The liberation of all the British prisoners taken by the pirates on the Shuntien brings to an end what at tone time was feared would be somewhat more serious that now it has happily turned out to be. The rapidity with which the whole matter has been cleaned up is due to a very great extent to the quick manner in Jwhich the British Navy came into Jaction and the very ready and cor-Jdial assistance which the Gov-Jernor of Shantung rendered from appear to have cut off all possibility of the pirate gang retreating further, {nto the mainland, The incident has clearly proved what this paper has {for years contended, that where the Chinese officials show a real desire to ce-operate in matters such as this, very early settlements are achieved. There still remains, apparently, the unpleasant task of rounding up the pirate gang, whose attempt at a large display of pyrotechnics has gone off like a very damp squib. [Pitiful though it is, there must be, in cases such as this, a vindication fof the law of the land, and it is anticipated that, when the authorities have secured custody of the eriminals, some of them will have to [pay the penalties for their ill-judged adventure. It is hoped that this incident will be a happy augury for future ce-operation between the (Chinese authorities and the foreign ers, in which event it can be expect-jed that, within a comparatively short time, outrages such as the one on the, Shuntien will be matters of past history and that gangs such as the Bias Bay pirates "and those which infest the Gulf of Pechibli will soon be exterminated. At the same time considerable sympathy must be felt with Mr. Ross, the third engineer of {the Shuntien, who received such bad treatment at the hands of his assallants, At this time of writing no further information as to his condition is available, but it is to be Jnoped ihe fears' which were expressed on Wednesday will not in the fend be justified.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.