letter re George Leslie Mackay Tamsui 1885

Dear Sir or Madam,

I find in a book "The Black-Bearded Barbarian" by Marian Keith
published in Toronto, Canada, 1912, the following letter, with the
claim that the British Consulate in Tamsui, Formosa (now Taiwan),
had issued it in 1885. Could you please confirm that such a letter
or one similar to it was indeed so issued? If so, and the text of
the original is substantially different, could you please provide a
copy of the original?

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Dr Kaihsu Tai

* * * beginning of quote * * *

British Consulate, Tamsui,

May 27th, 1885.

To THE OFFICER IN CHIEF COMMAND OF THE FRENCH FORCES AT KELUNG:

The bearer of this paper, the Rev. George Leslie Mackay, D.D., a
British subject, missionary in Formosa, wishes to enter Kelung, to
visit his chapel and his house there, and to proceed through Kelung
to Kap-tsu-lan on the east coast of Formosa to visit his converts
there. Wherefore I, the undersigned, consul for Great Britain at
Tamsui, do beg the officer in chief command of the French forces in
Kelung to grant the said George Leslie Mackay entry into, and a
free and safe passage through, Kelung. He will be accompanied by
two Chinese followers, belonging to his mission, named,
respectively, Giam Chheng Hoa, and Iap Sun.

A. FRATER, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Tamsui.

* * * end of quote * * *

Dear Madam or Sir,

I thank you for your response on this matter, which I quote below.
I understand that you do not hold the information I requested, as
they have been transferred to The National Archives (TNA) at Kew.

Again, many thanks.

* * *

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (FOI) REQUEST REF: 0607-08

I refer to your email enquiry of 22 July about a letter from the
British Consul at Tamsui in 1885.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold any papers on
this subject. They have been transferred to The National Archives
(TNA) at Kew and you will, therefore, need to visit there to view
the files.

The following link to their catalogue search may help you with your
research.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catal...

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me.
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Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Team