CO129-351 - Public Offices - 1908 — Page 169

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5. In confirmation of my telegram of the 6th instant, I am glad to be able to report that His Britannic Majesty's Consul-General at Canton has arrived at an agreement with the Viceroy for the settlement of the "Sainam" claim-a copy of this Agreement is forwarded as Inclosure 5. It now only remains for the Chinese to establish an effective service for the prevention of piracy and for the security of trade in the waterways-a matter in which they have hitherto failed, and the main point which led to the institution of our increased patrol.

6. I think real efforts in this direction are being made by the provincial authorities, and in this connection it has been arranged that Commander Majendie, Senior Officer at Canton, should proceed in "Mooiheu," in company with Admiral Li in On his motor-launch, to make a joint inspection of the Chinese patrol service. receiving Commander Majendie's Report as to the steps that have been taken, I shall I hope be in a position to decide what action be taken in regard to the withdrawal or otherwise of our additional patrolling vessels; and if my presence at Canton is likely to facilitate matters, I propose paying another short visit to that port.

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. W. MOORE,

Inclosure 2 in No. 1.

Report made by Flag-Commander Vyryan after his Visit and Inspection of the West River Patrolling Service.

(Extract.)

"King Alfred," at Hong Kong, December 29, 1907.

I HAVE the honour to report that, in accordance with your Memorandum of the 23rd instant, I proceeded that evening to Canton by the steam-ship "Powan," and conferred with Commander B. L. Majendie on the morning of the 24th December.

Everything was quite quiet on the Canton and East Rivers, the inhabitants being most friendly.

I left Canton for Samshui by train at noon on Tuesday, the 24th December, and arrived there at 2 P.M., and, after having consulted with Lieutenant and Commander Vaughan ("Moorhen"), I decided that as torpedo-boat 036 had left for Kum Chak, to proceed to Wachow by the Chinese steamer "Wo Kwai," which left at 4 P.M., and arrived there at 2:30 P.M. on Wednesday, the 25th December, where I found torpedo- boats 037 (Lieutenant and Commander F. E. Byrne) and 038 (Lieutenant and Commander F. A. Russell).

I called upon Mr. King, the British Consul, who very kindly invited me to stop with him until I left, which I did. He informed me that there had been a strong feeling against the British recently in Wuchow; that this anti-British feeling was only temporary, and had been to a large extent allayed through the friendly action of the Tactai; but the Magistrate of Wuchow is a most unscrupulous and anti-foreign official, and is probably to a great extent responsible for the false and malicious statements which have been distributed broadcast.

During my first call at the Consulate I met Mr. Banker, who was also calling, and I was recommended by Mr. King to consult with him on the question of the patrol, as he was well versed in Chinese affairs, and was in close touch with the local Chinese merchants.

After some conversation, he informed me that he was attending a meeting of the merchant guilds that night (the 25th December), and would call on me the following morning on board torpedo-boat 037 and give me the views of the Chinese on the question.

Thinking that Mr. Banker may be able to give valuable information regarding the attitude of the Chinese, I endeavoured to find out more about him, and have obtained the following information: He is a Chinaman, or of Chinese extraction, who lived and traded for many years at Hong Kong, and has naturalized himself as an Englishman. He was in a prosperous way of business in the shipping line, but gradually lost it through the competition of Butterfield and Swire, and was compelled to transfer his business to Wuchow, and succeeded after a struggle, which nearly made him bankrapt, in entering the pool which had been formed by the above firm, Jardine and Matheson and others to control the West River trade.

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Besides being interested in the other vessels trading on the river, he is the sole owner of the steam-ship Wo Kwai," which trades under the Chinese flag, and a motor stern- wheel vessel under the British flag, which runs between Wuchow and Nanning,

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He speaks English like an Englishman, wears European clothes, and his general appearance would puzzle most people to say to what nationality he originally belonged.

My general impression of him was that he is first a Chinaman, and secondly an Englishman, and he spoke bitterly against the Japanese, Germans, and French. I consider that information received from him can be considered very reliable, except when it clashes with Chinese interests. The above opinion has been formed from information given me by Mr. King, the Captain, Chief Officer, and Chief Engineer of the Lintan," all of whom considered that he puts the British interests in the forefront after the Chinese.

At about 5:30 г.m. Admiral Li, with a flotilla of seven small steam-craft, arrived, and was received with much ceremony by the local officials.

On Thursday, the 26th December, the Commanding Officers of the torpedo-boats 037 and 038 called on Admiral Li, but did not see him, as he was on shore calling on the Taotai. Mr. Banker called on me on board torpedo-boat 037, and said that he had been present at the meeting of the Chinese guilds the night before, which lasted till about 2 A.M., and that the merchants were firmly impressed that Great Britain was going to annex territory in the province, and that they had an uneasy feeling that France was endeavouring to extend her boundaries on the west of China, and that we proposed to extend ours as a set-off.

He had been called upon to speak, and did his best to dispel the illusion that we were seeking territory, but did not think he had convinced them, as the'r information had come from foreign sources via Canton, which they considered most reliable, and argued that they were going to suffer the fate of India. I asked Mr. Banker if he He replied would state from what foreign sources they had obtained their information. from Japanese. In view of this serious allegation, I asked him if he would write down his views on the question. He readily concurred, and said he would put his information and views on paper and forward them to me, under cover of the Cousal.

The interview then terminated.

At noon Admiral Li arrived on board torpedo-boat 037 to return the Commanding Officer's call, and I had a long conversation with him through his interpreter.

Mr. King was also on board at the same time. Admiral Li stated, in answer to my question (and promise), that I would be glad to convey any message to my Commander- in-chief; that, as far as the funds at his disposal would permit, he was making every effort to strike at the root of the piracy question, and had greatly augmented the number of steam-vessels patrolling the West River; and now that the trouble around Pakhoi was practically settled, about 1,000 troops would be free, which he proposed to station at various places along the river and delta, and that he was of opinion that more effective work could be done by troops on shore in arresting evildoers than by vigilantly patrolling the waterways.

His interpreter, who speaks excellent English, incidentally informed me that they had arrested many bad characters, but they "had not yet confessed" that they were pirates.

Adıniral Li said that the inhabitants were afraid that we were going to annex the province, as posters to that effect bad been published on the river, but they were being destroyed, and he was issuing a notice informing the populace that the British had no intentions against them, and that we were there solely to assist him, by order, in patrolling the waterways until the Chinese had themselves established an efficient service to stamp out piracy.

He stated that he had a steam-launch every 30 miles, and a bigger vessel every 60 miles on the main river.

Besides the seven concentrated with him at Wuchow, I counted five vessels during my daylight passage down the river, four of which were underweigh. Most of them were hired launches with a guard on board, and in most cases a small gun in the bows, all flying a commission pendant, and had in most cases a deck cargo of coal.

From the limited opportunities at my disposal to observe matters, he appeared to be making a genuine attempt to grapple with the situation, and pointed out that, in the case of the rebels, he had an easy task, as they were concentrated; but, in the case of the pirates, they were widely scattered, and for the great portion of the year were peaceful farmers, and only took to piracy when bad times came upon them.

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I asked him

December 27, 1907.-In the forenoon I returned Mr. Banker's call. why he had one vessel, the "Wo Kwai," trading under the Chinese flag, and why the remaining vessels he was inter sted in traded under the British flag?

He replied that, in the case of the Wo Kwai," she was very old, and Europeans