is unnecessary for me to trace how it became the Common Law of England
that whosoever breathes the air of England cannot be a slave." After
reference to notable decisions on the part of England's highest
authorities as to the unlawfulness of slavery; to the claim that
slavery was secured to the Chinese residents by the promise not to
interfere with their customs, and reminding his hearers that the
promise was made only "pending Her Majesty's pleasure"; after quoting
the Queen's proclamation against slavery at Hong Kong, and the
assurance in that proclamation that "these Acts will be enforced by
all Her Majesty's officers, civil and military, within this Colony,"
he asks:

"Have all Her Majesty's officers, civil and military, enforced
these Acts within this Colony? I think they have not; I confess I
have not. Our excuse has been in the difficulty of enforcing these
Acts, but mainly in our ignorance of the extent of the evil. What
is our duty, now that we know that slavery in its worst as in its
best form exists in this dot in the ocean to the extent of say
10,000 slaves,--a number probably unexceeded within the same space
at any time under the British Crown, and, so far as I believe, the
only spot where British law prevails in which slavery in any form
exists at the present time?"

Then he deals with the pretext that this slavery is Chinese custom,
in words we have already quoted in the first chapter of this book. He
passes on to consider and affirm the propriety of the Chief Justice
directing the Attorney General to prosecute these cases, and answers
some of the objections raised by the latter officer, concluding this
portion of his remarks with the words: "What I have said has been
said to meet arguments, doubts, and difficulties which have paralyzed