417
This would doubtless be a serious step for our Government, to take, but, as the Viceroy has been appealed to, warned and threatened without avail for more than a year, I am of opinion that such action would be entirely justifiable and would receive the approval of foreign powers.
I accompanied Captain Carr on his recent visit to the salt junks at Taiping, but as his report is doubtless on its way to you, I will only venture to bring to your notice the two points which seemed to me most remarkable in this case.
The first is, that the Provincial Government with all the troops and gunboats at their disposal, should have tacitly allowed a comparatively small band of pirates to practically confiscate seventeen large salt boats for a period of three weeks, on the main river within sixty miles of Canton; and secondly that, these salt boats, with a combined crew of five hundred men and upwards of 40 Cannon on board, should have been so terrorized by the pirates that, although they had not actually seen any but only received messages and warnings, they should remain helpless for three weeks, and even hesitate to move when offered
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