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the price of being left alone. Consequently if any other General shows signs of moving or taking action in their personal area they at once suspect him of designs on their posts and put every possible obstacle in his way, going as far as fighting him if they feel strong enough. There is no doubt whatever that much of the piratical trouble is due to their soldiers who pirate one day and resume soldiering the next. Even if they do not take an active part in piracy they do not take any active steps against it and no doubt are com- pensated accordingly
However, during the last three months further action has been taken in several areas by General Li Fook Lum and a fair number of pirates and their leaders have been rounded up and, in many cases, shot. Like all Chinese operations they do not appeal to our ideas of efficiency but in the present state of the country they are as much as can be expected and personally I am surprised at the amount of energy and zeal shown. Pro- vided the situation in Canton remains quiet these operations will continue and should have a great effect on the whole question, but there is always the danger that other Generals will become even more jealous of Li Fook Lum and neutralise his efforts.
(4) The British gunboats have been very actively employed whenever the political situation has been sufficiently quiet, in patrolling, searching for, and attacking pirates and their craft. A good deal of success has been obtained but they can never deal with the gangs that work entirely from the shore, attacking small craft and then retiring into the hills or their lairs up small creeks. Their value must consist chiefly in preventative work and backing up General Li Fook Lum's forces from the water side when he attacks an area. It is their presence which undoubtedly puts the necessary stiffening into his soldi- ers on these occasions. Also by tracking down and dealing with all suspicious steam launches met a great deal of potential piracy is prevented and fear instilled in the pirates' minds. The whole essence of success in this work is uncertainty of movement, it is no use having a regular schedule which the pirates can observe and make their plans accord- ingly.
(5) The Hong Kong Government fitted out 4 armed launches for convoy work which are manned by Naval ratings under the command of a Naval officer. These craft are by on means ideal for the work, they draw too much water and most of them are too slow. They have however been very useful indeed, not only for convoying but for patrol work in between and were particularly welcome during the periods when the gunboats have had to be concentrated at Canton.
PREVENTION OF PIRACY-PRESENT SYSTEM.
(1) At present shipping is protected against piracy by the following methods.
(a) British gunboats. These are distributed about the rivers and the Delta accord- ing to signs and information received They are a mobile force which can be switched to any area required. Piracy suppression is by no means the only duty they have to perform, Canton and the other Treaty ports have all got to be looked after and protect- ed in case of need. Chinese military have often to be dealt with and turned off British launches, etc. The Flag has to be shown in other ports and British interests in general protected.
(b) Armed Launches. At present these are tied down to convoying the Hongkong- Kongmun river steamers. They run on a regular time-table and convoy ships through the most dangerous areas. In between their convoy work they patrol adjacent waterways. As long as they are with a convoy no piratical attack is likely to be made but I am con- vinced that they can be far more efficiently employed with equally good protection to the river steamer and far better protection to the many small craft under the British flag if convoying is abolished and efficient patrolling instituted instead. At present every pirate and local inhabitant knows exactly when the convoy and its guard launch will pass and can make their plans to pirate a tow before or afterwards in perfect safety.
(c) Armed Guards on board ships. When piracy became serious it was obvious that some means of protection had to be provided and against internal piracy in particular. The danger of any well-found ship being successfully attacked from the outside was, and in my opinon is, very small indeed, provided she was in the hands of efficient officers. I should be very sorry to try an attack on any of the river steamers by means of launches
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