COPY.
Enclosure in Mr.Brenan's No.12 of January 30, 1928.
Butterfield & Swire.
252
Hongkong.
26th January, 1928.
My dear Brenan,
I have for acknowledgment your letter of 13th instant
which I am only replying to now having just returned from
a trip to Swatow and Amoy with Mr. Robertson.
With regard to the four questions submitted by the
Admiral in his despatch 752/1034 to the Admiralty, dated
Shanghai 8.6.27, I have the following observations to make :-
(a) No written orders are given to the personnel in
the fleet, but Masters, officers and Engineers are expected to do their duty without being told, and from the Navy's knowledge of the Mercantile Marine, they must surely realize that the men have so far never failed in this respect and have a high sense of their duty. The "Sunning" incident, in my opinion, completely and effectively answers this question.
(b) The Officers and Engineers who participated in the
fight with the pirates on board the "Sunning" have been presented by the C.N.Co.with chronometers, binoculars or gold watches. Also a reimbursement of £100 was made in the case of Beatty, Hurst, Orr and Duncan and grants ranging from $100 to $1,200 were made in the case of wireless operators, com- pradores, stewards, cooks, quartermasters, sailors and firemen, etc. who had the misfortune to lose their effects when the ship was burnt.
In addition to the foregoing, the Government have made the following monetary grants to the officers of the "Sunning", namely:-
Chief Engineer Cormack Chief officer Beatty
Second officer Hurst
Second Engineer Orr
Third Engineer Duncan Boatswain
£100
£100
£100
£ 25
£ 25
$100
Furthermore, both Beatty and Hurst have been decorated
as officers of the British Empire by H.M. Government.
(d) No officer has yet been killed in resisting piracy,
but in the case of those disabled the firm have fully compensated the men, we understand, to their complete satisfaction.
J. F. Brenan, Esq.,C.M.G.,
H.B.M's Consulate General,
Canton.
Para.7