No
182.
Дире
C
gir,
C.O.
21727
RECO
193
( 15 N14)
GOVERNMENT HOUSE.
HONGKONG. 26th May,
1914.
I have the honour to inform you that on the 31st
of March the S.S. "Shing Tal" a steamer of 391 tons registered
in Canton, Chinese owned, and trading from Hongkong to wuchow
1
in the West River was pirated, as it now transpires by the same
gang who recently attempted to pirate the ill-fated "Tai On",
off Kio Island and taken to a point midway between Kio and Macao
where a sum of $20,580 in Chinese subsidiary coin was taken out
of her by the pirates who made their escape partly into Chinese
territory but chiefly to Macao.
2.
The piracy was organised in the usual manner. The
pirates embarked as passengers at Hodgkong. This vessel only
carries twelve passengers but the officers and crew, who are all
Chinese, number forty-six. The passengers were all searched by
the Police prior to embarking. The ringleader of the pirates
was dressed in European style and occupied a first class cabin.
As the names and addresses of ten of the passengers are known it
is probable that many of the pirates must have embarked as
members of the crew and it is almost certain that their arms were
The smuggled on board by one of the regular crew of the vessel.
Vessel had entered into a bond under the Piracy Prevention Ordinance, but had not complied with the prescribed conditions concerning precautions against piracy and the owners are being
prosecuted accordingly. The case is not yet concluded.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
LEWIS HARCOURT, M.P.,
&c.
&0.1
&C.