The Sun. — 1860-06-02 (London, England)

SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG.  Mr. WYLD asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, if the Government had been informed by the Governor of Hong Kong of the trial, at the Supreme Court, of Captain Saunders, of the British barque ChinChin, for the murder of one of the crew of the Custom House Boats in the Port of Swatow ; aid, if there be any objection to lay the despatch upon the table of the house ? Mr. D. FORTESCUE asked the secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether he was in possession of any information confirmatory of certain statements made in a pamphlet recentlypnbliahod in Paris, quotcd in the " B,unomist" newspaper of Saturday last, relative to the proceedings of the police authorities in Sicily; and, if so, whether he had any objection to lay such information upon the table of the house. Mr. B. OSBORNE said before the noble lord replied to the question which had been put to him by the hon. mem.  ber for Poole (Mr. D. Seymour), he would, perhaps, have no objection to state to the house the precise position of the Persian mission at that moment. From the year 1835 to the year 1858, the conduct of Persian affairs was vested in the Foreign-office, but by an arrangement subsequently come to it was removed to the Board of Control. What he wished to ask the noble lord was, whether he had again  . _ transferred the conduct of Persian affairs to the exclusive direction of the Foreign-office, because he had some idea  that the resignation of Sir H. Rawlinson had something to do with this transfer. This was more important than it at first sight appeared, because he believed that the difficulties between this country and Persia, which led to the Persian war, might be ascribed to the Foreign-office.  Mr. BUCHANAN said before the noble lord replied to the question put to him by the hon. member for Bodmin (Mr. Wyld) he wished to allude to the appointment of foreign inspectors in the Chinese ports. The present system of collecting the Chinese customs was anomalous. It was done by strangers, and the sums collected might, as was believed to be the case at present, be paid into the Treasury, and be used for the purposes of offence against ourselves. Swatow was likely to become a second Singapore, and it was therefore essential that the customs should be put on a proper foundation. We were also doing our best to destroy Hong Kong, a British settlement, in which there was invested an immense amount of British property. The project was to establish a complete organisation of customhouse ports along the Chinese coast ; but this he believed to be impossible. The French did not approve of it ; and their interests as traders were so trifling, that they might act as other considerations dictated. Neither had the Americans been very cordial. At Shanghae they had declincd to become joint assessors, and at Canton had also raised difficulties, in fact, had refused altogether. At Swatow the same objections were raised. The object he had in making these observations was that the noble lord at the head of the Foreign-office might not accept the proposed arrangement without having first given it the fullest consideration.