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D. CASE OF THE S.S. "TUNG CHOW".
Pirated on 18th December, 1915.
I.-Letter of 29th December, 1925, from H. M. Consul-General, Canton,
to Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, Canton.
Sir,
I have the honour to bring to the notice of the Government of Kuangtung a most daring case of piracy, perpetrated by natives of this province, who from their speech and from the fact that they brought the pirated vessel into Bias Bay, would appear to be Hakkas, belonging to the districts of Yen Shan and P'inghai.
2. The vessel in question was the China Navigation Company's S.S. "Tungchow" trading between Shanghai and Tientsin. She left the former port at 11 a.m. on Decem- ber 17th, and on the following day at 6.20 p.m. a gang of pirates armed with revolvers, hatchets and other lethal weapons took control, overcoming the unarmed resistance offered by the Captain and other officers on duty. The Captain was severely wounded, but fortunately no one else on board was injured.
3. At the direction of the pirates the vessel was navigated to Bias Bay, arriving there at 1.30 p.m. on December 22nd. The pirates left her about an hour later carrying away with them in bullion some $30,000, and Chinese passengers' effects and valuables to the estimated value of $10,000. There were on board some 120 Chinese passengers and several foreign passengers but the latter were not molested.
4. I am requested by the Government of Hong Kong to make most serious re- presentations to the local Government with regard to this incident, and to point out that unless most energetic measures be taken to extirpate the various notorious pirate lairs round Bias Bay, immediately adjacent to the territorial waters of the Colony, friendly relations between the two Governments are likely to be prejudicially affected. Now that the various antagonists of the provincial Government have been disposed of, it should be easy for the military authorities to consummate this object, and an earnest hope is ex- pressed that a punitive expedition will be organized without delay.
5. On December 10th, 1890, the British steamer "Namoa", trading between Hong Kong and Foochow, was similarly pirated and taken into Bias Bay, but the then Imperial authorities acted with such vigour that on April 21st, 1891, fifteen of those con- cerned were publicly executed at Kowloon, and nothing more was heard from that locality for many years thereafter.
6. I have accordingly the honour to urge that no time be lost in following the excellent precedent thereby created.
I have, etc.,
(Sd.)
J. W. JAMIESON,
Consul General.
II.-Letter of 9th January, 1926, from Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, Canton, to H. M. Consul-General, Canton.
Sir,
I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 29th last in which you informed me that pirates had plundered the China Merchants S. N. Co.'s (sic.- should be China Navigation Co.'s) S.S. "Tungchow" and had subsequently navigated her to Bias Bay. You urged that soldiers should be sent to attack and capture them.