OPIUM IN CHINA.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 213, 9 September 1933, Page 8 (Supplement)

OPIUM IN CHINA.

SECRETS OF THE TRAFFIC. CLEVER CONCEALMENT RUSES. RAIDS BY RIVER PILOTS. (By HARRY A. FED TVER—Copyright.) (HI.) Crude opium ie transported from the territories inland through a maze of waterways to the coast. Theec journeys are not always so simple and easy as they sound.

Every hundred miles or so along the route the cargo will enter upon the district of some fresh local authority, and with the crossing of the boundary there are certain formalities, delays and other irritating incidents, chief among which is tho payment of "likin." This payment might be described as a kind of semiofficial tax, levied according to the wealth or poverty of the district or of the local magistrate himself, on certain goods passing along the waterways. Aβ opium carries everywhere a heavy "likin," it ie in the interests of those running a cargo through to the coaet to camouflage as much of it as possible to avoid some at least of the payment which Would ordinarily be extorted if the whole cargo were "declared."

Some clever ruses are employed to elude tho "likin" collector. I have seen many pounds of opium carefully concealed inside the bamboo poles used by members of the crews of the opium boats. I have 6ceii woodwork, even the actual sides of the craft themselves, cleverly hollowed out to take quantities of the drug.

Most ingenious of all, I have seen thousands of eggs, each bearing some small secret mark, taken from the huge consignments which come to the towns, and inside each egg there has been sufficient opium to pay a coolie and his family, keep them in food, clothes and shelter for years. Experts perform the delicate operation of removing the contents of tho egg by sawing off a tiny piece at one end, filling it up with the semi-plastic raw opium without cracking the shell and then replacing the sawnoff end.

Some of the coolies become so adept at this that they can complete the entire opexalion in less than a couple of minutes.

Merciless Scoundrels. This' journey to the coast is fraught with dangers, for the Chinese waterways are still infested with pirates, and. the further one travels from the coast the more dangerous do these pests become. Tho waters nearer the coast arc patrolled to some extent in order to protect the very extensive trade carried on them, but further away there is little or no control exercised. The local magistrates are powerless to cope with the trouble, and the pirates find themselves immune from interference.

. I have had one or two risky encounters with pirates, and found them to be merciless scoundrels, the majority of them driven to the life of piracy by sheer hunger. The most dangerous type are the disbanded soldiery of some lost army which has'ceased to function for a-time. They are exponents of extreme brutality, having been obliged to get a living by preying upon the people whose territory they occupy. Bloodshed and torture are familiar to them, so that when they decide to raid a convoy a. bloody battle ensues, and in the majority of cases the piratee are the victors, for frequently they are armed and their reputation is so grim that the coolies fear them as they do evil spirits, and seldom make any real attempt at holding off the raiders.

There, are other types of river bandits who~give trouble the whole way through the country. Composed chiefly of peasants and fishermen, "who normally gain meagre living along the banks of the rivers and canals, they are not whole-time professional pirates, but when their territory is overrun by robber soldiers, supposedly under the command of some robber general, they are forced by sheer poverty to the life of the "water rat." The invaders take all their property that is worth taking, and the poor wretches decide to do the same to others. This they'do to good effect through the busy season, raiding the convoys not for the goods they contain so much as to secure the coolies' food.

A Desperate Encounter. They had two modes of operation, of which I have had unpleasant experience. On the first occasion I was going down to the coast on a boat I knew to contain a considerable quantity of opium, and my job was to trace this right through to its coasTal destination. It was a risky task, for though I was on friendly terms ■with most of the chiefs in this particular concern, the Chinese in charge of the convoy and the two native soldiers who acted as guards watched me with suspicion, and guessed' that I was interested/in 'what they had tried unsuccessfully to conceal from me. .1 was , therefore very much on the alert' throughout the'- long trip;' for I could not tell for certain who were my friends.

One night, just after I had retired to bed, the etorm broke. There were four boats in the convoy, and we had moored for the riijrlit not far from a small native village, where a few fishermen could be seen in front of their huts. The crew and even the soldiers were eound asleep almost as soon , as the job of mooring was complete; , a rid I was just dozing off myself when a tremendous tumult broke out on the leading boat, nearest to the village. There was still light enough to see that a gang of about fifteen men were carrying out a lightning raid. They swarmed on to the boat, hacking in all directions with pikes and knives and fieli spears, slashing not only at the unfortunate coolies who endeavoured to offer resistance, but doing as much destruction as they could.

Short Shrift for Wounded. I grabbed and yelling to the soldiers, started firing over the heads of the struggling raiders and' cooliee. The soldiers were not eo considerate; bringing their heavy old-fashioned Mauser rifles, they fired as Tapidly as they •were able and quite without discrimination at any moving figure on the deck of our sister ship. Tho trouble was over in ten minutes, and the raiders decamped, having, secured what they eought—the food supply of, the coolies. This they had thrown ashore for others of their band to carry back to the village. One of our coolies had been killed 'by a terrible blow on the head with some sort of a bludgeon, which must have been wielded with colossal force. The.raiders had left two of their number dead on the deck, while a third was badly wounded. Before I could get to

the boat, the coolies had dispatched the unfortunate -wretch and pitched his body overboard, ■with many maledictions. The unsuspected presence of firearms had apparently scared tho pirates badly, for they did not return, though we kept the closest -watch. When dawn came the soldiers wanted to organise a punitive raid on the village, but I managed to restrain their- ardour, for the odde would have been too lieavy to tackle with any hope of success. That was my first brush with the "water rate." My second was more exciting, and also more gruesome.

(To <be continued.)