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The Other Provinces, who are acknowledging great assistance rendered by Your Majesty's Squadron in the extirpation of this evil, felt it was incumbent on the Chinese Government to take its share in the work and not merely look on.
Accordingly His Excellency requested me to assist him in establishing a squadron of Steam Gunboats, under European Officers, which I did, and visited two of them, the "Anlan" and the "Chento" and were pleased to express your approval of their appointment and efficiency, you will better judge of the services they have rendered when I state that both these vessels have returned from a long cruise down the Coast to the Gulf of Tonquin, and, after a careful search and engaging, report they have not discovered a single piratical junks along the Coast line of at least 300 miles in extent, which three or four years since teemed with pirates, and was even dangerous for European vessels to approach.
I am aware that in the neighbourhood of the Menghang piracy occasionally occurs, but the presumption is they are plotted in the Chinese town and committed by fishing vessels.