CO129-294 - Governor Sir Blake - 1899 [10-12] — Page 590

CO129 Colonial Office Hong Kong Records 理藩院香港檔案 All AI Reviewed

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War sold in Hongkong are legitimately imported from the

Colony on behalf of the Provincial Government, and a

portion is also purchased under its sanction by local communities ostensibly to arm the Train Bands and for their

own protection. But there is not the least doubt that

these latter weapons and ammunition eventually find their

way to a great extent into the hands of the robbers,

brigands and blackmails infesting the district.

The smuggling of arms and ammunition on

foreign steamers is considerable, as is shown by the

seizures made by the Imperial Maritime Customs. But the

Customs Officers seldom make a seizure of a consignment,

of which they have not previous information, and we may

conclude that only a small portion of the arms smuggled

by the crews of vessels under foreign flags is seized,

while the smuggling by native craft from the Colony into

every creek and bay along the coast and up the rivers

must be very many times larger.

The effect of all this lawlessness, added

to the fact that one of the chief sources of its support

is a British Colony, is undoubtedly a very serious matter

both

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2026-05-31 11:00:06 · NVIDIA / meta/llama-4-maverick-17b-128e-instruct

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: War sold in Hongkong are legitimately imported from the Colony on behalf of the Provincial Government, and a portion is also purchased under its sanction by local communities ostensibly to arm the Train Bands and for their own protection. But there is not the least doubt that these latter weapons and ammunition eventually find their way to a great extent into the hands of the robbers, brigands and blackmails infesting the district. The smuggling of arms and ammunition on foreign steamers is considerable, as is shown by the seizures made by the Imperial Maritime Customs. But the Customs Officers seldom make a seizure of a consignment, of which they have not previous information, and we may conclude that only a small portion of the arms smuggled by the crews of vessels under foreign flags is seized, while the smuggling by native craft from the Colony into every creek and bay along the coast and up the rivers must be very many times larger. The effect of all this lawlessness, added to the fact that one of the chief sources of its support is a British Colony, is undoubtedly a very serious matter both

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# : war sold in Hongkong are legitimately imported from the Colony on behalf of the Provincial Government, and a 587 portion is also purchased under its sanction by local con- munities ostensibly to arm the Train Bands and for their own protection. But there is not the least doubt that these latter weapons and ammunition eventually find their way to a great extent into the hands of the robbers, ens brigands and blackmails infesting the district. The smuggling of arms and amunition on foreign steamers is considerable, as is shown by the seizures made by the Imperial Maritime Customs. But the Customs Officers seldom make a seizure of a consignment, of which they have not previous information, and we may conclude that only a small portion of the arms smuggled by the crews of vessels under foreign flags is seized, while the smuggling by native craft from the Colony into every creek and bay along the coast and up the rivers must be very many times larger. The effect of all this lawlessness, added to the fact that one of the chief sources of its support is a British Colony, is undoubtedly a very serious matter both

2026-05-31 11:00:06 · Baseline

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war sold in Hongkong are legitimately imported from the

Colony on behalf of the Provincial Government, and a

587

portion is also purchased under its sanction by local con-

munities ostensibly to arm the Train Bands and for their