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than to the minds of the Peking statesmen. Soon, however, the trend of thought in the capital became known in the provinces, and the Governor of Canton adapted himself to the change by sending an order to Captain Elliot that the opium ships must be driven from Lintin and that the King of England must be desired not to suffer their return thither. There were then some fifty of these vessels under the British and American flags at the island, and there were also Portuguese-owned vessels engaged in the same smuggling trade at Macao. Captain Elliot, as his already quoted despatches show, had no sympathy with the smugglers. He recognised fully the evil effects of opium-smoking, and he saw that by systematically ignoring Chinese regulations foreigners were gradually creating an intolerable situation. But he possessed no power over any nationals except his own, and his official instincts probably suggested that even in the privilege of wrong-doing his countrymen should not be discriminated against. Moreover, he detected a political opportunity of an attractive character. The Governor of Canton had employed the Hong Merchants to transmit the Chinese Emperor's alleged message for the British sovereign to the superintendent. Captain Elliot refused to receive any such communication unless it came direct from the Chinese Government, and thus the government had no choice but to employ official messengers instead of the Hong Merchants,