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270 gunboats. By a series of hotly contested engagements (September 28 to October 3, 1840), Commander J. C. Dalrymple Hay, with H.M. Ships Columbine, Fury, and Medea, destroyed the entire fleet of Chui Apou, consisting of 23 junks, carrying 12 to 18 guns each and manned by 1,800 desperadoes. Two piratical dock-yards were also destroyed on the same occasion. A few weeks later (October 19 to 22, 1849), Commander Hay, having under his orders H.M. Ships Phlegeton, Fury, Columbine, and a large party of officers and men from H.M.S. Hastings, destroyed the greater part of the fleet of the other pirate chief, Shap-ng-tsai. Out of 64 junks, manned by 3,150 men with 1,224 guns, as many as 58 junks were destroyed. Commander Hay officially reported that these successes were obtained on the information given 'by that invaluable officer Daniel R. Caldwell.' So intense was the rejoicing in commercial circles of Hongkong over these wholesale massacres of pirates, that a public subscription was raised and each of the captains present at the destruction of Shap-ng-tsai's fleet, was presented with a service of plate of the value of £200. A third piratical fleet of 13 junks, collected by Chui Apou, was destroyed (March 4, 1850) in Mirs Bay, close to Hongkong, by H.M.S. Medea which had on board Mr. Caldwell and a Mandarin from Kowloon. Finally, on May 10, 1853, another piratical fleet was destroyed by H.M.S. Rattler. Nevertheless, sporadic cases of piracy continued to increase in the neighbourhood of Hongkong. On February 20, 1851, a pitched, battle was fought in Aberdeen Bay between some piratical junks and 8 Chinese gunboats. A week later (February 28, 1851) a conspiracy to loot the riversteamer Hongkong on her way to Canton, was discovered by Mr. Caldwell. In the year 1852 some 19 cases of piracy were reported as having occurred in the waters of Hongkong. During the summer of 1853 piracies occurred at an average rate of 14 per month. As many as 70 cases were reported during the year 1853, the most shocking case being the murder (August 5, 1853) of the captain, officers and passengers of the S.S. Arratoon Apcar, by the Chinese crew.