}
B
f
53
their training and discipline:
discipline: the Conference agreed with this view. It appeared that while the guards (Indians and White Russians) trained by the Hong Kong
police were efficient, the same could not be said of
those provided from other sources, e.g. Shanghai, and some consideration was given to the possibility of persuading the Shipping Companies to set up a pool of
guards, suitably trained by some local authority, either at Shanghai or elsewhere, or, alteratively, to increase
the number at Hong Kong and draw all the guards from that
source. Further discussion revealed, however, that any
such scheme was not without its difficulties and would
probably not be readily acceptable to the Companies;
there seemed reason to hope, on the other hand, that
indirectly they might be induced to effect improvements if
a system of ships' certificates as to the degree of
protection againstpiracy was introduced. (See next paragraph).
4.
Grant of Ships' Certificates as to the degree
of anti-piracy protection afforded.
It was agreed that a system of granting
certificates to ships which were adequately protected against piracy, if suitably represented to the companies, might well meet with their approval and would probably, through force of competition, result in a widespread
improvement in the protective measures taken. Mr.Graham
was strongly of the opinion, and the conference agreed,
that such a system should be supplementary to, and not
take the place of, the ordinary Board of Trade certificates
and should be on a voluntary basis. For a number of reasons, it was thought that only/class of certificate
one
should/