The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-03 00:00:00

of smuggling, which was being carded on to a very con-
siderable extent. In the month of Mrch in that year
there was passed an ordinance, in whia was sedulously
preserved the distinction between British vessels and
vessels of another description, it being declared that all
vessels owned by British subjects should be at liberty to
trade in case they were provided with a certificate of
registry in conformity with the imperial acts of Parlia-
ment. A new registration was then introduced for the
first time, and the Chinese residents within the colony
were entitled to obtain caonial registration, provided
they were registered lessees of crown lands within the
colony. The house should observe the distinction made
between vessels which were owned by British subjects,
and vessels of another description subject to a register,
which had to be renewed from year to year, the register
being forfeited if the conditions were not complied with.
It was very questionable whether this ordinance was
a legal one, whether, if enforced, it had not the effect of
repealing the Merchant Shipping Act with respect to
vessels of this class. It had certainly not been sanc-
tioned in any way at the time when the proceedi. gs with
regard to the Arrow took place. But when these pro-
ceedings took place there was an ordinance of question-
able legality, upon which alone Sir J. Bowring founded
his proceedings. The house would observe the difference
between the treaty registration and the ordinance regis-
tration. Registration under treaty could only be to
British subjects, registration under the ordinance might
be to Chinese residents who were also crown lessees
of lands ; registration under treaty was not tempo•
rary, because the register was to be delivered to the
officers of the custom-house,- and returned when
the vessel was about to sail, registration under the
ordinance was a temporary registration, renewable
annually. It was, therefore, clear that the registra-
undor the ordinance was something distinct from
the treaty, and that it must rest on the footing of the
ordinance alone. He would, therefore, proceed to consider
what was in connection with this subject the legal effect
of the ordinance. Undoubtedly the ordinance, assuming
it not to be opposed to imperial law, might confer rights
as against ourselves, rights which might possibly be en-
titled to respect from foreign nations, but it could confer
no right whatever upon Chinese subjects as against the
Chinese government. Such was the opinion of Lord
Lyndhurst. "Oh, but," said the Attorney-General,
" that noble end learned lord, for whom I profess the
highest respect, was under an error, and what is most
remarkable, was utterly ignorant of the only authority
on the subject and that one which was decisive against'
him." Lord Lyndhurst—ignorant of the law. (Hear.) ,
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL—Isaid tie such thing.
(The hon. and 1-yarned member then gave his version of
what he did say, but in too low a tone to be heard in
the gallery.)
Sir F. THESIGER bad listened to the hon. and
learned gentleman, he had also seen what appeared to
him to be a correct statement of what had passed, and
in that he found these words attributed to the hon. and
learned member : " It was remarkable that Lord Lynd-
hurst did not seem to be aware of that case." (Cheers.)
Now he must say that if any of them—pigmies in the
law—bad ventured to address Lord Lyndhurst, and say
that be was ignorant of the law, the noble lard might
wed have answered them in the words of Sergeant May-
nard :—" I have forgotten more law than you ever
knew." (Laughter.) The case to which the hon. and
learned gentleman referred was one well known to every
perm:in in the slightest degree conversant with law. But
when the hon. end learned gentleman said that that au-
thority was a complete answer to Lord Lyndhurst's rea-
soning, and, moreover, when the hon. and learned gen-
tleman a•serted, as lie did, that it was a complete audio
rlty to show that the superintendent at Hong Kong had
a right to give a Chinese subject a register which would
enable him as against the Chinese authorities to appear
as a British subject, he would not venture to say that
the honourable and learned gentleman was ignorant of
the case, but he must say that a more complete mis-
apprehension of the authority of that decision was never
heard. (Hear, hear.) What was the case t The house
would forgive him for going into detail—(near, hear)—
but it was necessary to be precise in dealing with the hon.
and learded Attorney-General. (Hear, hear.) Tne case
was this. A. person who was a native-born British sub-
. jest removed to the United States with his family with
the intention of settling there, was denizened and became
a natur lined citiz-n of the American Republic. (Hear.)
Under a treaty with America—a treaty confirmed by act
of Parliament—the citizens of the United States were
slowed to trade with the East Indies—a privilege which,
as a general rule, no subject of England then enjoyed.
The person to whom he had just alluded had been for a
considerable time engaged in the shipping trade, was the
owner of several vessels and the question was whether he,
a domiciled, nat,uralised citizen of the United States—
(hear)—was not within the terms of the treaty and the
act of Parliament —(hear)—whether he was not suffici-
eetly clothed with the character of a citizen of America '
to entitle him to trade with the East Indies. There
were great authorities who thought he was not entitled,
but the opposite view ultimately prevailed. The house
was therefore at last in possession of this authority, of
which it had been said by somebody that Lord Lynd-
hurst
was not aware, which was to be a complete refu-
tation of the opinion which that noble and learned lord
rx?ressed, and to establish that a person who was called
in the ordinance a Chinese resident, not domicled at all,
not naturalised, having no rights whatever as a British
subject, was by this register clothed with the character
of a British subject, and entitled to the pritileges con-
ferred by the ordinance. (Cheers.) Of course the hon.
and learned Attorney-General was a lawyer of coneilet-
able eminence and experience ; he (Sir F. Thesiger) could
not presume him ignorant of, for be mentioned this au-
thority; that be bad entirely misunderstood it when he put
it forward might be a question, but certainly the hon. and
iesrned gentleman was rather relying upon that which
very frequently occurred in the house-r-that if there was
onlya boll assertion of law, it woul l -prett >, certainly be
adopted without question. (Laughter.) The hen. and
learned gentleman (the Attorney-General) also referred to
another authority, upon which, too, he (Sir F. Thesiger)
found it necessary to correct him.. The hon. and learned
gentleman said—" There was only one other point to
which 'he begged to call the attention of !tee house, viz.,
that the respect due to the British flag and the British
papers, which were known to be possessed by this vessel,
ought, independently of anything else, to have entitled it
to the protection due to the British flag, without the
Chinese entering into any exeminatioa of the accuracy of
those papers." And then, finding in an Admiralty report
an isolated passage, the hon. and learned gentleman care-,
fully culled it from the particulars of the case,. and put it
forward to the house as maintaining him in the position
he had assumed. The learned gentleman said—The great-
est authority on that subject was Lord Stowell, who, in
the case of the Vigilantia, reported in Robinson, 13, said,
e--" It is a known and established rule with respect to a
vessel, that if she is navigating under the pass of aforeign
country,she is considered as bearing the national character
of that nation under whose pass shnsails—she makes a
part of its navigation, and is in every respect liable to be
considered as vessel of that country." This was start-
ling. Now, let the house understand what this ease of
the Vigilantia was. As the hon. and learned member
for Tavistoek had stated, that case was a case of war.
It arose thus : There was a vessel sailing under Prussian
colours which belonged to a native of Holland. We were
at war with the Dutch at that time, and Prussia was a
neutral state. There had been an endeavour male to
give the vess€l 'a Prussian character, by in some way
getting a certificate from the magistrates at Ewing that
the owner of the vessel was a native of that city. Tuns
she was sailing under Prussian colours and with Prus-
sian papers. But when the noble lord laid down the
preposition which the Attorney-General had quoted, he
laid it down with a number of qualifications which were
of course admitted. (Cheers.) And though Lord Sto-
well admitted that prima facie, of course a vessel sailing
under the colour of a political state must be assumed
to belong to that state, yet the papers on that oc-
casion having been overhauled, and having been found
fraudulent, the Vigilantia, which was protected by the
general proposition, was condemned as a prize. (Cheers.)
Now he must say that the house had not been fairly
treated. They had bad to consider a case which
appeared a difficult one ; they were anxious to have a
guide. The hon. and learned gentleman, dignus windice
notlllit, descended amongst them to enlighten their igno
ranee and dispel their doubts, and atter exhibiting to
their astonished eyes a few feats of intellectual ledgerde-
main, he disappeared from among them in a cloud of au-
thorities. (Laughter.) He (Sir F. Thesiger) had endea-
voured to track the course of the hoot and learned gen-
tleman, but be would venture to ask hon. members whe-
ther they were as well prepared to receive without hesi-
tation the propositions of law which were maintained
the other night by the Attorney-General as they were at
the time when they were first enunciated I He would
next proceed to consider the position in which the ques-
tion stood at present. Assuming that the ordinance was
a legal ordinance, suppose the register conferred upon
the Chinese residents the right during its existence to
have the temporary character of British subjects ; yet it
was admitted the register had expired, and therefore all
rights under it were lost. (Hear.) And this led to the
most painful part of the case. Sir J. Bowring, in hie let-
ter to Consul Parkes, said—"lt appears, on examina-
tion, that the Arrow had no right to hoist the British
tag; the licence to do so expired on Sept. 27, from which
period she has not been entitled to protection." The hon.
and learned Attorney-General had said there was no du-
plicity in that statement. Undoubtedly there was not ;
but on Oct. 11 Sir J. Bowring writes to Commissioner
Yeh that " there is no doubt theftcha Arrow l
r was when setth two
bore the British flag." (Hear.)
statements were brought together that the duplicity of
the oadt3 became apparent. He (Sir F. Thesiger) could not
help thinking that this very circumstance was a strong
proof of the fact that this difficulty with the Arrow had
been eagerly laid hold of as a pretext for pushing on Sir
John Bowring's preconceived notions with respect to the
right of entry into Canton. Had it not been for this the
authorities of Hong Kong might have been satisfied With
simple reparation—a junk for a junk, as had been
suggested by the right hon. baronet. It appeared that the
fleet had captured a junk, which was thought to be a
Chinese war junk, but which turned out to be a merchant
vessel. But this might have been a sufficient reparation,
for the acts of both parties rested on intention, and if,
although there was no actual statement of intention to
insult the British flag, the boarding of the lorcha was
taken as an insult, certainly in the seizure of this vessel,
an intention to insult being experienced,tak that intention
might have been more tha
not say that there was mucheitheren for granted. He could
to plead for nagn
the way cf humanity and forbearance. We
batterbegan
attacking the distant forts, we proceededieranthe.
walls, and have directed the artillery
of the chief commercial people. The people,
had warning to get out of the way, but he thought that
agitost
itthwealrturusees,
the firing of a single shot every five minutes mass have
been more dreadful than even a hot continuous fir. He
was old enough, he was almost ashamed to say'-tot-
member o -
member the bombardment of Copeubagen• A mightier
armament left these shores than it was possible for the
sdhothwe of resi
Danes to resist, but they made a feeble
m ar bo b d
iuloe, and for two or three days endure
s•
t-