515
Canton are but rarely employed in the pursuit of pirates. They are principally engaged in the congenial occupation of slave collecting, and with this object they are invariably to be found at either the entrance of the Kong harbor.
Notwithstanding the fact that the ostensible Commanders of these gun vessels are Europeans, who may be men of good principles, and desirous of doing only that which is just and proper, there is grave doubt as to whether they are not often misled by the Chinese Officers who accompany them, and betrayed into acts from which they would shrink if aware of the real nature of what they are doing.
Under these circumstances, we should regard the permanent presence of a Chinese gunboat within this harbor with the most profound alarm. It would afford secret opportunity for oppression of the trade of this place, which the Chinese Officials would not be likely to neglect, and apart from this consideration, it is more than probable that the Chinese on board would soon be bribed into league with the pirates themselves.
Even were these Officials honest, it would still be undesirable in the highest degree to have a Chinese cruiser permanently...