The question, "Where are the pirates?" which headed my last com-moi yn seemed about to be answered when exciting rumours came here on Tuesday that the small town of Tinchasah, situated not far from Kazay and near the Kiangsu border, was leged by them. The number was variously estimated at from one hundred. to a thousand. There was evidently some official report, as about two hundred soldiers were hurried off to the scene as quickly as boats could be provided to transport them. The matter of transport seems to give the officials some trouble. As soon as it was known that boats were wanted to take soldiers to the neighbourhood of bandits, they began to make themselves very scarce. I was much surprised to see a number of boats hurrying into the city and congregating in a small quiet basin near the East gate. The boat people were evidently excited and inquiry brought out the fact they were running from the soldiers, fearing that they would be impressed. A visit to one of the public boat landings, where some tens of boats are usually to be found waiting for business, served to verify th Statement, as not one boat was in sight except ar boat." It is said that only shoe price is paid for transporting soldiers and that the boats are generally so crowded that more or less damage is done to the boat. Nor do the boat people relish being brought into close contact with the pirates even if they are loaded with soldiers. No further news has come from the reported siege and perhaps the sarcastic remark made by a Chinese to your correspondent has foundation in truth, "I do not know where the soldiers have gone, but you may be sure they have not go kwang dan (pirates), The officials are apparently awake to the importance of doing something put a stop to the depredations of robbers of all sorts, but no effective plans for heading them off or surrounding them have been hit upon. Only six hundred of the promised fifteen hundred troops from Kiangsu have actually arrived, but others are expected. I was misinformed when I reported that. one thousand had already come. I understand that they are asking the Governor to send gunboste to their assistance, as they are not accustomed to fighting on the water, but I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this statement. Indeed it is very difficult to get reliable information.
What might have proved a serious disturbance occurred in a restaurant
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.