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taken in the act, and in the event of their escaping, then the co-operation of the shore authorities would come in. He admitted the number of Customs-controlled launches was small, and he would like to see them increased. One of the principal objects of the latter would be to see that the other armed launches in the river carried out their duties properly. He regretted to say that from his own personal observation when in Canton waters, and from the reports of the officers commanding the gun-boats in the West River, such supervision was necessary; it was well known that the Chinese officers neglected their duty, and, together with their men, spent their time in smoking opium and gambling. It had been conclusively proved that in the case of the "Feinam" [sic] the vessel was pirated when within hail of a guard-boat, and that the latter had done nothing.
His Excellency Yuan Shih K'ai remarked that such neglect of duty on the part of the Chinese officers and men was a result of a weak and ineffective administration on the part of the Viceroy.
The Admiral asked his Excellency what reply he was to send to the Admiralty as to the intentions of the Chinese Government.
His Excellency replied that the Admiral could assure the Admiralty that the Chinese Government regarded the matter as of great importance, and that they intended to make every effort to stamp out piracy, and that they felt confident that the administration of the new Viceroy would have a marked effect.
The Admiral said that he proposed to visit the Viceroy at Canton after his return to Hong Kong to discuss the question, and that he hoped his Excellency's anticipations would prove correct. As he had before remarked, he was moving his ships south to be ready to take action for the protection of British interests should a recurrence of these piratical outrages take place. While he fully intended, if necessary, to take action himself, yet he trusted he would not be called upon to do so; it was the obvious duty of the Chinese authorities to police their own waters and to afford protection to foreign traders, and he earnestly urged upon the Government the importance of their intro- ducing effective measures without delay. If he could assist the Government in any way in selecting a suitable type of vessel for patrol duties he would be glad to do so.
His Excellency Yuan Shih K'ai said he felt sure no such action on the Admiral's part would be required, the Chinese Government would not fail to act energetically in the matter, and he hoped that by the time the Admiral arrived at Canton a marked improvement in the situation would already have resulted. He thanked the Admiral for his offer of assistance.
This concluded the interview, and the British Minister and the Admiral then took their leave.
A. W. MOORE.
(Signed)
Inclosure 4 in No. 1,
Lieutenant-Commander Vaughan to the Commodore-in-charge His Majesty's Ships,
(Confidential.) Sir,
Hong Kong.
"Moorhen," at Canton, August 22, 1907.
I BEG to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated the 19th August, which only reached me this morning, and regret that the short notice received compels me to answer rather more briefly than I should have done had I not received your telegram to-day.
In reply to the Commander-in-chief's questions, I beg to inform you that the present situation in the West River, though still far from satisfactory, shows an improvement in the condition of affairs that existed two years ago, but piracy is still prevalent.
A recapitulation of previous reports on piracy will show this :----
1. On the 24th January some native cargo-boats were attacked by pirates above Wuchan, and Mr. Edwards, a merchant trading at Wuchau, had his cargo of piece- goods stolen.
2. On the 15th April the launch "Kwong Cheong," flying the Chinese flag, way pirated near Chun Chune.
3. On the 30th May two native boats were attacked by pirates in the Sun Ning district, and some British and American missionaries on board were robbed.
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4. On the 18th June over 100 armed robbers landed at Shui Tong from snake-boats and looted the town.
5. On the 6th July the British launch "Ki Cheung" was pirated in the Chun Übune Creek, not 10 miles from Canton, and the passengers were robbed and some thrown overboard to delay the pursuers.
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6. A few days ago the French motor-boat "Woo-on was pirated at Shik Kio, in the North River, 20 miles from Samshui.
In every one of the cases quoted above the pirates seemed to have had no difficulty in making good their escape. So I cannot conscientiously inform you, in answer to question (b), that the Chinese are taking active and earnest measures to prevent piracy; still it is my belief that if the Chinese Government determined to suppress piracy in the West River they could accomplish their object.
The first rice crop yielded 60 per cent., and the mulberry crops have this year been excellent. The second rice crop has only just been set--nearly a month later than usual-but agricultural prospects are favourable, and as this point has a great bearing on the behaviour of villagers, I am inclined to think that the recrudescence of piracy in the autumn will be governed to a great extent by the success or failure of the second rice crop.
There are always in Kwang Tung, as elsewhere, many bad characters and ne'er-do- wells, and if they cannot eke out a comfortable living in the city of Canton they will go further afield to rob and pillage.
(6.) The Chinese deep-sea gun-boats, river gun-boats, torpedo-boats, and armed launches still maintain a moderate display of activity, and when I have met them at anchor I have noticed that they were lying under banked fires and not as hitherto with fires out. This indicates an improvement, and the Chinese rely now more on an active patrol than a moral effect.
(c.) All the fourteen new Chinese armed launches are stationed on the river and delta, but they possess small power in the way of speed, and are of a cheap and jerry- built type that will not last long, cannot steam fast, and are only lightly armed.
(d.) His Majesty's Minister at Peking has refused to agree to the new Traffic Regulations, referred to in this parapraph, except as a complement to the scheme for patrolling cruisers under Customs control, which the Wai-wu Pu at first accepted and then repudiated.
So nothing has been done.
(e.) In the event of our taking over the policing of the waterways, I submit the following suggestion on the assumption that, if we accept the responsibility of this great and arduous duty, it must be done absolutely and thoroughly in accordance with the traditions of our navy. I merely mention this in the event of your considering that my proposal is too ambitious.
The waterways used by British vessels comprise the following mileage in round figures :--
Samshui to Canton vià Fat Shan
Samsbui to Ching Yuen
Miles.
40
50
Kum Chuk to Kong Mun
15
Kong Mun to the Ngai Mun
45
Kum Chuk Rapids to Cauton
40
The main Cunton River
40
Creeks, &e., not included in the above but including the East River Wang Mun to Wachau (the main trade route)
170
200
Total
600
that is, approximately 600 miles. I therefore have the honour to propose that six gun-boats will be necessary, and attached to each one pair of motor picket-boats, as suggested by Lieutenant-Commander Walcott in a previous report.
Each gun-boat to be responsible for 100 miles of river, with her attendant motor picket boats (who can get under way in a remarkably short space of time) radiating 50 miles up and down river from their base, the gun-boat.
No type could be better suited for this duty than Messrs. Thornycroft's "Wood- cock" class, but they must have two boilers, and it is absolutely essential that they should be under steam always-day and night--and ready to move at half-an-hour's notice.
As before remarked, this question, always having fires alight, is the key to efficient patrol.
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