese Authorities, as by the said Proclamation, which is in the words and figures following, appears :----

By Sir Charles Elliott, &c., &c., &c.

"A Proclamation.

"It is hereby declared to the merchants and traders of Canton and all parts of the Empire that they and their ships have free permission to resort to and trade at the port of Hong Kong, where they will receive full protection from the high officers of the British nation, and Hong Kong being on the [shores of the Chinese Empire, neither will there be any charges on imports and exports to the British Government. It is further clearly declared that there will be an immediate embargo upon the port of Canton and all the large ports of the Empire, if there be the least obstruction to the freedom of trade and intercourse with the port of Hong Kong. Persons bringing information to the British officers which shall lead to the detection of pirates will be liberally rewarded, and the pirates will be taken and delivered over to the officers of the Chinese Government for punishment.

"At Macao, this 7th day of June, 1841.

(Signed)

"CHARLES ELLIOTT."

That in consequence of such Proclamation, large numbers of Chinese merchants and traders repaired to Hong Kong, and continued from time to time to resort to that Colony, where they built residences and established mercantile houses; whilst others consigned their vessels and goods to the place, receiving for many years complete protection from the interference of Chinese officials, who have always viewed with jealousy the develop- ment of the Colony, its rapid progress in wealth and prosperity, and the great improve ments which, under your Majesty's wine and benignant rule, have been made in it since

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its establishment. And that your Petitioners, relying upon the protection promised by the said Proclamation, have so established themselves at Hong Kong as merchants and traders.

That during the past five years, some of the Mandarins in authority at Canton, actuated, as your Petitioners believe, by avarice and jealousy, and presuming on the peaceful and forbearing policy of late years adopted by your Majesty's Government towards the Chinese Authorities, have entered upon a course of open hostility to the trade of the Colony, by causing trading junks proceeding to Hong Kong to be overhauled and seized by Chinese war vessels; ostensibly for the purpose of collecting or protecting the Imperial revenue; but really, as your Petitioners know, to injure the trade of the port and enrich themselves with the plunder so acquired; until, emboldened by impunity, they have established a complete blockade of the harbour, which is now being carried out by armed junks and foreign-built cruizers; so that every Chinese vessel proceeding to Hong Kong is liable to seizure, and many such junks are daily seized and taken to Canton by such vessels, to be there sold or confiscated.

That within the past two years not less than 300 junks bound for Hong Kong whilst actually entering or close to this port, have been so seized and taken to Canton, where they and their cargoes have either been unjustly condemned as having violated the revenue laws of the Chinese Government, or been returned to their owners on payment of a heavy fine or ransom, proportionate to the value of the property at stake; and that the terrorism produced by such acts, and the injury and oppression consequent thereon, have inflicted the greatest detriment to the trade of the Colony, and materially checked its progress.

That all, or nearly all, the said seizures have taken place in British waters, which will appear evident from the plan hereunto annexed, showing the Harbour of Hong Kong and the surrounding waters; the position at which the war junks referred to are stationed; and the course which Chinese junks bound for Hong Kong necessarily take when nearing the port.

That such seizures have all been made upon groundless charges, and solely, as your Petitioners have already stated, for the purpose of extortion, and of deterring the owners of junks from consigning their vessels to Hong Kong, and resorting to the said Colony for the purpose of trade and commerce.

That one of such junks so unjustly seized was the "Kom-Hop-Sing," the facts connected with which are as follows: The "Kum-Hop-Sing" sailed from Tam Sui in the Island of Formosa, for Hong Kong, on the 16th of January, 1874, laden with a valuable cargo of miscellaneous merchandize. Previous to leaving Tam Sui, the Lekin tax was paid in respect of all the said cargo, for which the master obtained receipts; the proper port or mast dues were also paid by the master, who thereupon obtained the usual clear- ance papers from the proper authorities of the port. On the 19th of January, 1874, when in the Lye-e-moon Pass and in British waters, that is to say, within 120 yards of the island of Hong Kong, the "Kum-Hop-Sing" was overhauled by a Chinese war junk or Customs' cruizer stationed in the said Pass, when her papers were examined by an officer: yet, although such papers were in order, because the master was unable to produce what is known as the "Grand Chop," being the receipt given for export duty at the Chinese ports where such duty is payable, which the said officer well knew the master of the vessel could not possess, for the reason hereinafter mentioned, the junk was taken over to the Chinese side of the Pass, where it was detained until the 22nd January, upon which day it and two other junks, which had been also illegally seized by the said cruizer, were taken up to Canton, where, after a detention of nearly two months, the "Kum-Hop-Sing" and her cargo were sold, and the proceeds confiscated by the Chinese Authorities. On the 30th January, 1874, the master of the junk entered a protest before a Notary Public of Hong Kong, in respect of the illegal seizure of his vessel. On the 30th January, 1874, the solicitor of the master forwarded the protest to Sir Brooke Robertson, C.B., your Majesty's Consul at Canton, with a letter requesting him to apply to the Chinese Authorities to postpone the sale of the junk, which was then threatened, but the Consul declined to do su, stating, in his reply, that the owner's proper course was to present a petition for relief to the Colonial Government. The owner of the junk the presented a petition to his Excellency Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy, C.B., your Majesty's Governor at Hong Kong, praying that steps might be taken to obtain the restoration of the said junk and cargo. Upon receipt of the petition his Excellency transmitted instructions to take action in the matter to Sir Brooke Robertson, who, after a delay of nearly two months, forwarded a despatch to his Excellency, stating that it had been proved to his satisfaction that the junk had been rightly seized for having evaded payment of export duty. The said Consul was altogether in error in the statement so made, he having, as your Petitioner

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