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Effectual; against heavily armed craft as they had been of late seldom pursued, and never by Her Majesty's Cruisers.
was
4. I also learned with much regret that the System most frequently changing in character, and that, although murder had been seldom resorted to by the Chinese formerly, it was now becoming the Rule instead of the exception, and that very many most atrocious murders of Crews and passengers had occurred with a view to suppressing evidence.
5. Under these circumstances it seemed to me a primary object to ascertain what amount of truth there might be in these rumours, and the test seemed to me so crucial as actual search for Pirates immediately on receipt of information that a Piracy had been committed. My time, however, whilst on the verge was limited, and on one hand I had no authority whatever to take action outside the 3-mile line beyond the British soil here. On the other hand, I felt that a reference to Her Majesty's Consul at Canton to the "Vice Roy" to order a search by his Cruisers would be but giving the Criminals, if there were any, an opportunity to escape; and that I should after all have no positive data for transmitting.