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21. I imagine that what is advocated is a system of patrols off Bias Bay (for example) or other known piratical haunts. In this connection we know from the "Hsin Fung" episode the action likely to be taken by the pirates, and it appears that the lives of all foreigners on board a ship in the hands of pirates would be most seriously jeopardised, should she fall in with one of His Majesty's ships. Whether the pirates would actually carry out their threats to murder foreigners or not, I leave it to those better conversant with Chinese mentality than myself to decide: the patrol vessel would have no choice but to recapture the ship regardless of threats.

22. Apart from other considerations, should the pirates carry out their presumed threat and kill the foreign hostages, with the most reliable witnesses silenced they would stand a chance of never being identified, by throwing their firearms away and mingling with passengers. They would also very likely cause further damage and increase their chances of escape in the confusion by the time honoured expedient of setting the ship on fire into the bargain.

23. The above remarks apply with almost equal force to the case of meeting a ship anywhere in the open sea. I presume that this aspect has received the careful considera- tion of the authors of the "Minority" Report, but I should like this point confirmed by them, and a definite statement that in their opinion the risk to valuable lives is a legitimate one to incur. I refrain from discussing the technical difficulties, such as type of ship suitable, numbers required, expense &c., which stand in the way of the adoption in practice of even a very limited patrol system outside the rivers: but they are consider- able.

24. It is these considerations which lead me to the conclusion, opposed to that of the Minority Report, that internal piracy can only be countered by internal organisa- tion and methods.

25. There is no doubt that the personal element of the various masters and officers enters very largely into the problem. It seems clear that the majority do not at present own. The first consider that anti-piracy action is any direct responsibility of their essential to combat successfully this form of piracy is to make it very clearly realised, that the master is just as much responsible for the safety of his ship from piracy as from fire or any other peril of the deep. To me it seems that one might just as well expect the Hong Kong Fire Brigade to put a fire out on board a ship 500 miles away, as expect the Hong Kong Government or Royal Navy to be responsible for the behaviour of passengers in a similar position.

26. The difficulty that here arises is that as the master depends for his living on the owners, he may well hesitate to put forward suggestions for alterations in, ce additions to his anti-piracy equipment on the ground of involving them in extra expense, and it is here that the active co-operation of the owners becomes of such vital importance. I cannot believe however that where life and death are involved, as it appears they soon may be, that small considerations of expense-hardly hit as the firms have been by the boycott &c., will be allowed to stand in the way: and in any event I am convinced, that any steps taken voluntarily on carefully considered lines by those most directly concern- ed, will be more effective than those which result from the present system, of which the outstanding features are divided responsibility and lack of co-operation.

27. The "Minority" Report quotes Admiral Sir Arthur Leveson, K. C..B in support of its contention that guards are useless and its suggestion for increased patrols. "In a speech made by him in Shanghai (1924) Admiral Sir Arthur Leveson stated that the placing of armed guards on river boats was of little practical service, and that increased patrols were, in his opinion, the only remedy, and that he was taking steps to increase the patrols on the Yangtse". This speech was actually delivered at It had Shanghai in November, 1923, and in no way referred to Internal piracy. reference to the peculiar set of circumstances at that time prevailing on the Yangtse whence the Admiral had recently returned, viz. the sniping at and holding up of ships by the armed forces of the various generals then bickering with each other a very different question. The remark about armed guards was in reply to a suggestion that we