The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-07-07

IN 4 TANGLE
Opium Smuggl
Case Creates
Trouble.
FRISCO PAPERS
MAY BE INVOLVED
An Attack on Office OF High
Chinese Official in
Honolulu.
Especial to the Advertiser-)

might seriously involve certain news
naners here. seems to have resulted
from the action of the customs author
tiles of Hawaii in examining into inn
ports of opium alleged TO have been
made Illegally by some one connected
with the Chinese consulate in Homo
lulu.
To begin at the beginning, as far as
I know, the San Francisco papers, on
June "a, published dispatches from their |
Honolulu correspondents, stating that !
Yang Wei Pin, Chinese consul at Ho- |
uoIulu. had been charged with SNUG |
Cling opium The Chronicles dispatch
was as follows:
HONOLULU, June 17.-Collector of
Customs E. r. Stackable is Investigate
ing charges of opium smuggling made
by the Bow Wong Wui, or reform ele-
ment of Chinese. against the imperial
Chinese consul. Yang Wei Pin.
Ii was claimed that he had been us
ing the position of consul and the cour-
tesieS extended to him on that account
to carry on big system of opium
smuggling though the opium never
passed directly through his hands, but
through the hands of some of his at
tacfes. For a week or more past, the
collector has been taking the deposit
tions Of many prominent Chinese mer-
chants here and all the reputed opium
dealers. So far the testimony is said
to tend to connect Consul Yang with
the smuggling, or being cognizant of
the smuggling of $4,000 tins of opium
during the past year.
The Examiner had the following;
HONOLULU ct. H), June Il
Charges of a highly serious character
hi i'm
perial consul, Yang Wei Pin, by the
collector of the port. The charges, If
proven correct, are likely to be the
cause of considerable international
diplomatic correspondence between
| Secretary of State Hay and the Chinese
| government Yang Wei Pin is charg
| ed by his own countrymen with hav-
| ing been engaged in q systematic
scheme for months past to smuggle
opium into the Hawaiian islands. and,
| according to the latest advices on the
subject his connection with the en-
| trance of 10000 tins of opium had been
! charged.
| The charges which We're preferred
against the consul are but a part of
| long series OF attacks which have been
made upon him by members of the Bow
] Wong Wui, or ''reformers' faction in
| the Hawaiian islands. The consul rep
resents the conservative element among
| the Chinese, and ever since his appoint
| ment to this post, ne has been the OBJ
| ject of the attack of the more radical
of his race. Party feeling has run very
| high and the disputes between the two
| factions have been aired in the courts
as we'll as the local American press.
| The charges were preferred some
| months ago. The Bow Wong represen-
| tatives alleged that Yang Wei Pin was
using the consular courtesies accorded
| him by the government to smuggle Opt
Ium into Honolulu. The matter was laid
| before the local collector, and he in
turn appraised the State Department or
| the rumor. He was directed not to con-
+. Germ himself any further with the mat
/ ter. When the charges were preferred
| it was recalled that shortly after the
| arrival of the consul at Honolulu an
order had been received from the State
| Department directing the local collec-
| tor TO extend the usual courtesies ac-
| corded foreign diplomats and refrain
| from searching the baggage of Yang
! Wei Pin. The Bow Wongs did not
| despair, however, and some months ago
| they laid formal charges with Secretary
| of State Hay. It is understood that 1t
was represented to the State Depart
ment that the most positive proof of
| the guilt Of the consul in using the con-
| sular preroga tive for smuggling could
readily be secured. In fact the names
Of certain prominent Chinese mer-
chants of Honolulu were given to Sec
| rotary of State Hay The charges were
| of so serious a nature that Secretary
Hay WIS unable to ignore them, and
| he communicated with the Treasury
Department and requested that a thor
ough investigation be made at Homo
Lulu
Yang Wei Pin is directly under the
orders OF Minister WI Ting Fang at
Washington. and it is more than prob
able that the minister wiz shortly take
q hand in the matter.
On June .. the day following the
publication Of these Honolulu dispatch
es. the Chronicle printed a portrait of
CorSul Yang Wei Pin, with the follow
ing explanation of the Bow Wong Wui
feud, which l wrote:
The news that charges of smuggling
opium into Hawaii have been pre-
ferred against Yang Wei Pin. Chinese
consul at Honolulu, has created excite
ment among the local Chinese. The
charges are the elimination of a bitter
feud between the consul and the work
ing class Of Chinese in Hawaii. which
has already resulted in several deaths,
and which dates back to the time of the
seizure of The throne of China by the
Ernp ress Dowager.
When Leung Chi-tso. the brilliant
young member of the Emperor's ca
met was saved from the vengeance of
the Empress in the coup d'etat by the
inteCposition of Marquis Ito of Japan
! ne fed 70 Hawaii and there began a
propaganda against the Empress. He
| organized the Bow Wong Wui or EN-
| per0r's Protective Association. and with
reform as his battle cry enrolled five
sixths of the entire Chinese population
Of Hawaii All were pledged TO work