Bandit outrages in Kiangsu and Chekiang Provinces are growing from bad to worse, and in the Chinese papers we read of town after] town being pillaged by tofel_and pirates. Houses have been burned, innocent people kidnapped for! ransom, and women outraged. All) these things have been happening:
'a few miles of such important places at Shanghai, Soochow, Kiang-50 miles of the! be operating.
The authorities have at last wakened to th8 menace constituted by these men and action is now, being taken to suppress them.
The following notes regarding the! tufei situation have been translated from the different Chinese newspaper Forty Taihu marauders, members of one of the most daring gangs) operating on the lakes, held up two large steam launches near Kuan Wang Miao, a few miles outside] Soochow, on the Sth instant and] seized both of them. A member of the crew of one vessel attempted to resist but he was mercilessly shot) down. Two others went to his as~ sistance'and one was shot dead and the other seriously wounded.
The Taichang authorities are taking no risks. Five boatmen who arrived there by junk some days ago were at once arrested by the merchant volmteers on suspicion of] being pirates and, without trial, were sentenced to death so as to warn! others against following their alleg-ample. The Woosung Cham-Commerce have interceied, nding an official letter to the istrict magistrate of Taichang informing him that these men are bene fide boatmen, who are in no way associated with pirate gangs. Nevertheless, the unfortunate fellows have not yet been released.
According to the "Eastern Times," a detachment of soldiers of Gen.
Hsiung Hsi-hui's Pifth Division, sent to Quinsan, Pacheng, Hsiahsintien, Lienhuatoo' and other places. near the Taihu Lakes, met a party of 300) pirates near the Yang Tseng Hu, one: Jof the smaller lakes, on April 12, as the latter were prepar-{ng to attack one of the neighbouring] villages.
fierce engagement—ensued, during which both sides brought machine gona into play, but the pirates, according to the reports were no match for the better trai ed and better equipped troops and they were routed after several hours fighting. In addition to many who were captured, several score were killed and about 100 were wounded. Some escaped, leaving behind several machine guns, more than 150 rifles} and 30 funks. Some 40 persons on board the junks, who were discoverted to be prisoners held for ransom, were released. 'Three of the sold' were killed and ten wounded. Several junks are said to have been sunk.
On the same afternoon, it is reported, a bitter fight occurred between another party of troops and a gang of tufei on the north side of the lake and lasted the whole afternoon. This was still going on when the telegram was sent from Soochow.
Whilst patrolling the Yang Tseng! Hu on Friday afternoon, several Kiangsu Water Police boats came across some 400 pirates in two score of junks near Liv Tz-tow. All the latter were "dressed in black clothes and, in addition to rifles, swords, daggers and spears, they were in possession of no fewer than six machine guns. Parties were landed by the water police and the pirate] janks were attacked from three directions.
Seeing that they were hemmed in, the pirates made for the shore and succeeded in landing... Taking up positions, they pat up a very sturdy resistance and, in a fight which lasted from 3 to 8 pin., more than 60) of the gang were killed and many were wounded. Realizing that it was hopeless to resist any longer, the pirates fled. The water police: gave chase. however, and captured five junks, the six machine guns and many rifles, in addition to which they released eight of the pirates' victims and arrested several score of the gang. Four water _police received minor wounds during the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.