Copy.
H.M.MINISTER TO WAI CHIAO PU.
Sir,
May 16th, 1914.
614
I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of Your Excellency's letter of the 9th instant, communi- cating a telegram from the Tutu of Kuangtung relating to the piracy of the British steamer "Tai On" on April 27th in the vicinity of Ch'i-ao and stating that you had again telegraphed to the Tutu to make every effort to trace the pirates and effect their arrest. I would point out to Your Excellency that this outrage has again concentrated public attention upon the disturbed state of the Canton Delta and has demonstrated the necessity of taking effective measures for the suppression of a crime which is practically unknown in modern civilized States. the British Admiral is shortly expected on an official visit to Peking and I intend to take the opportunity of consulting him on the subject in the hope that it may be possible to devise some form of joint action on the part of Great Britain and China for clearing the Canton waters of these pests. In this connection I would invite Your Excellency's attention to the patrol of the West River maintained by the British Admiral in 1907-1908 and the excellent results which it produced. The British patrol was withdrawn on the establishment of a Chinese service which carried
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