The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1910-02-17
CHINESE SMUCCLE9
IS VERY CLEVER
In No Part of the World Are
They So Daring as in the
Canton Delta
KITTENS FILLED WITH OPIUM
Many Ways In Which the Seductive
Drug Is Brought In Contraband-A
Surprised Night Patrol-Even Out.
cast Lepers Used.

Surprised Night Patrol-Even Out.
cast Lepers Used.
In all countries the evasion of fs-
cal obligations Is considered no wrong.
and passing the customs" Is general.
| ly regarded as a tax upon personal
rights. So much is this the case that
those who render unto Caesar that
which is Caesars generally do so to
escape a worse evil, and seldom from
any moral conviction as to what ia
! right and what is wrong 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 a higher standard than in
China and in no part of China have
smugglers become so daring or so in.
genous as in the famous Canton delta
whose innumerable and intricate wa.
terways spread their welcome arms
to shield wrongdoers and embarrass
pursuit.
John Chinaman is q born gambler,
and as often as not stakes his acute.
ness against lawful authority merely
for the love of play.
The heavy duty on opium and the
comparative ease with which it can
be secreted naturally place It in the
front rank of desirable contra5and,
and many a ball of the seductive drug
has found it's way into Canton from
that acknowledged base and happy
hunting ground of criminals, the Brit
ish free port of Hong Kong, without
his imperial majesty kuang Hsu being
a cent the richer.
Many are the methods adopted and
the precautions taken by those nimble
evaders of the law. Floats and sinks,
the outcome of the most fertile imagi-
nation and the most careful study, are
the most frequent means used, and at
given signal from the shore the
whole consignment is dropped over.
board from one of the palatial river
steamers running between Canton and
Hong Kong, to be eventually picked
up at convenient time by receivers
on land.
vi ohC otCdSlOu HduuSOUle cat,
with kittens, was noticed on board
one of these steamers, and after a
time 1t was remarked that the kit.
tens did not appear to grow any larg-
er. An inquisitive custom house Off.
Ger in Canton 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 pa
troll going the rounds of the crowded
harbor took shelter one night from a
violent summer squall under the huge
paddle Sponsons of a we'll known riy-
er steamer "Is that you?" inquired a
voice from above in Chinese. "Yes,"
replied the customs officer, with quick
perception. Then catch" answered
the mysterious interlocutor, passing
down half dozen balls of opium, the
share of which meant much prize
money for the lucky gigs crew. The
smuggler was. of course, waiting for a
confederate whom the customs officer
unwittingly forestalled.
On another occasion the inspector
general of customs, Sir Robert Hart
himself, was visiting Canton, and in
the evening at dinner was obliged to
apologize to his hostess. "You must
excuse my costume" he said, "for the
customs have seized my boxes" It
was indeed true, as one of his Chinese
servants, never suspecting that the
Inspector generals personal effects
would be disturbed, formed syndi-
cate with some enterprising friends,
and half-filled one of the trunks in
his charge with contraband.
Salt, that daily necessity of life. be-
ing government monopoly in China,
is subject to official regulations which
add to its cost and lessen its quality.
The duty indirectly paid on this arti.
Gle may be styled the income-tax OF
China, since all must use this every.
where indispensable commodity. Salt,
therefore, naturally comes within the
scope of the contrabandist. and SNUG.
gled salt, by reason of its cheapness,
commands ready sale. 1t differs
from opium, however, inasmuch as its
bulk renders concealment difficult and
landing 1t at It's destination risky. The
majority of salt smugglers are, there
fore, the Chinese crews OF the carry
ing vessels, working in conjunction
with accomplices ashore. 1t is as often
as not concealed among the bunker
coal, and kept there until a favorable
opportunity for landing presents itself
At one OF the river ports some years
back the crime Of salt running" as
sumed such startling dimentions that
extraordinary precautions to put
stop to it were introduced. which prov
ed efiicacious for time. Later, how
ever, 1t was noticed that sampans, or
small boats, manned by those unhappy
outcasts, lepers, were becoming more
numerous, and it was soon discovered
that they were engaged to land the
salt, as 1t was perhaps not unreason.
ably assumed that customs officers.