Li
Enol. No.3 in Sir John Jordan's No.208
Tai Chiao Pu to H.M.Minister. May 9, 1914.
Translation.
593
Cir,
I have received the following telegram from the Tutu of Kuangtung.
"The S.S. "Tai On", flying the British Flag, sailed on the evening of April 27 from Hongkong and was off Ch'i-ao when pirates who come on board disguised as passengers began Ship's
The
to plunder the ship. The ship' Captain and Engineer and oth- ers fired upon them and killed a considerable number. pirates and their associates then set fire to the ship and over one hundred of the crew and passengers perished in the flames; 100 more leaped into the sea and were drowned. The steamers Shao An, Shun Li, and Ho Kuei, which happened to be passing at the time, rescued over 200 persons; 10 or more pir- ates were killed as wall. On hearing this news I, Lung Chi- kuang, immediately despatched a gunboat and a torpedo boat in pursuit of the pirates and issued orders to the naval and military forces near the spot to effect their arrest. It appears that the piracy of this steamer was effected by pir- ates whe boarded the ship at Hongkong disguised as passen- gers and suddenly burst out into plundering at midnight when the ship was sailing on the high seas. Consequently Chinese officials and military were powerless to prevent it. The hulk of the Tai On all that remains after the fire has been towed back to Hongkong by the united efforts of the other ships and her rescued passengers have also been taken back to Hongkong"
I have telegraphed a second time to the Tutu to make every effort to trace the pirates and effect their arrest, and feel it my duty to send the facts meanwhile to Your Excellency for your information
Sd/ Sun Pao-ch'i
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