The recent reports we have published from London concerning the withdrawal on April 1 of the British armed guards on British ships along the China coast, is fraught with considerable danger to both the owners of the ships and their foreign officers, and, needless to say, has created a furore in local The reasons are not difficult to understand. Though we have not heard of a piracy in the past fow weeks, it has been the experiences of the foreign officers on the Coast that this seeming lull usually presages renewed activity on the part of the Pirates and should not be taken a meaning that their activities have ceased, The small handful of men, usually) six under a non commissioned officer, who have been stationed on boats plying in the "danger zone", Swatow to Haiphong, ete, have been sufficient to make life reasonably safe for the foreign officers, but now that these are to be removed it is pro-phossied that trouble is ahead, Meanwhile just what efforts w be made by owners to protect their ships and crews are unknown and they are for the most part reluctant to talk about them, depending on pressure at Home to have the removal order delayed, which, unfortunately, does not seem to' be possibility, judging from the recent messages.
Tt will be recalled that some time: ago a plan was tried wherein Sikh watchmen were placed aboard ships but with unfortunate results. These men were under the direct orders of the Hongkong police and the outcome was that the captains of the ships could do little with them, the men going ashore as their fancies fated and generally carrying themselves in a highhanded manner. This plan of dual control did not work from the start and owners and captains expressed their Pleasure when the Sikhs were taken off the ships.
If the British soldiers are taken off and no. one substituted by the owners, the outcome is bound to cause friction with the foreign off-cers and quite rightly.
One has but to recall the piracy of the str. Anking last. September in which two foreign officers were killed together with a Chinese member of the crew and the captain and jthitd officer wounded with seven of the passengers being taken off for ransom, This stirred the foreign officers along the Coast us nothing clee has in recent years and yet it was but four months later at Singapore when the owners of a vessel and the foreign officers came to grips over the subject and the latter came off second best.
The ship was leaving Singapore for China with a heavy passenger, list of plantation labourers, rie after several months work and likely plunder for pirates.
When sailing time came the foreign officers demurred at sailing without a guard and made representation to the owners to that effect. Finally after much wrangling guard was provided, but the ship had been delayed some five hours in This piqued the owners to such an extent that they demoted every oft-cer of the ship and removed them by placing them aboard the older ships of the line ranning between small ports in the north.
The result is now, that each side is somewhat apprehensive of the other and unless guards of some description are maintained there is, bound to be bad blood.
The officers ¢ontond that no hired guards will be taken because of their cost but that efforts will continue to be made for the retention of the Army guards because they cost the owners nothing.
It would seem' that the solution would be to give employment to some of the many White Russians in Shanghai who would eagerly take to such work and whose remuneration would by no-means be. prohibitive. to-day, and his knowledge of Shanghai. acquired. during his long ex: perience has been most valuable.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.