D
411
}
the complete mastery of the West River by an organised body of
river robbers whose headquarters were well known but who were
left unmolested, as between the two towns they could muster
nearly one thousand fighting men. He asked me, through Mr Mac-
kinnen, Acting Vice Censul at Canten, who had come down to act
as interpreter, if I could give him privately the names of the
villages, as he did not wish it to come through the Yamen,
evidently not trusting his entourage. I gave him the names, at
the same time requesting him not to consider my information as
conclusive without independent inquiry, and I informed him of
the offer three years ago of Her Majesty's Government to cooper-
ate with the Chinese Government in securing the safety of person
and property on the river. He promised to take up this important
question as soon as possible.
3.
I gave him the strongest assurance of the determination
of this Government to prevent by every means in its power the
use of Hong Kong as a centre of action against the peace of the
neighbouring provinces. He thanked me very warmly for this and
said that the timely warning given at the China New Year, which
had saved the lives of so many officials, was ample evidence of
our