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Enclosure 2.
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(.)
Sir,
C O 27208 Beet 289
Government House, BIS AUG II
Hongkong, 10th. July, 1911.
I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of
your despatch of June 21st. transmitting a copy of yours to Sir E. Grey of June 17th., and I note with much regret that you take serious exception to my action in regard to certain recent negotiations which have taken place between myself and the Chinese Provincial Authorities at Canton. I trust that a some- -what fuller explanation of these matters will alter the views
to which you give expression.
2.
I have during the last year had to deal with an unprecedented outbreak of crime in this Colony, of a very serious kind. Armed robberies accompanied by violence had become of constant, almost daily, occurrence both on land and water, many murders were committed, and burglaries and minor crimes were. excessively frequent. One of the Chinese Members of the Legisla- -tive Council sought an interview with me and informed me that he had never known so bad a state of things during his long residence in the Colony. Every effort was made during 1910 to cope with this situation, but with no very marked success, since it is open to a criminal to at once escape to China, and he is probably in Canton before the crime is even reported to the
Police.
3.
On January 3rd. last His Excellency Chang Ming Chi passed through Hongkong on his way to assume office as
Viceroy
His Britannic Majesty's Minister,
Peking.
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