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that, by the proclamation of the Mandarin, they, the petitioners, were encouraged and directed to arm their friends, and resume possession by the strong hand in like manner; and that they were making preparation to do so, when it occurred to them that, as their expedition to the point of land, where the property lies, must necessary be effected in boats, the objects of that expedition would be misrepresented at Hong Kong, by Mah-Chow Wong's friends there, and perhaps a naval force despatched against them, as though engaged in some piratical enterprise.
Then they give this remarkable reason, to justify their apprehension. They say, that the wrongs already suffered were done by that pirate, simply because "the above mentioned lawless fellow, Mah-Chow Wong, has so much reliance on the English power in this settlement;" and therefore, that if, availing themselves of the lex rei sitûs, and the judgment of their Court, they were now "to contend with 'Ng Ting Shing in battle on the other side, the troops of his Excellency may do something wrong to them, if they (the troops) would listen to the wrong saying of the people who are ignorant of the state of things;" in other words, that Her Majesty's forces, misled, as frequently has happened, by false informers of the Jonathan Wild class, will deal with them as sea and land pirates.
Yet his Excellency was of opinion, that there was nothing in such a case, to demand the vigilance or anxiety of Government.
I believe that the friends of the alarmed petitioners had recourse to the British community in this emergency.
The petitions themselves were printed in the
