Copy.
No. 333.
Copies to:- F.0. No.98.
Enclosure No. 5.
50
Peking No.144. Swa tow.
H.B.M. Consulate-General,
Sir,
Canton.
August 23rd, 1927.
With reference to Your Excellency's despatch
No.308 of the 17th instant, I have the honour to enclose
a copy of a letter from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs regarding the release on bail and escape of the robber
chief Lau Lun whose extradition to Canton was being
sought.
2.
The Ministry's letter is courteously worded, but it conveys what must be in the mind of every Chinese
who hears of the case. It is not usual to release on bail
a prisoner charged with murder.
This man, a notorious
criminal, was wanted not for one murder but for dozens,
and no Chinese official will believe that a magistrate
could release such a man on bail in the bona fide belief
that he would turn up for trial and execution when called
upon. They will inevitably think that the magistrate was
bribed.
3.
To all the reproaches that have been made to
the Canton authorities that they are remiss and incompet-
ent in dealing with pirates in Bias Bay and elsewhere, they have always replied that the pirates take refuge in Hong Kong and have their organization there.
His Excellency
Here
actually
The Governor,
Hong Kong.
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