CO129-508-4 Cases of attacks by pirates 6-11-1927 - 23-11-1928 — Page 218

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completely commanded by his uns.

Furthermore he wAS

within but a short distance of several other British war-

ships which could and did come to his assistance, and ene

of which was indeed so close and came so quickly that it

was able to rescue a number of the "Irene's" passengers

from drowning. Yet only a few minutes intervened between

the signalling to stop and the firinS • It is, to say the

least, inexplicable why a warship should be in such great

haste to fire on a merchant ship which was unarmed and of

smaller tonnage. There is therefore little doubt that the

commander of the submarine "L.4" had not used all pousible

and available means to capture the bandits before he

cosbarded and sank the "Irens"

6. The raison d'etre for any action taken against

the bandits should have been the seisure of their persons

for triul and the recovery of plundered property. It is

difficult to reconcile either with reason or with the die-

tates of humanity an action which, in ord: r to bring to

justice some seven suspected ariminals, did not hesitate

to imperil the safety of 258 persons and actually to canse

the death of at least E4 of them and which, in order to

recover plundered property, deliberately proceeded to send

that property, the ship's entire osrgo, and the ship itself

to the bottom of the Bea.

7. I may further point out that Blas Bay is Chinese

territorial waters. It therefore follows that all persons

arrested therein should be handed over to the Chinese author-

ities for trial. Besides repudiating any suggestion that

any portion of Biss Bay is part of the high seas and to

place en record that China regards the whole of that bay

to