CHINESE PIRATES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4874, 7 September 1925, Page 3

CHINESE PIRATES.

WELL ORGANISED BUSINESS. DIFFICULTY iOF SUPPRESSION. That historic figure the Chinese river pirate is doing extra well out of the present disorders. But he its no new phenomenon. Nearly all the naval powers maintain a gunboat patrol on the great Chinese rivers for the suppression of piracy and the protection of their trade, but all tneir efforts are of very little effect in checking the trouble, and since the war there has been a very considerable revival. The foriees. of law and order have tcf work against very heavy odds, and it is npt surprising that they have not been able to stamp out the curse ; the wonder is that they have been able to do ais- much as they have achieved. To begin with, there is the corruption of the local mandarins, who draw a consideralbe proportion of their revenues from the pirates, and who certainly have not reduced their demands in this direction since the foundation of the Republic. Then there are the colossal stretches of water to be covered, and the financial considerations which limit the number of patrol craft. Finally, the element of surprise is always strongly in favour of the attacker, and with truly Eastern patience the pirate iis willing to bide liis time until the opportunity presents itself.

“QUAKER” CANNON.

In the olden days of British piracy the rover flew the black flag at the masthead with the knowledge that the well-insured ship owner would probably be of an economical turn of mind and have substituted wooden “quaker” guns for the effective ordnance that ho was supposed to carry for his own protection, and that the crew, knowing that they would have no chance of putting up an eifective defence in any circumstances, would surrender without a blow at the first sight of the dreaded ensign. The risk to the pirate would thus be greatly reduced, which was a matter always very prominent in his mind. The Chinese pirate goes about his work in very different fashion.. He has learned by experience that the British officers who command the great majority of the sizeable ships on the rivers are armed with revolvers which are anything but “quakers,” and do not hesitate'to use them, and that the Sikh police guards that many steamers carry are well able to protect their lives and the ships in their charge from any direct attack. Therefore direct attack is seldom used. Instead the piraets buy their tickets as ordinary passengers and wait their opportunity. The whole thing is perfectly organised, and every man has his work to do. The officers are the business, of one ; the police guard of others. Within a matter Of moments of the signaLfor the attack being given—possibly the stump of fl. cigar thrown overboard — a pirate will be in charge of the engine and another steering the ship. Both are probably in possession of a British Board of Trade cetrificate ,of competency granted after examination at Hong Kong. Sometimes they are content merely to cover the officers on guard and npt to shoot unless, they make an effort to defend themselves. ' . PRECAUTIONS TAKEN.

It is very difficult for the Chinese shipowner to deal with this dangeri for naturally the pirate makes the utmost possible use of local, feeling and prejudice. For this reason many owners put their ships under the British flag, and so give the British gunboats on the river, the right to stop and search their steamers. The commanders of the gunboats do not hesitate to avail themselves of the right, causing a hurried discarding of revolvers and weapons, and that is the end to all hopes of a successful piracy for that trip at leapt. Other precautions are taken. In many of the stern-wheelers the upper deck is reserved for Eruopeans, so that any native who makes his w'ay un there is immediately suspected and can be dealt with ■ before he can cause trouble. This limits the danger of .the white officers to the time that they spend in the saloons' for their meals and lobking after the comfort of their passengers. In many modern screw steamers, however, this is'not easy. Another precaution is the fixing of wire netting in the native' passenger space, which certainly makes it very much more difficult for them to combine for a rising. At the . same time it has,-the disadvantage that in the event of accident it makes the work of saving life infinitely more difficult, and in the case of) a steamer which''was ;burned alongside the wharf at Hong Kong the provision of these nettings caused some hundreds of helpless women passengers to be roasted to death while their rescuers were trying to get to them. HOME OF PIRATE GUILD.

Everything in Cihna. is. done by guilds or communities, and piracy is no exception. Each district has its own pirate centre. Some yearn ago the /wreck of one of the most up-to-date turbine liners of the Japanese mercantile marine made convenient pirate headquarters, from which they were not dislodged for along time. The most interesting case of this sort, however, is the island near KumChuck, whiph covers, the .approach to Canton. The pirate community there runs into some thousands, and includes many men witn British certificates. They have their wives and families with them, and there is no turning them out, because shore operations by foreign gunboats would be a violation of Chinese territorial rights and the local authorities tax the fruits of their piratical labours heavily. Not very far away there is, a hill some 200 feet high, and there is a guard there at all times which signals every interesting movement on the river to the settlement on the island. The movements of the gunboats, the sailing of tempting-looking victims, the shipment of specie, all are reported. The headquarters are approached by tortuous creeks, all of which have been carefully blocked with stones, whose removal would give the pirates ample time to slip away to

the mainland. Thus piracies are planned out well ahead and every precaution taken ; often tlie native pilots iii the river gunboats are well aware of what is going to take place, and prevent interference by the simple method of putting the ship hard and f'ast on the bank or on some convenient shoal.

There is little hope of putting an end to piracy on the Chinese rivers while the Chinese morality - regards piracy as, quite a normal means of earning a living, while the officials are hand in "glove with the pirates and look to them for a large part of their revenue, and while the foreign gunboats on patrol are riot allowed to land parties in pursuit of fugitives. The odds of the game are all in favour of the pirate, and he well knows it.