The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-19 00:00:00

Piracy y7n the Chinese Sees.

Hong Kong papers contain an account of a very
successful encounter with Chinese pirates which has
just taken place. A severe blow, says the account,
has been struck at the pirates by the gunboats
Osprey and Opossum. These two vessels, under
Commander Menzies in the Osprey, Lieut. Main-
Waring having charge of the Opossum, left Hong
Kong on the 12th June, having a Chinese mandarin
on board and a native merchant who had been de-
spoiled, to recognise the pirate junks when they
should be found. The expedition was planned by
concert with the mandarins of Kowloon, and the
place to which the gunboats proceeded, in accord-
ance with the information they had received, was
Quang-chow-wang, but when this place was reached
the junks were found to have disappeared. In point
of fact, news of the expedition had in some way
leaked out, as usual when gunboats co-operate in
any way with the mandarins. To do anything in
concert with the native authorities appears useless
and mere waste of time. It is not easy to suppose
that they are deliberately supporting the pirates_ all
the while, but it is impossible to avoid seeing that
they are incapable of concealing from them any
plan of operations which may be formed. If the
gunboats had on the present occasion limited their
performances to the original programme, they
would have come back without having seen a
pirate. As it was, however, being so far down the
coast, it was decided to go on to Hainan, to draw
a few covers in that direction. A very tempting
account to the officers of the gunboats of the
island generally, the scenery of which is
rich and tropically luxuriant, with cocoa-
nut trees growing to the water's edge and hills co-
vered with vegetation. At a village called Yu-lin-
kan, on Wednesday, the 20th, a fisherman came off
and gave information that in the next bay, Sa-ma-
creek, there was a fleet of 12 piratical junks. The
gun-boats immediately went in search, and up a small
inlet discovered their prey. They were not 12, but
22 junks, and the pirates must have belonged to a
bolder race than those who frequent this neighbour-
hood, for they showed fight, and no sooner saw the
gun-boats than they prepared for action, and opened
fire with their guns,
although at the same time they
combined discretion with valour, and set to work
passing their valuables and all portable cargo on
shore as fast as this could be done. They were very
large junks, with an average of more than 10 guns
each. One mounted 15, and the pieces ranged in
sizes from nines to thirty-twos. Altogether it was
computed that the fleet carried 240 guns, a tolerable
match for two boats with six guns between them.

On this occasion, however, they did not remain at a
distance, firing with the largest ordnance only while
out of the pirates' range, but they advanced as near
as the shoaling water in the creek would allow, the
Osprey to within 1,200 yards and the Opossum to
within 700, at which latter distance, of course, she
was well within the range of the Chinese. Indeed,
the great majority of their balls passed over her,
though some struck her hull. Fortunately, no casu-
alties occurred. This cannonading went on for about
two hours, when a new turn was given to the course
of events by means of a landing party from the gun-
boats. About 45 men were quietly put on shore,
and, under cover of the jungle, made their way round
to the part of the creek at which the pirate vessels
were lying, without being observed until they came
close to the junks. From those lying close along shore
the pirates im media tely fl ed, sculling in their sampans,
or swimming ashore to the opposite side of the creek,
and gradually as the landing party took possession of
the junks along shore, and by means of boats, be-
gan to board those which were anchored out in the
creek, the pirates gave up, and even from the
vessels lying furthest out the crews slipped over
the sides, and disappeared with or without the as-
sistance of sampans. The Opossum's and Osprey's
boats made a good many prisoners while this was
going on, but most of them wero wounded, and it
was afterwards found better to turn them adrift
rather than bring them away in a state which would
have required medical treatment. During this time,
while the boats were pulling about, the mandarin
who was with the gunboats made himself conspi-
cuous by his zeal in the pursuit and capture of pri-
soners, but his boldness drew upon him a great deal
of attention from the pirates, and they fired at him
so perseveringly with small arms as they were
escaping that he was at last struck in three places.
One of the wounds was in the stomach, and this
proved mortal, so that poor old Ly-ang—blue-but-
ton mandarin of Kowloon—ended his career in this
engagement, falling the only victim to the pirates.
One man on board the Osprey was wounded, but
none were killed.

The pirate junks were all burnt in spite of the
fact that some of them contained opium and other
valuable cargo. It is, of course, impossible for the
gun-boats, short handed as they are, to make prizes,
except on a small scale, every now and then under
favourable circumstances. The day after the action,
on a Thursday, the crews destroyed the piratical
village of Sa-ma, and then, after spending the rest
of the day, and part of Friday, " wooding and
watering," the two little vessels started on Friday
night on their return voyage. They came straight
across, out of sight of land, and reached Hong Kong
on Monday morning.

Extraordinary Swindling Career of an Ex-

Officer.

Yesterday, at the Windsor Guildhall, Richard Bayley was
charged with several cases of swindling and robbery. The
prisoner's real name is Richard Albert Warkin Bayley, late
ensign in her Majesty's 35th Regiment, and he was quar-
tered with the depot at Colchester. Ho is a son of Major-
Gen. Bayley, who commanded the Bombay contingent dur-
ing the Indian mutiny, and who, having retired from the
army, resides in Wales. In early manhood the prisoner en-
listed as aprivate soldier during a wild freak, and servedin
his regiment a twelvemonth, when his father bought him
out and purchased a commission for him in the 35th Regi-
ment. But his waywardness and general misconduct were
so incorrigible that in Juno last he was cashiered and su-
perseded while absent from his regiment without leave.
During May and June he was staying in Paris, at the
Hotel de Lille et d'Albion, where he assumed the name of
Captain Watkins, of the Royal Horse Artillery. In Paris
ho drew cheques on Sir John Kirkland and Co., the army
agents, of London, purporting to be drawn by Ensign
Bayley, in favour of Capt. Watkins, Royal Horse Artillery,
and uttered them, after having endorsed them with the
name of Capt. Watkins. This being a forgery, the French
Government, upon the application of the money clangers
whom he victimised, have made an application for his
extradition, that he may be tried in Paris. Among
those whom he swindled in Paris is Mr. Webb, a money
changer, residing in the Rue de Rivoli, who cashed some
of his cheques upon Sir John Kirkland and Co. It is an
offence against the French code to live under an assumed
name. " Captain Watkins" represented himself as a second
captain of the Rdyal Horse Artillery ; that he had fought
with his regiment at Luckuow, Delhi, &c ; that during the
Indian mutiny he had three horses shot under him ; that
he was the only officer of the troop who escaped with his
life ; and that he received a ball in the knee, and a wound
in his face from the splinter of a shell. He had a wound in
the check, not yet healed. After getting as much money
as he could by means of false cheques, and borrowing
money of the gentlemen staying at the Hotel do Lille, he
disappeared, leaving behind him an empty portmanteau and
au unsettled account to the amount of I,ooof. or 1,200 f.
At this time ho had with him a companion, whose real
name is believed to be Denny. This individual, an Irish-
man, with a Yankee cast of countenance, raised money and
credit to a large amount upon the representation that his
name was William L. Howard—a scion of the Yorkshire
Howards ; that his father had £20,000 per annum ; and
that ho himself intended to stand for the representation of
the North Riding of Yorkshire at the next election, as ho
would shortly have £12,000 a year.,,Frona one gentleman
this individual borrowed upwards of £20C1,. The Chief Su-
perintendent of the Windsor police has had forwarded to
him excelloct photographs of the prisoner and his com-
panion, executed by Clement Lagriffe, the photographer
of the Rue St. Honore. On leaving Paris the prisoner
made his appearance at the Horns Tavern, at Kennington,
on July 9. He stated that he had been playing cricket at
the Oval, and, remaining at the house until July 29, he ran
up an account of £6. Ho assumed the name of Captain
Watkins. When he left he pretended to be going to get a
cheque cashed, and said that he would return and pay his
bill. Ho never returned, and soon of ter he had gone it was
discovered that he had stolen the landlady's gold watch
from a drawer in her bedroom. After his apprehension,
he told Mr. Whitty, the landlord of the Horns, where ho
had pawned the watch, and that he had destroyed the
ticket. It is fortunate for Mr. Whitty that ho refused to cash
a cheque for £l5 on Sir John Kirkland and Co. on the re-
presentation that the prisoner was Captain Watkins, of the
22d brigade of Royal Artillery, stationed at Shorncliffe.
At Kew, the prisoner got a boat from Mr. Williams, and
rowed up the Thames to Caversham, near Reading. At
Caversham he put up at the White Hart Hotel, and had only
left that establishment a couple of hours when a person sent
in search of him by Mr. Williams arrived from Kew. Eton
was his next place of rendezvous ; and Mr. John Harding,
of the Crown and Cushion Inn, was honoured with his com-
pany. The "captain" left suddenly without paying his bill.
While here he was " Captain Heneage, of the Royal Artil-
lery," and he casually made. the acquaintance of Mr. Bur-
rows, a London medical gentleman, staying in Adelaide-
square, at Windsor. informing that gentleman that he
was a visitor at the house of one of the masters of Eton
College. Mr. Burrows invited " the captain " to supper
on several occasions, and to join in a fishing party. The
" captain" obtained a rod, bait, can, &c., from Mr. R. Smith,
the fishing tackle maker, near the bridge that joins Eton
to Windsor, stating he had no ready money, and would
pay Mr. Smith when ho got a cheque cashed at Messrs.
Nevile, Reid, and Co.'s, the Windsor Bank. Instead of
joining the fishing party, the prisoner went to Mr. Bur-
rows' apartments, obtained access by means of a plausible
excuse that he had permission to write some letters, and
stole £4 in cash and several articles that could be easily
appropriated. Ho was disappointed in a sum of £4O that he
knew Mr. Burrows had in the house, but which that gentle-
man had fortunately removed. From Windsor " Captain
Heneage" went to Egham, and stayed at the house of Mr.
Dickinson, the Angler's Rest, where he slept from the
Monday to Wednesday. Mr. DickinSon suspected his cus-
tomer, and on the Wednesday night locked him in
his bedroom. Next morning it was found that " the
captain" had decamped, after ransacking the room,
stealing a clothes brush, and jumping from a window,
thirteen feet above the ground. Next, " the captain''
went to the Bells of Ousoley, at Old Windsor, where
he hired a cart, and was driven to a good fishing spot on
the banks of the Thames, and he spent tho remainder of
the day fishing. At this time Mr. Eager, the chief superin-
tendent of the Windsor borough police, and. Mr. Biddle-
combo, of the Swan Hotel, at Chertsey (formerly superin-
tendent of the Surrey constabulary), were on his track, and
he was discovered by them fishing in the, midst of a pour-
ing rain, from a punt on the Thames, midway between
Chertsey and Weybridge. The captain was brought back
to Windsor in custody. After his remand he made a cunning
attempt to escape from the strong room in which ho was
confined at the borough gaol, by tampering with the hinges,
of the door. This attempt was discovered, and since then
ho has had an officer of the gaol with him constantly in the
apartment.

As Mr. Burrows, the surgeon, was not in attendance
yesterday, the Mayor further remanded the prisoner for
another week. luspoctor Poarman and Police Constable
Crichton, of the Bucks Constabulary, were in waiting to
apprehend the prisoner, if ho should bo discharged, for
his frauds in Eton. Mr. W. H. Hand, of 5, ClevOlaud-
row, St. James's, was also present, on behalf of his client,
M. Webb, of the Rue do ilivoli, Paris, with a view to the
prisoner's ulimato removal to Paris for trial upon the
charges of fraud and forgery preferred against him.

HALF-CROWNS are no longer, it appears, coined
at the Mint, so at least says a recently-published Parlia-
mentary paper. Florins have taken the place of these,
pieces in the issue. In like manner, the threepenny-piece
is superseding the silver groat ; no such coin as the latter
has been sent out since March, 1865.