Consul Medhurst has addressed me as follow:
"Tenclose a set of Rules which were circulated amongst the Foreign Hongs by the Silk Guild, on Saturday last, and T beg your particular attention to' their contents, Art. V. of the Treaty of Nanking stipulates that British Merchants shall be permitted to carry on their mercantile transnotions with "whatever person they please; and Art. XE. of the Tientsin Treaty also provides that Merchants shall be permitted to carry on trade with whomsoever they please, and to proceed teand fro at pleasure with their vessels and merchandize—whilst Art. XIV. of the French Treaty is even more explicit and stipulates Societe de Commerce privi-légée ne pourra désormais s'etablir en Chine, et il en sera de mine de toute coalition organise dans lo but dexercer un monopole sur lo commerce. En cas de contravention an present article, les auto-rites Chinoises, sur les representations clu Consul on de agent consulaire, aviseront aux moyens de dissoudre de semblables associations dont elles s'effurceront d'ail-de prévenir existence par des prohibitions préalables, afin d'écarter tout ce qui pourrait porter atteinte A la libre On examination of the enclosed rules, I find that they not only show the existence of a combination amongst the traders in silk, but that these traders take upon themselves to decree how the trade shall be carried on, and who are to engage in it, to inflict penalties on those who may infringe their rules, and even to place an interdict on the-business of any foreign merchant who shall not satisfy all their quirements, Every sentence in fact of the rules will be found to be more or less opposed to the letter of the Treaties, and to the principles of free trade.
Under these circumstances, I must call on you not only to order the dissolution of the Association, whose existence and active working has thus come to light, but to issue a proclamation forthwith inter-dieting such combinations for the future, and I shall feel obliged by your informing me, at your earliest convenience, of the action taken by you in the matter, so that Imay report the result toH. M.'s Minister."
Inow enclose the rules forwarded by H. M. Consul, and a copy of my reply to him. On receipt of these, the Committee will consider the tenor of my letter and call together a meeting of the merchants, for such further deliberation as will not prejudice trade between Chinese and Foreigners. A report of proceedings must be sent in without delay.—A special order!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.