448 Boundaries and Beyond
perceptions of the nationality issue and the complexity in Sino-British
diplomacy.
Prior to the signing of the Peking Conventions in 1860 in the aftermath
of the Arrow or Second Opium War that broke out in 1856, diplomatic
correspondence between China and foreign nations was expected to
be written in the Chinese language. Therefore, a large quantity of such
Chinese documents was kept in the Foreign Ofβice βiles originally sent
from the British consular ofβicials in China and transmitted to the British
Foreign Ofβice as enclosures through the British plenipotentiary in Hong
Kong, concurrently the chief superintendent of British trade in China and
governor of Hong Kong. These Chinese-language documents, especially
those between the consular and the Chinese local ofβicials, provide βirst-
hand information about the frontline diplomatic entanglements in the
treaty port. This section of the British Foreign Ofβice documents, that has
not been adequately used in the previous studies on the issue, will form
the bulk of sources for the discussion.
The Dual Nationality Problem
The intention to extend the judicial powers of the British plenipotentiary
in Hong Kong and the consular ofβicials in the treaty ports over the
British subjects in China developed into a contentious issue in British
relations with Imperial China.^17 Article XIII of the General Regulations
published on July 22, 1843, that forms part of the Supplementary Treaty
of October 8, 1843, subsequent to the signing of the Nanking Treaty at the
end of the Opium War, stipulates that:
Regarding the punishment of English criminals, the English
Government will enact the laws necessary to attain that end,
and the Consul will be empowered to put them in force; and
regarding the punishment of Chinese criminals, these will be tried
and punished by their own laws, in the way provided for by the- The early intention to extend such judicial power even before the pre-Opium
War can be seen, for example, from a document that contains the opinion of
the Crown Law Ofβicials on the protection of British subjects in China. See
Law Ofϔicers’ Opinions to the Foreign Ofϔice, 1793‒1860: A Reproduction of the
Manuscript series with Index and Commentaries, prepared and edited by Clive
Parry (Westmead, England: Gregg International Publications Ltd., 1973),
September 17, 1836.
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