De España to John Murray Forbes, August 23, 1878

Mr. de España to Mr. Forbes.

F. B. Forbes, Esq., Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce, Shanghai:

Mr. Vice-President: In reply to the letter which you did me the honor of addressing to me, under date of 3d of this month, on the subject of a communication presented to the chamber of commerce, Shanghai, by Messrs. Butterfield & Swire, bearing on an order to remove a hulk at the port of Chinkiang, moored since 1874, I hasten to inform you that this case has been definitely decided by Her Britannic Majesty’s Government; therefore it is impossible for either myself or colleagues to take it into consideration.

Her Britannic Majesty’s chargé d’affaires explained to me that the request to remove the ponton was addressed by the local Taoutai to the English consul of that port, and consequently the action taken by the Chinese authorities in this case has the required legal basis.

Receive, &c.