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travel by a different Company. Mr. Swire said that only the Police could search; the Captain of the ship could not afford to make any mistakes. Besides, to search properly would take half a dozen men and where were they to come from? He asked if the Navy would take the job over. The Commodore replied this was not the Navy's job and in any case to employ expensively trained Seamen and Petty Officers would be most uneconomical. Finally Mr. Swire agreed to go further into the matter: possibly the guards already carried could carry out the check and search of passengers under the supervision of the Chief officer. Mr. Harley noted that at moy, Swatow and Foochow there was no searching by either police or firm's representatives.
12.- As regards searching of the ship for arms, Captain MacEachran said that it was impossible. Mr. Swire said that in 1930 detailed standing orders had been drawn up for each ship, and these were vigorously carried out. Captain MacEachran gave a recent instance in which 30 hiding places were discovered in one ship, holes having been cut in the panelling and the pieces of wood cut out replaced. Mr. Neale had often found such hiding places in the W/T offices. Captain MacEachran said that even if you could search the ship, there would still remain the passengers' baggage. The Commodore said that if you could not search that too, why not have all bagguge placed in baggage rooms. Captain Mackachran said that you could not separate a Chinese from his baggage. To search a ship for arms was impossible.
13.- Guards. The Commodore asked from where the guards were obtained. Mr. Swire said that they were Russians obtained from the French Concession Police. The Commodore asked why they could not get British trained men. Mr. Swire said that the S.M.P. could not provide them. They had tried getting British trained Chinese from Tientsen, but they were not as good as the Russians.
14.- The Commodore said that the "TUNGCHOW" only carried 1 Sergeant and 4, which was not enough. Mr. Harley said that ships trading south of Shanghai carried six. The Commodore said that in ships like "TUNGCHOW", which could not be protected properly by grilles, at least 9 guards were essential.
Mr. Harley interjected that the T's and 3'e were properly grilled. TUNGCHOW" and "SHUNTIEN" had been built on different lines and proper grilling was not possible in "TUNGCHOW".
15.- Action after Piracy.
He suggested
Mr. Swire asked what a man-of-war would do if she encountered a pirated ship, saying that the obvious action for the pirates was to murder the Europeans (by which they might be recognised), throw their arms overboard, and mingle with the Chinese passengers who would be afraid to betray them. that the only course would be to attack the pirates after they had left the ship. The Commodore said that it was a problem to which there could be no definite solution: each situation must be dealt with on its merits. All agreed that the responsibility of the Commanding Officer of the Destroyer would be very great.
16.- Reward for arrest of "TUNGCHOW" Pirates.
The Commodore said that he was most anxious that the pirate leader should be captured as a lesson to all pirates and a preventative measure against further piracies, and suggested that the offer of a reward would help. Mr. Swire demurred on the grounds that the Cantonese should do so. The Commodore said that if a reward was offered, he would ask the Cantonese to double it. Mr. Knight and Mr. Swire have since offered on behalf of the Firm a reward of $2,500, after consulting the C.G. Canton by telephone,
who agreed that it would be a very good scheme to try.
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