CO129-237 - Governor Des Voeus Acting Governor Stewart - 1888 [1-6] — Page 535

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» perpetrators of which, it_ impracticable to aseertain.

The considerations

was im

10.

on the other side, however, appeared to me to be the stronger. In the Chinese

view the concerted cessation

from work of some thousands

of bout-labourers and the

of the

withdrawal

eargo-

boats constituted a distin

distinetly

oireiv coercive measure and a

menace to the Government:

To give way

under such.

Circumstances.

eircumstances would, by

529

an

ignorant population, be regarded as a concession rather to pressure than to the demands of justice, and such a display of apparent weakness would probably _: have indefinitely far-reaching ill-effects being certain to be remembered in future when

any Government measure; however necessary

to the-

welfare of the Chinese, was

in any

way

offensive to

Their