§ MR. A. E. GATHORNE-HARDY (Sussex, East Grinstead)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can give the House any information as to the plunder of the steam ship Namoa by pirates near Hong Kong, in December last, and the murder of her captain; whether any of the pirates have been brought to justice, and how soon after the arrival of the Namoa the Government were able to send a gunboat in pursuit of the pirates; and whether it is intended to present to Parliament any Papers or Reports on the occurrence?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir J. FERGUSSON, Manchester, N.E.)Reports have been received from the Commodore on the station and the officer administering the government of Hong Kong of the seizure of the Namoa by Chinese pirates who had embarked in her, when about 50 miles from Hong Kong on the 10th of December. The captain and a German gentleman, named Paterson, in the employ of the Chinese Customs Department, and two quartermasters were killed and the second officer slightly wounded. The pirates took possession of the ship, and having got together property estimated at over $20,000 disembarked into junks off the coast of China and escaped. The Namoa then returned to Hong Kong, where she arrived on the morning of the 11th of December. H.M.S. Linnet started on the morning of the 12th to endeavour to trace the pirates, and appears to have received all possible assistance from the Chinese authorities. Nothing, however, was ascertained, and she returned to Hong Kong on the evening of the 13th. The Admiral on the Station, who 1521 subsequently arrived, despatched two of Her Majesty's vessels to endeavour to discover the whereabouts of the pirates. The result of these further investigations is not yet known. Papers can be laid before Parliament if desired, but it would be better to await further news.