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lead to a determined effort and will render on the part of the Provincial Government to put down the banditti pirates, whose lawless actions, if continued, legitimate commerce all but impossible. It is to be feared, however, that under the present Viceroy's administration and boats, no real really sustained effort is likely to be made to restore the sovereignty of the law in these provinces, and the Committee are of opinion that the most practicable as well as the surest means of restoring confidence and safety along the southern waterways will be for Her Majesty's Government to employ a Flotilla of gunboats of the "Sandpiper" class to patrol the West River, with armed shallow draft steam-launches to watch the creeks. The appearance of such craft in the waterways would be hailed with satisfaction by the native traders and merchants, and need not excite official hostility, as they could act in conjunction with the vessels employed for the Canton Government, but which, unfortunately, are ludicrously inadequate for the work, and not infrequently go off duty to act as tugs for native craft. The number of gunboats and guardboats on the river has, if I am rightly informed, been reduced. The above suggestion has been already mooted in a telegram despatched to London, and the Committee trust it will receive your approval and support.
I have the honour to be,
Your Sir most obedient servant,
(Signed) R.M. Gray Chairman