288
Disposal of the Provincial Authorities.
In Deep Bay, and upon the sea coast in that neighbourhood, the Government has for some time past had no authority whatever, the inhabitants setting the Mandarins at defiance, and the Viceroy would rejoice therefore to see these vagabonds punished, but is unable to undertake the task himself.
6.
In attempting to grapple with this difficult and important question of piracy it must be clearly borne in mind that piracy in China differs from piracy elsewhere in this respect that here the pirates live on the land and only put to sea occasionally to carry on their depredations. After each successful foray they return to their homes where they remain quiet until the matter has blown over, occupying themselves in the interval in altering the appearance of the vessels captured to prevent identification. Nor is this state of things confined in this vicinity to the neighbourhood of Deep Bay. Piratical villages exist along the whole coast wherever the native traffic is sufficient to render