As Superintendent of Trade and Head of the Consular Service in China, Sir John Davis had to visit all the Treaty ports once a year, in order to inspect the Consulates and give the necessary directions. During his periodical absence from the Colony in connection with these duties, Major-General D'Aguilar used to administer the government of the Colony as Lieutenant-Governor. In the matter of the Supplementary Treaty, the mischievous provisions of which were condemned by Her Majesty's Government as much as by the community, Sir John had another interview with Kiying at the Bogue (April, 1846) but failed again to get any concession in favour of the Chinese trade of Hongkong. Nor did he succeed to wring from that astute diplomatist anything but vague promises as to granting British merchants in Canton the rights secured by the Nanking Treaty with reference to protection from mob violence, freedom of building residences on a separate concession, liberty to enter the city of Canton, or to make excursions inland. Again and again British subjects were assaulted at Canton and all he could get from Kiying was a series of specious pretexts for blaming British merchants for being so insolent as to ask for their rights or to expect exemption from molestation by mob violence. Sir John Davis used the hints of Kiying freely and, without rhyme or reason, accused the merchants of being the prime movers in all disturbances and made himself as much hated by the British community at Canton as he made himself, by his gullibility, ridiculous to Kiying, who, however, played the role of Sir John's very good friend and even came to visit him in Hongkong (November 22 to 25, 1845) when the compliment could be turned to good account. One thing, however, Sir John did succeed in obtaining from the Canton Authorities and that was the publication of a dispatch by the Provincial Treasurer of Canton, addressed (December 26, 1844) to the Hongkong Government, in which the former magnanimously renounced all claims to the land-tax of Hongkong and virtually admitted the sovereignty of Her Majesty over the whole Island. It was worth something, to be sure, to have this not merely stated
