The morning call., 1894-06-28
OPERATIONS OF THE RING.
. Customs Officials. Were Sorry for
Their Loss.
CERTIFICATES SOLD IN CHINA.
Nat Blum Gives Another Batch of
!: EVIDENCE. Against the Port
Hand C0nspirators.

e. ?: PoRTI.AND. Or, June 27.-Nathan Blum
Concluded his testimony in the Chinese
conspiracy trial to-day and passed through
:. the ordeal, of cross-examination without
the least embarrassment. Ia his direct
testimony be said that number of times
they were compelled to land Chinese
taroughthe courts. One instance was on
the arrival ola steamer about November
26, 1892 Blum went to San Francisco
and Dunbar could not get the passengers
landed by Lotan. He wired Blum, and
Blum wired back for Dunbar to see Seid
Back, employ aR attorney ana have the
Chinese landed through the courts.
s"Thirty-tWo Of them were landed" said
Blum, ''by the court 1t took just one
hours time and cost Dunbar and Seid
Back $3.50. Through the ordinary chan
nels. it would have cost $1,000 to land the
=: Chinamen, so we saved about $1,000 and
after that the Cust0m-house people seemed
=. sorry that they had let this money slip
through their hands. and we did not have
prmHtn further trouble in getting them to
: land our Cinnamon"
= Regarding Seid Backs and Tbompson's
T. connection with the conspiracy, Blum tes-
tifed that Seid Back agreed, when Thomp-
sons trip TO China was in contemplation,
TO give Thompson letters Of introduction
TO parties in Hong-kOng which were ex-
pected TO enable him to dispose Of 400
Chinese certificates and buy the steamer
Zambesi.
1--WE figured said Blum, that we could
get about 100000 for the Chinese certif-
Gates and advance money for bringing
Cinnamon over. We expected to pay
S50.000 for the steamer and invest part of
the money in Hong-Kong opium. clearing
mp about 100000 besides this.
:'!We had an arrangement with London
. shipping firm TO buy the steamer Zambesi
for $4,000, and were TO pay ST., 500 down
on the. purchase price. Thompson took
400 certificates with him to China. We
were to bring Chinese direct from China,
200 to be landed at Honolulu, the rest here,
but>ouE company became financially en-
~baTrassed and the scheme fell through.
= Thompson left the certificates over there.
.. He sold them to Chinese and received
between 5000 and $4,000 for them.''
... Gross -eXamin alton failed to bring out
. any material discrepancies in Blum's tes.
49,. timOny: He said he had no promise OF
executive clemency or OF a lighter SEN
tence. He expected to receive one or the
:5.other, but had n promise of either. He
admitted thatsince the former trial of the
case he had been in the East ana had
r. adopted different assumed names. He
y. had met and travelled with Val Hastings
in the East: He did not know whether OF
not she was woman of bad repute.
Quite a futter was created in court on
the cross-examination of Sig Baer, a
notary public, who put his seal on large
number OF fraudulent Chinese certificates
Fulton asked him if he had any regard
for an oath. Baer replied that be placed
his seal on the certificates for what there
was in it. He said he bad a contract with
Blum, Dunbar and Seid Back to furnish
ksertiicates.
~ When Fulton asked him why he was not
indicted by the Grand Jury Baer replied
that he did not know. He denied having
been promised immunity from punishmen:
by the Government for testifying against
the defendant