Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-11-20
BRINGING IN OPIUM
Sorry State of Affairs Along
the Northern Boundary.
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL AGENT.
Seventy Thousand Pounds Struggled Into
This Country in One Year.

Not Enough Officers to Stop the Illicit
Traffic Chinese Crossing the Isord er by
Thousands Cunning Of the Canadian
Government ID 'cisions of the Courts
Which Practically Defeat the Chinese
Restriction Acts.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2O.-A. K. Tingle,
su pervising special agent of the Treas
ury Department., in his annual report to
the Secretary of the Treasury, says on
the subject of opium smuggling:
Zone of the serious questions con-
| fronting the department in the exercise
of its function of collecting the revenue
is the great difficulty under the present
| cond itions in enforcing the laws against
| smugglers who make the Dominion of
| Canada the base of their operations.
''There are but four collecti on districts
upon the northern frontier between the
Lake of the Woods and the Pa cific Ocean,
| a distance of about 1, 100 miles, each
district embracing large territory.
| The number of officers upon this line
of frontier does not exceed 20, and the
present customs appropriation will not
! admit of any material increase of this
| force.
| Although these officers are active and
vigilant, making frequent captures of
| sm uggled goods, it is apparent that
their efforts to prevent smuggling are
in large degree futile. A similar con-
dition of affairs exists upon the long
boundary line between the United
States and Mexico
The district of Puget Sound, com
prising many islands within few miles
of British territory and long line of
water front, furnishes facilities for
smuggling and the clandestine intro
duction OF Chinese, against which the
| customs officers have vainly contended.
The revenue steamer on that station
| under its present energetic commander
has done good work in checking snug
Cling, but this vessel is unfit, on ac-
count of her size and want of speed, to
render efficient service. 1t is believed
that it will be necessary to employ a
number of speedy steam launches to
patrol the waters of Puget Sounl in or
der to break up the Illicit traffic.
81 am reliably informed that during
the last year 1885, 900 pounds of crude
opium were imported at Victoria, max
ing about 70, 900 pounds of the prepared
article for smoking purposes, and that
nearly every pound of it was smuggled
into the United States. 1t is more
profitable to take the risk of an occa-
|
pay the duty of $l2 per pound, which is
prohi bitive OF legitimate importations
and is the essential basis of the Snug
glers' profit.
But the smuggling of opium is not
the only alarming consequence follow
ing the opening up of the railways
through Manitoba and British Columbia.
The various acts of Congress having for
their object the exclusion of Chinese
laborers from the United States are
practically nullifed by the clandestine
| introduction of Chinese coming direct
from China through the Dominion of
Canada. The steamers of the Canadian
Pacific Railroad Company lani Chinese
at Vancouver by thousands The Can
adan government collects head tax of
$50 upon each Chinese person and gives a
certificate which enables him to return to
Canada without payment a second time,
should he be detected in entering the
| United States
1.-THE law provides that any Chinese
person found unlawfully within the
United States shall be caused to be re-
M owed therefrom to the country whence
he came, at the cost of the United
States. after being brought before some
justice, judge or commissioner OF d
} court of the United States, and fouad to
! be one not entitled to remain i'll the
United States. Inasmuch as nine ten tbs
of the Cinnamon caught within our lines
near the Canadian border come direct
from China, although they enter by way
of Canada, they have been treatel so
far as this department is concerned and
in accordance with the views of the At
torney General as liable to deport ii on
to China as the country whence they
came.
1.-THE act OF September ID, 1886, which
by its terms would seem to be operative
. until the exchange of notifications of the
then pending treaty between the United
States and China (Which was never rati-
fed contains certain provisions for an
appeal from the decision OF the commits
sioner in these cases to the courts. Sue
| appeals have been entertained by the
. courts, and in several cases they have
| given the statute another construction
from that of the heal of this depart
ment and of the Attorney General by
! deciding that Canada, and not China
| was the country whence these Cinnamon
came, within the meaning of the law
| The effect of this is that Chinese persons
once returned to Canada again en- ter the
country, and repeated instances of this
kind have occurred. Thus the object o.
the Chinese restriction acts is practi
!. | cally defeated
8 Death of Hon. J.. Il. Diller.
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 30. Isaac R. Dill