Now that Admiral Willes has loft Chin we should have been glad to have allowed his official condact last summer to have been forgotten, But there are statements in his despatch of the 22nd of October to the Admiralty which require notice from us, The Admiral gives a colour to the action of the Hongkong Chamber of Commerce and to his own, which is ingenious, but will not be accepted as ingenuous by those who are acquainted with the facts, So far as we know, the Chamber did not udireotly mean to protest against the ornising squadron. - They had too much sense to do anything of the kind: but they protested against cruising in distant waters when the fleet was required near ethand. What the Chamber complained of was the withdrawal of such a largo number of British ships of war from Hongkong and the Treaty Ports, at those times when their services might be required at any moment for the protection of life and property.. What miral Willes did, was to adhere obs! ately toa programme he lind previously arranged, probably on first assuming his
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.