The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-01-18
SMUGGLERS STUFF
CATS WITH OPIUM
Chinese Evaders of Customs
Duties Evolve Clever Ruses
to Conceal Goods.

IN All countries tine evasion OF nScal
obligations is considered no wrong, and
passing the customs is generally re.
garded as tax upon personal rights.
So much is this the case that those who
render unto Caesar that which is Caes-
ar's generally do so to escape worse
evil, and seldom from any moral con-
viction as to what is right and what is
wrong, says Chambers Journal.
In this one respect, at least, East and
West may be said to have met, for in
no country in the world has the art of
smuggling reached higher standard
than in China and in no part of China
have smugglers become so daring or so
ingenious as in the famous Canton
delta, whose innumerable and intricate
waterways spread their welcome arms
to shield wrongdoers and embarrass
pursuit.
The Chinese is born gambler, and
as often as not stakes his acuteness
against lawful authority merely for the
love of play He reckons that if he
"gets through" some four times out
of five his account will show balance
on the right side, and he will thus have
small profit, combined with the ex.
element of the game.
That this is the spirit of many is a
proved fact, as the same men have been
caught redhanded again and again, and
the mere fact of their persisting indi-
Gates that there is both money to be
made and recreation to be found in the
practise.
The heavy duty on opium and the
comparative ease with which it can be
! secreted naturally place it in the front
rank of desirable contraband, and many
a ball of the seductive drug has found
its way into Canton from that acknowl-
edged base and happy hunting ground
of criminals, the British free port of
Hongkong, without His Imperial Ma
jesty being cent richer.
| Many are the methods adopted and
| the precautions taken by these nimble
evaders of the law. Floats and sinks,
| the outcome of the most fertile imagin-
alton and the most careful study, are
| the most frequent means used, and at
given signal from the shore the whore
consignment is dropped overheard from
one of the palatial river steamers run
ming between Canton and Hongkong,
to be eventually picked up at con-
venient time by receivers on land.
| On one occasion a handsome cat, with
| kittens, was noticed on board one of
| these steamers, and after time it was
remarked that the kittens did not ap-
pear to grow any larger. An inquisi-
| off N m
| found, upon examination, that they
were all dummies, filled with opium
and it was recalled that this lucrative
imposition had been going on for
| weeks.
| Again, the Canton customs night
patrol going the rounds of the crowd
ed harbor took shelter one night from
a violent summer squall under the huge
| paddle sponsors of a well known river
steamer.
"Is that you?'' inquired voice from
above in Chinese.
eyes, replied the customs officer
with quick perception.
"Then catch, - answered the mysteri
Gus interlocutor, passing down half 6
dozen balls of opium, the share Of
which means much prize money for thu
lucky gigs crew. The smuggler was
of course, waiting for confederate
whom the customs officer unwittingl.
forestalled.
On another occasion the inspecto
general of customs, Sir Robert Har
himself, was visiting Canton, and i
the evening at dinner was obliged t.
apologize to his hostess.
"You must excuse my costume" HI
said, "for the customs have seized m,
boxes.o 1t was indeed true, as one o,
his Chinese servants, never suspectinl
that the inspector general IS persona
effects would be disturbed, formed I
syndicate with some enterprisinl
friends and half filed one of the trunk
lin his charge with contraband.