The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-03-23

STOWAWAYS

When the Hongkong Maru, Captain
Filmer arrived off port yesterday af-
ternoon from the Orient the America
Maru was just starting for the Orient.
The Hongkong signalled the America
to lay to, and then Purser Freeman, of
the Hongkong, went to the America in
boat He visited the purser of the
America, and they had long talk to-
gether.
The Hongkong Maru had twenty
seven men aboard which she was very
anxious to send back to the Orient,
whence they had come.
They were all stowaways, and the
Hongkong had had great deal of
trouble with them.
The greatest trouble came, however,
when the Stowaways were about to be
transferred to the America Maru to
be sent back to their native land. They
absolutely refused to recognize any
authority, and would not agree TO be
sent back. 1t became necessary to
summon the entire crew of the Hong
kong to get the twenty seven Japan
csc together from all parts of the ship
and to keep them together until they
could be taken to the vessel going to
Japan.
After PurSer Freeman had made the
arrangements with the purSer of the
America Maru it was necessary for him
to obtain the permission of the collec-
tor of port before he could transfer
the Stowaways from one boat to the
other. This was finally secured and,
while the two Togo Kisen Kaisha
steamships were lying outside of the
harbor, only a little distance from each
other, twenty-siX of the stowaways
were taken from the Hongkong, in the
ships boats. and put aboard the Am
erica. The Hongkong was very glad to
be rid of them, for they had been the
cause of no end of trouble aboard. The
America was equally sorry to receive
them, but there was no help for it, the
men had to be returned to Japan, and
they had to go back on the first boat
of the Togo Kisen KaiSha. 1t was very
fortunate for the HOngkong Maru that
the America was delayed in getting
away from this port, otherwise she
would have had to take the stowaways
/ to San Francisco, or else leave them at
4 the quarantine station here at a great
deal of expense.
/ Purser Freeman, in explaining how
/ the StOwaways happened to get aboard
/ said the vessel was two days late In
sailing from Hongkong, and that when
she arrived at Yokohama she had tc
rush the working of cargo. At Yoko-
hama there were probably over seven
hundred coolies aboard the vessel up &c
the last minute before her departure
/ ana tWenty-SeVen OF them made uI
! their minds to stay aboard, instead OF
! going ashore. They slowed away ir
the coal bunkers, and on the day after
the ship had gone to sea began tC
come up on deck one at a time. They
were Immediately put at work, but IL
! took most of the time of the regular
crew to see that they We're kept busy
Several of the Japanese stowaways hat
I worked on the Maru boats before, anC
! there were several among the number
| who had served as members of the
crew aboard the Hongkong Maru aift
the America Maru. They were con.
stantly making trouble, and everybody
on the HOngkong was glad to see then
go.
AT Macao the Hongkong Maru tool
aboard half a million dollars worth o.
opium.
AS mentioned above, only twenry-s'1
of the stoWaways were transferred t
the America Maru. The twenty-seventr
managed to get away from the number
after they had been collected on deck
preparatory to being sent to the othel
assel and hid somewhere below. L
as not worth while to detain the yes
any longer for the sake Of finding
"a transferring one man, so he wa!
/ aIiasad to remain aboard, and VIII bt
TAX on to San Francisco, going
bact o Japan when the Hongkong re
turns from the Coast.
| Aft the transfer Of the Stowaway!
had been made the America Maru pro
the Hongkong Maru entered the har