Plans Afoot to Dispense With Foreign Pilots The Chinese naval authorities hat drawn up a scheme for the reudition of China's pilotage rights and for the salvation of China's sover~ eign rights from the hands of foreigners, Such was the gist of a Statement made to members of the vernacular press by an important official in the Ministry of Nay According to this individual, the Present regulations governing' pilot tage at the various Chinese ports were drafted by the Into Sir Robert Hart, former Inspector-General of Customs during the Manchu regime, and they wore approved of ey former Imperial Viceroys, By these regulations, foreigners were permitted to act as pilots at various Ohinese ports to the detriment of the Chinese people. However, as they do not constitute an interna tional agreement, they may be cat celled at any time, At the present time, he stated, there were some 50 pilots in Shang bai and only one of this number was of Chinese nationality, Though foreigners had encroached fon China's sovereignty in thi nection, it was because the people, so far as navigation and tage are concerned, are far behind foreigners, It' was nec assary therefore, the speaker said, that preparations should be ' made at once to train Chinese, pilots so that, at the care est possible date, Chinese would replace foreigners.
Schemes in this connection, he said, had already been drawn up by the Naval Ministry and submitted to the National Government for approval, Dealing with this matter, the vers na cular papers say that the Ministry of Navy will substitute Chinese for foreign pilots at the various ports fatter January 1, 1983, and that all foreigners will be forbidden, after the end of 1932, to carry on their professions as pilots. However, prior to the time when foreigner will be replaced by Chinese, students will be sent to Europe and the United States by the Ministry of Navy for practical experience in this line and to obtain special know. ledge, Both the Kiangnan Dock and Engineering -Co, and the Commission for the Reorg Naval Affairs are sending students abroad to study and to obtain brace tical experience and, says the Chic nese press, it is expected that, when they return, they will have acquired sufficient practical knowledge, to enable them to take back China's sovereign rights.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.