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their catch of fish or complete their junk-load of turtle, these being the sole products of the Island and reef to which they have directed their attention.
Our most searching inquiries have, moreover, served to prove that in no case have these fishing or turtle-hunting expeditions set out for Pratas from any part of the mainland of China, but always from Hong Kong, Pratas being practically unknown to the Cantonese, while to our own Colonial Chinese fishermen and junk-men it is well-known under the name of Tung-Sha.
From the fact that the Chinese fishermen have erected, during the course of their brief visits to the island, a small joss-house or shrine, and a fresh-water tank, (salved from one of the many vessels which are known to have been wrecked on the reef) we were apprehensive that such erections might perhaps constitute some proof of previous possession to our prejudice, but upon consultation with our legal adviser Mr. Marcus Blade, Barrister-at-law of Hong Kong he points out that they offer proof rather to