1839 (22 Oct) Early Civil Mail from Hong Kong A very early civilian
letter sent from Hong Kong (the earliest recorded is a letter sent
on 9
1839 (22 Oct) Early Civil Mail from Hong Kong A very early civilian
letter sent from Hong Kong (the earliest recorded is a letter sent
on 9 Sept 1839 – Connaught Collection). This is a John Silverlock
historic letter sent by an American vessel “Canton Packet” to
arrive Chichester via Cowes port in England carrying a legible
step-type “SHIP LETTER / COWES” stamp. The letter recorded the
British negotiation status with Chinese Government in October 1839
before the outbreak of the First Opium War. The content has the
following narratives: “… I have nothing very satisfactory to
community as regards our position now and prospect here. Capt.
Elliot’s negotiations with the Chinese are not yet brought to a
settlement. Neither do I think he will be able to make arrangements
for the trade being safely carried on outside the port, the
merchants would have to trust too much to the Hong merchants both
in the sale of imports and in the quality of the produce received
in return. The risk will be too great for any good to be done,
should they attempt to conduct the business on the plan proposed…
Capt. Elliot is now at Macao and he has sent here to announce his
intention of remaining there and advising us to return at
convenience. I expect to go over tomorrow (to Macao) and if the
Portuguese Governor thinks we may live there in safety all will
soon follow….”. This letter suggested to us the tension between the
British and Chinese governments at the time, when the British
subjects were forbidden to reside in Canton and therefore forced to
remove to the nearer Macao temporarily where it was under the
Portugal government ruling as a colony. In addition, the British
vessels were not allowed to travel around the Canton waters except
the American vessels. Therefore, the letter was shipped via “Canton
Packet” which was an American steamer. Ex Percival David
Collection
1839年10月22日香港寄出之早期民用信件 此為美國船「Canton
Packet」經英國考斯港寄至奇切斯特的歷史信件，蓋有清晰「SHIP LETTER /
COWES」階梯式戳記，記錄鴉片戰爭爆發前中英談判僵局：
「……目前情勢難言樂觀。義律上尉與中方談判未果，外商於廣州外港貿易之提議風險過高……義律現駐澳門，建議我等酌情返回。若葡澳總督確認安全，眾人將隨行……」
此信反映中英緊張關係：英人被逐出廣州，暫避葡萄牙治下的澳門；僅美國船隻可於珠江水域航行，故信件經美國船轉遞。
[拍賣品來源：珀西瓦爾·大維德爵士珍藏
