CO129-507-3 China- anti-piracy precautions 31-10-1927 - 25-10-1928 — Page 176

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us particularly interesting and regarding which we had

hoped for some further information from the Hongkong

authorities, but paragraph 3 of Mr. Hallifax's minute is

not very informative and Mr. T.H.King throws no further

light on this particular point, viz. the possible connexion

between Chen Chiung-ming and/or some of his henchmen, such

as Lo Kwang and Wong Fu-chi, with the Bias Bay and other

gangs of pirates.

Mr. Hallifax further criticises Commander Faure's

account of the "Hav" incident. He says that the

statement that the whole Merchant Volunteer scheme was

engineered by financiers from Hongkong should be

substantiated or withdrawn. I doubt whether it is desirable

or possible now to elicit the truth regarding this incident, which has redounded (perhaps unjustly) to our considerable

discredit. But you will remember that no less a person

than the late Mr. A.G.Stephen, of the Hongkong and

Shanghai Bank, was very favourable to this movement, and believed that the Hongkong Government was also favourable

to it. I know that Sir R. Stubbs failed to understand

how Mr. Stephen could have formed his opinion (Colonial

Office letter 7647/25 of February 20th, 1925,) but

if /