CO129-495 - Governor Sir Clementi - 1926 [11-12] — Page 104

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and cannot be directed by cable from London. For101 example, in the case of the frontier outrage re- ported in my secret despatch of the 23rd July, the first news concerning it reached me in the early morning of the 21st July and it was neces- sary to take action in time to prevent the strike pickets from carrying off the crew of Police Motor

Boat No.10, consisting of two European sergeants,

one Indian constable and three Chinese seamen by

the train leaving ham-chun station at 1.50 p.m.

on the same day. Again, in the recent case of the

piracy of 8.8. "Sunning", the first news reached me in the early morning of the 16th November and, if the pirates and their captives were to be suc- oessfully waylaid near Fan Lo Kong in Bias Bay,it was necessary that the men-of-war conveying troops

to be landed should reach a point near the head of Bias Bay during the daylight hours and in time for the landing to be effected not later than 5 p.m.

In neither of these cases could the movement of British troops from Hong Kong have been directed from London in time to deal with the emergency. It

must, moreover, be remembered that the first news concerning outrages of this nature is always of a very scrappy and imperfect kind, wholly insuf- ficient to permit of an adequate appreciation of the situation being telegraphed to London, even if in the emergency there were time for me to draft telegrams instead of acquainting myself thoroughly with the facts, consulting the Admiral and the

General, and giving the necessary orders.

3.

This subject was to-day discussed at a

meeting of the Hong Kong General Defence Committee,

at