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Often the lesser evil is chosen and illegal squeezes paid, though sadly against the grain, so as to enable valuable cargoes to get through and allow of contracts being fulfilled. To convoy the junks would. I believe, not be beyond our gunboats, and understand the navy is willing to do it but this method, unfortunately, brings its own difficulty as the junk crews are afraid that sooner or later, when not under foreign protection, they will have to pay heavily for aiding the enemies of the generals.
There are, we are told, as many as three generals in the Wanhsien district engaged in this lucrative trade and from all we can gather the Central Government has admitted its inability to deal with the matter. This. gentlemen, looks like our being up against a stone wall but after all stone walls can be climbed by those deter- mined to do so, and if the Peking officials cannot protect the peaceful traders within their gates then surely it is legitimate and right for the foreigners to do so themselves and to use all the means they have at their disposal in teaching these brigands that the legitimate rights of foreigners must not be treated with impunity.
I admit that it is easy to criticise but much more difficult to produce a constructive plan for dealing with the matter, but it appears to us that, with an addition to our own fleet and in co-operation with the gunboats of the other foreign Powers, the whole working under a central plan, it should be possible to station boats at a sufficient number of points between Ichang and Chungking so that the whole river could be efficiently and continually patrolled, probably with the aid of motor boats.
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Before leaving this question I should like to add that the question of opium smuggling is somewhat mixed up with the condition of brigandage, and it would be well if this matter could be carefully gone into and ventilated It would appear that with the extensive growing of the poppy in Szechuan, practically under military encouragement, there is much smuggling of opium down river in the various steamers. Little doubt exists but that the smuggling is worked by a powerful organisation able to intimidate the crews of foreign steamers by military coercion when necessary. This tends to bring the soldiers into open conflict with the masters and officers who are endeavouring to check the smuggling to the grave danger of the latter.
"
In closing, I should like to add that a continuation of the present brigandage means less and less respect for the foreigner, and it may be necessary to teach a sharp lesson to one or other of the generals before things will improve. We in Hankow are not of the number who fear that by so doing it will react on missionaries and others residing in the interior, but rather the reverse. It will be an object lesson that illegal interference with British traders and trading eventually brings its own penalty.
"There has, unfortunately, already been loss of life, and one thing I would strongly urge and that is that the penalty for a murdered foreigner should no longer take the form of a monetary contribution only. What deterrent, I ask you, is the fing of a few thousand, or tens of thousand of dollars, to a tuchun such, for instance, as Chane Ching-vao who, it is reported. left Hunan with many millions of dollars?
"If we cannot eliminate the brigandage we must endeavour to reduce it, and for this reason I would propose the addition to the resolution of the words 'and that in the meantime every endeavour be made to combine with the other foreign Powers equally interested in arranging a comprehensive scheme whereby the evil may he miticated.'
Asked to give his views on this question. Rear-Admiral Borrett said:--
"I thought perhaps I would like to tell you what the condition of affairs is in the up-river country. I have been up to Chungking, to begin with, to concert a policy with the American navy. You might like to know that the Americans and ourselves are working hand in glove together. We are working with the American commander and the British and American gunboat flotillas are being used as one flotilla. We are dividing the ships up so as to have one ship at each place instead of all together. The conditions this year have been such that down traffic has almost entirely ceased: against that we must put the fact that ships flying the British flag have established a custom that they won't be fired at. The Widgeon' and the Teal' have been fired at, and although the 'Loong Mow' was interfered with within the last fortnight, and the chief engineer was stabbed, there should not be a recrudescence of the trouble. The Loong Mow discovered some opium on hoard, and when they got to Wanhsien and told the people there about it. the local
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general heard of it and sent a group of soldiers on board who said that they wanted the opium. Captain Hall said that he could only hand the opium over to the Customs, and sent a message to the Monocacy,' stating that be expected trouble, and when he blew his whistle would they please send help. He blew his whistle and a party was sent to see the soldiers off the ship. The chief engineer was standing at the top of the gangway, and as the last man went down he prodded him with his bayonet, but fortunately did little damage. With reference to the question of taking drastic action I have here a report from the Widgeon of the trouble at Chungking, and the last paragraph reads: I have felt greatly hampered by the fact that there were so many foreigners on the hill and beyond my power to protect, which prevented me taking as drastic action as I would have liked to.'
That is the trouble. These people are absolutely beyond the power of any gunboat to protect, and an officer of a gunboat has to remember that though he might shoot up a lot of soldiers and nothing happen, on the other hand he might find that these people on the hill would be massacred.
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When you say the navy does not take strong enough action, you must remember what we have in the back of our minds. It is better for your trade to go to pot than for a lot of British women and children to be massacred.
"It is difficult to do anything in Szechuan because one-half is Szechuanese and the other half Yunnanese. and whatever you did you would be accused of helping one side or the other. Now, however, the Szechuanese are masters in their own house, and in view of that I have written to the Senior Naval Officer telling him to consult with the consul. and with his approval to see if they can get the Chinese to send a Chinese expedition down the river to clean up the riverine We are within ports. He is empowered to offer them armed assistance.
our rights in assisting the de facto rulers of the province and clean out what are only nests of brigands. We are doing the best we can, but we have always to consider what will happen to our own women and children. The question of illegal squeezes which are undoubtedly paid by firms is a thing which I have always claimed has happened in the past and is the embryo of trouble in the future. Squeeze was paid. It was not called squeeze: it was called military escort,' and local governors and generals found it so easy to collect this and to increase and increase it until now it has got beyond all bounds. Everybody is beginning to squeal about it, and I thank you, Mr. Fraser, for admitting what I have always contended to be a fact.'
The Hon. Mr. Holyoak, said :--
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"Now we have the Rear-Admiral here if I may venture one criticism, I should like to ask, though I may be trespassing on dangerous ground and dealing with something that it may be thought does not concern me--I should like to know whether the Admiral considers there are sufficient gunboats upon the Upper and Lower Yang-tsze. I have only just recently returned from Chungking, and I must say I was impressed by the fact that in view of the very disturbed condition of the country throughout the greater part of Szechuan it surprised me that we only twice met the British flag and with very long spaces in between, and I was astonished to discover there was only one gunboat between the two ports and only one Senior Naval Officer. I frankly admit this is a question which, perhaps, one ought not to ask, but the matter is bound up with our trade and its protection, and it did occur to me that we required more boats in the Yang-tsze.”
Admiral Borrett replied
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'There are two ships only at present up-river. Next year we shall have one * Insect' class also. The Cricket' has had her trial in the Gorges and Captain Plant went up with her, and next summer the 'Cockchafer will be sent up. It does not seem possible to send a vessel of the Insect' class up there in the winter. She cannot cruise, and if we do send one she can only anchor 5 miles away from Chungking. The Insect class will be the largest ships that have ever been up there, and they are armed with 6 in. guns. Considering the number of British subjects between Chungking and Ichang I might say that the protection amounts to almost one gunboat per man."
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