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5.- The Commodore pointed out in this connection that had two hours earlier notice of the "TUNGCHOW" been received, she would have been intercepted off Chilang Point.
6.- Captain (D) 8 said that if he got four hours notice, he would guarantee to intercept and deal effectively with any ships trying to make Chilang Point from the North.
Prevention.
7.-
Checking Passengers. The Commodore said that there was hardly a case of a ship being pirated after leaving Hong Kong; this immunity he ascribed to the strict Police inspection of passengers which was carried out at Hong Kong before sailing: what was the procedure at Shanghai? Mr. Harley said that each passenger had to produce a written guarantee sigued by a lodging house keeper or some similar person (specimen produced): as passengers embarked these guarantees were collected and inspected by a Chinese speaking European in the firm's employ, who had previously been in the Shanghai Municipal Police. This man gave the passengers metal tokens in exchange. He left the ship before she sailed. Asked by the Commodore, Mr. Harley agreed that the guarantees could be produred by anybody and were in fact quite worthless; and that there was nothing to stop Chinese boarding the ships from, say, sampans and so producing no guarantees at all. The "inspector" was not connected with the Police.
8.- The Commodore said that all this seemed to prove his point, that one cause of piracy as the ease with which pirates could board ships at Shanghai; could not similar arrangements as at Hong Kong be made at Shanghai?
9.- Mr. Knight disagreed. The conditions were quite different, and inspection and searching of passengers had nothing to do with it. Ships were pirated after leaving Shanghai because piracies were organised there. The Commodore replied that, on the contrary, the piracies were often organised in South China, and the pirates only went to Shanghai to embark. Mr. Knight said that the pirates went to Shanghai because the Police kept a less careful watch there and it was easier to buy or smuggle arms.
Also ships lay alongside. Mr. Swire said that in his opinion it was easier to pirate a ship from Shanghai.
10.- The Commodore said that it appeared to be useless to rely on inspecting passengers while embarkation was in progress. Inspectors should com ence their real work as soon as the ship cast off and not before, and he suggested that, on completion, they should disembark at Wosung. Mr. Swire asked if it was worth it: the pirates could hide. Mr. Harley said that their sole inspector could not travel from Shanghai to Woosung in every ship that left. Mr. Harley mentioned that a special Preventive Staff was maintained by the firm to watch for known criminals embarking.
11.-
Seardhing of Passengers and of ships for arms.
Mr. Harley said that the Customs searched the ships before they sailed, and sometimes went down to Woosung in them. Mr. Swire said that it was impossible to search the passengers or ship for arms. The Commodore said that this was done at Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Police. Mr. Swire said that it was different at Shanghai, where the firm's offices and wharves were in the French Concession, with French police. The Commodore asked if the S.M.P. could not do the searching. Mr. Swire said that, first, the French would not allow them into the Concession; secondly, they hadn't the men to spare. The Commodore asked why the firm's representatives could not do the searching. Mr. Harley said that they had no status. The passengers would be offended and would