16
The sort of grilling that has hitherto been put on some
of these coastal vessels like the "Tungchow" is utterly
useless. Mesure. Butterfield and wire have some
specially constructed pirate-proof vecsels on the southern
run and none of these have so far been attacked, but I
imagine that the company would oppose the certificate
idea in so far as it would hamper the earning power of
their remaining ships, which they can hardly be asked
to scrap at once in the present conditions of the
shipping trade. However I recommend that the companies
themselves should be consulted on this point.
'. The question of the efficiency of the guards
would be a more difficult one for the officer issuing
the certificate to decide. The human factor is involved,
and efficienc could only be ensured by frequent
inspection of the men and their arms and enquiry into
such matters as their discipline and local arrangements.
That would be quite beyond the scope of this Coneulate-
General and I think that even the local naval authorities
would hardly welcome such an addition to their ordinary
responsibilities.
7. The Commander-in-Chief in his report on the
"Tungchos" case recomended that British or Japanese
guarda should be employed as more efficient than Russians.
I offer the suggestion, however, that for such a purpose
it is not so much the nationality of the men that mattere
as that they should be trained fighting men belonging to
some disciplined corps with a tradition to live up to
and a reputation to preserve. British subjects of this
description could only be supplied in China by the
regular