2
Board would do its best to carry out its undertaking, which, he admitted, I had stated with accuracy. But he considered that there would be no grounds for taxing either himself or the Board collectively with a breach of faith if the contemplated arrangement was not carried out. The Board had made the undertaking knowing that His Majesty's Government did not put it forward with any view of interfering in China's internal Some thoroughly affairs, but merely as a scheme which should prove successful. effective measures would be taken in any case, but whether they would be those arranged by the Wai-wu Pu and myself could not be decided until the Viceroy Ts'en reached his post.
(No. 19.) Sir,
I have, &c.
(Signed)
J. N. JORDAN.
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
Consul-General Mansfield to Sir J. Jordan,
Canton, April 23, 1907. IN my telegram No. 5 of the 23rd January last I mentioned a suggestion by Admiral Li that armed guards should be placed on board passenger launches to search for arms, and in my despatch No. 9 of the 25th January I further alluded to a provisional tentative scheme which had been discussed for limiting the number of places of call and establishing depôts for the examination of passengers and their baggage before embarkation.
Much discussion has passed on this subject. The necessary places of call were so numerous that the establishment of depôts at all of them was found to involve an The proposal to place expenditure beyond the means of the Provincial Treasury.
guards on the launches therefore came again on the tapis. I was opposed to it for several reasons, one being the untrustworthiness of the Chinese soldiers; another, that the expenses of such a guard, rendered necessary by the situation for which the Govern- I further suspected that ment was alone to blame, were to fall on the launch-owners.
there was an idea of handicapping the foreign single passenger launches in favour of the towed passenger boats, which latter are almost exclusively native. The Viceroy and Admiral Li are now very urgent in their desire to give the plan a trial, and have declared that the guards shall be specially picked men in charge of a petty officer, and hedged in with all sorts of precautions against misbehaviour, and their pay and main- tenance provided by the Government. In view of the strong wish expressed by the Viceroy on the subject I thought that a point-blank refusal to entertain the idea would eventually lead him to throw the responsibility to some extent on us in the event of continued piracy cases, and I eventually agreed to discuss the matter, with the result that a provisional set of Regulations has been drawn up by Admiral Li, and modified by me to render them as little objectionable as possible. All single launches and towed passenger boats are placed on the same footing as nearly as possible, and a list of eighty-three places of call enumerated. Of these latter the larger places are to have passenger depôts, and passengers from smaller places will be examined on board, as they embark, by the guards.
It is to be observed that these Regulations to a certain extent modify the Inland Water Steam Navigation Regulations, in that they limit the places of call, which the latter do not do. On the other hand, these places of call are calculated on a liberal scale, and certainly the list given covers the great bulk of the passenger traffic. More- over, the Regulations are binding on all launches, irrespective of nationality, so that there is no handicap on launches under a foreign flag. Indeed, it is the other way on, for the latter are free from the numerous licence fees, &c., amounting to a very consider- able annual sum, to which the native craft is liable.
inclose copies of the Regulations, which I have made it clearly understood are only provisional, and will remain in force only for such time as the necessity exists.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
B. W. MANSFIELD.
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Inclosure 2 in No. 1.
KUANGTUNG PROVINCE.
Regulations for the Prevention of Piracy on Single Passenger Launches and Passenger Tows engaged in Inland Navigation. (Translation.)
711
A SPECIAL force of armed police has been raised for the protection of commerce. Every single passenger launch engaged in inland navigation will have an Inspector and five police told off for duty on board, and, similarly, every launch with a passenger tow an Inspector, seven police, and a cook. They will be permanently located on board, in order to protect the launch and search passengers for concealed arms.
2. The number of single passenger launches and launches with tows sailing under foreign flags is known. If at any time there is any addition to or diminution of this number, information thereof must at once be sent through the Commissioner of Customs to the central launch police authority. In the case of Chinese-owned vessels this will be done direct by the masters of such craft. In the event of an addition being notified, arrangements will be at once made to detach police for duty on board.
3. All passengers embarking on single launches or on passenger tows plying on the inland waters will be searched by the launch police as they go on board. Both their persons and their baggage will be examined, and they must offer no resistance to such examination. The launch police will, as heretofore, be stationed on the launch, but previous to a tow getting under way they will board the latter, and, as passengers embark, search them for concealed arms. The police will return to the launch at the time of departure. Similarly, at every station called at en route all passengers wishing to embark will be searched before being allowed to do so.
4. The captain of every single passenger launch, and the master of every tow, shall assist the police, and be present when the search is made, in order to prevent any resistance or disturbance.
5. The devices resorted to by pirates for concealing fire-arms are many. Sometimes they hide them in earthenware jars with a layer of cakes to cover them; sometimes they place them in baskets under a layer of fruit. They have also many other tricks too numerous to detail. Hence in searching for fire-arms, no matter what description of passengers' luggage it may be, it is imperative that everything should be individually and thoroughly examined.
6. The guards on single passenger launches, and on launches with tows, shall have their food provided by the launch, but they shall pay the cost of such food from their wages.
7. In the event of an attack by pirates, the launch police must resist them to the best of their ability, and must on no account shrink from their duty.
S. The launch police receive remuneration for their services from the authorities. They are not allowed to demand anything for expenses. If they are guilty of an offence of this nature, the master of the launch should, in the case of foreign-owned launches, inform the Commissioner of Customs, who will duly inform the police authorities, and ask them to deal with the matter. In the case of passenger tows owned by Chinese, information will be sent direct by the master of the tow to the launch police authorities.
9. Launches of both the above-mentioned descriptions will be provided with an alarm flag, and in the event of an alarm being raised this flag shall be immediately hoisted by the police on the launch, so that the paddle-boats guarding the various sections of the river may be dispatched in pursuit.
10. Fourteen new patrol-launches have been added to patrol the West River. This is a considerable addition to the numbers formerly employed. All launches plying with passengers which may pass the said patrol-launches must under all circumstances come close alongside them, so that it may be ascertained that everything on board is in order. Any of the aforesaid launches which do not comply with this condition will be pursued and an explanation demanded by the patrol-boats.
11. Any passenger found in the possession of concealed fire-arms will be sent to the
local authorities to be dealt with.
12. Any passenger refusing to allow himself to be searched or trying to create a disturbance will be sent to the local authorities to be dealt with.
B 2
[2570 ƒ—3]