Enclosure No. 4.
TRANSLATION.
No 126.
From Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Canton.
March 26th, 1927.
31
sir,
Even
I have the honour to inform you that I saw in the Hong
Kong Telegraph on the 24th instant etc. a report that the Hong Kong Government had sent a punitive expedition to bias
Bay, 300 strong, who blew up and burnt a great number of
the inhabitants houses and ships. when I learnt of the
above i was amazed to find that British troops had landed
at bias Bay in contravention of our territorial rights and
had blown up and burnt a great number of the residents
houses and ships. To excuse this crual act of revenge,
against innocent persons, on the ground that it was an
attack on the pirates is far removed from the spirit of
modern law. Moreover since the Sunning Piracy this govern-
ment has repeatedly sent troops to attack the pirates and
has requested you to notify the Governor of Hong Kong.
if at present the pirates have not been completely cleared
out how can the Hong Kong Government avail itself of the
excuse of one or two new piracies to sent direct British
troops and land them in this unlawful way? Furthermore
before the Hong Kong Goverment took this unlawful action
1 was not informed. Moreover in your letter of the 23rd
instant you said that the Hong Kong authorities had telegraphed
to the London Government and were awaiting instructions and
you further asked me to telegraph to the local authorities
and try to recover the booty, nevertheless, on the morning of
the day that I received your request the British warships
had already at an early hour camenced operations, so that not
only