hold Bankers Drafts upon Hong Kong Banks for various
59
amounts, and the drafts being of no use to the Pirates
they took the holders ashore for ransom for the amount of
the Drafts. A report of this occurrence will be found in
The Times as well as in the rest of the daily press of
October 1st last.
We are acting for the next of kin and relatives of
Chief Officer David Clifford Jones, and the object of
troubling you with this matter is to ascertain if they have
grounds for claiming compensation in respect of his death.
from the Hong Kong Government.
The Administrator of Mr. David Clifford Jones'
Estate is his Father Mr. Evan Phillip Jones of Rhandir House
New Quay, Cardiganshire and we should in the ordinary course
have sent this communication to Mr. Hopkin Morris in whose
Division the deceased Mr. D.C. Jones resided, but we
understand Mr. Hopkin Morris is away from home, and we
venture to ask for your assistance in the matter.
It is true that the act of piracy was committed by a
gang of men who were accepted as passengers on a British
Ship, and were under the charge and control of British
Officers on that Ship at the time of the outrage. We have
however seen the Hong Kong Papers containing a fuller
account of what happened, and the following appears to be
clear: -
(1) the outrage was the result of a conspiracy hatched in
Chinese territory (2) as a result of that conspiracy the
perpetrators of the outrage proceeded to Singapore for the
purpose of carrying out what had been arranged in China
(3) directly they seized the Ship the Pirates steered direct
for the Chinese Coast where they must have been received
by confederates and where the Hong Kong Government appears
through/