 In 1881, Francis was appointed Acting Crown Advocate of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan to prosecute a British employee of the Imperial Maritime Customs, Edward Page who was accused of murder for killing a Chinese smuggler.Thomas Hayllar QC and the Attorney General of Hong Kong, Edward Loughlin O'Malley, acted for Page.Francis quickly became an established barrister in the colony and became the leading practitioner at the Bar when T. C. Hayllar, QC the most prominent barrister in the colony left in 1882.